There are a lot of things I’d love to do well or better as a mom. I’d love to do more crafts, be more creative, spend more time building things (and knocking them down), and, since we have an incredibly active little boy, wrestling! And while all things can usually stand improvement, one thing I think I do pretty well is READING. I absolutely love reading with Max and think it is one of the most valuable things I can offer to him and foster in our home!
Remember, I am an English Education Major by degree and my personal favorite hobby is reading (which really helps in wanting to instill this skill and gift of literature – the written word, especially God’s written Word – into my children)!
I came across Sally Clarkson’s post today, “If you really love your children, turn off your computer, cell phone and tv and read!” She is an incredibly wise women with a wealth of experience. The whole post is worth the read, but here is a wonderful excerpt:
“One of the greatest ways we can love our children is by cultivating in them a love for learning, cultivating their intellect, and giving them a broad base of education. Research widely acclaims, in every venue of research, that a child who is read to will have a larger capacity for solving problems, a greater vocabulary, a greater ability to solve problems, is more socially adjusted, tests better, is more likely to become a leader, and the list goes on and on.
This great habit of life is not developed by saying to your children, “Read!”
It is a habit that a wise woman cultivates at every possible moment. It must be planned, practiced, cultivated, acted on–do not think that anything else can replace this wonderful gift you can give to your children! There is nothing more miraculous for the soul or to draw children to your ideas of faith, than to invest long hours of reading profoundly together!
When we invest in our children’s intellect and mental prowess, we give them a confidence and skill in life that will serve them all the days of their lives. But, developing reading as a delight and as a life-long habit requires choices. We must limit media for ourselves and for them–as they pick up what we model.
RIGHT ON, Sally!
So, how do we go about setting such lofty goals and making great strides in this area? Not so ironically, I have a book recommendation!
The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease is an incredible resource to not only solidify just how valuable reading is, but answer when to start/stop reading aloud (the answers are immediately and never…in greater detail) and provides wonderful recommendations for books at every age/stage! This book rocked my reading world and completely motivated me to be diligent in the time I spend reading with Max. I usually check out all of my books from the library and only buy if it is something I plan to refer back to, re-read, highlight, write-in and underline. This book fits the bill & is a must-add to our family library!
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[…] Last week, I posted about The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It is a fantastic resource and has TONS of information (that I won’t rewrite here; I just highly recommend you read it) such as: the benefits of reading, statistics, and book recommendations for different ages/stages. […]