“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” — Emilie Buchwald
March is really Book Month! Last week I talked about all the creative activities going on at the secondary level. This week, I’d like to highlight the elementary students who are actively participating in a month of reading. What a delightful way to spend our last month of winter!
Last Friday was an all-day read in. Children were camped out all over their rooms with pillows and blankets. Each had a favorite book in their lap. Teachers and older students joined in the fun by reading to the classes from their favorite childhood books. I checked out of the library a favorite book of mine from when I was a child, “The Mouse and the Motorcycle,” by Beverly Cleary. I started to read the first few pages and was wonderfully reminded of the whimsical world where mice and boys could speak to one another and where making a motorboat sound with your lips made a toy motorcycle race all around the room. It brought a smile to my face.
When our children were young, we made sure to have a lot of books. For one thing, the public library was just down the road from our house, so our kids checked out books all the time. Even so, my oldest son was still reading “Nate the Great” when he entered grade four. That’s a great series for kids in lower elementary, but Dan just hadn’t caught on to reading novels for enjoyment. His teacher, Mr. Trottier, loved Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and read it aloud to them throughout the year. He had a map of Middle Earth on the wall, and the students followed along with Frodo’s journeys on the map. This teacher instilled in our son the love of reading, which continues to this day. Dan’s reading ability jumped from Nate to Frodo in one year!
If you go on online, you will find list after list of the benefits of reading. Here are just a few:
- Reading exercises the brain.
- Reading improves concentration.
- Reading develops a child’s imagination.
- Reading helps children to develop empathy as they learn about the world around them.
- Reading improves vocabulary and language skills.
- Reading provides time for families to bond together.
- Reading is fun!
For all the details about Book Month, be sure to scroll down to the poster that was created by Barbara Dax, our enthusiastic librarian. Keep on readin’!
“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.” — Kate DiCamillo
Because of His Faithfulness,
Sharon Brobst, Ed.D.
Director