And these from Library Day #2?
When we visit the library, Kindergarten Kiddo is free to
pick out as many books as she can carry – note that I didn’t say as many books
as she can read during the 21-day
loan period- but as many books as she can carry.
So, gazing at this gluttonous haul, you may be wondering;
how it is possible for Kindergarten Kiddo to read all those books before their due date? The answer is simple: she doesn’t. That’s right, I’m outing us; we here at
ellieraisesareader do not, in fact, read all of the books we borrow from the
library.
So there.
But you know what? My gut tells me it’s not important that Kiddo
reads all of them. When I look at my own
reading life, I can point to countless examples of books that I’ve acquired and
never cracked the spine on… or that I’ve flipped through, but never quite got
around to reading. Does that make me a
weaker reader? Of course not; it seems
silly to even suggest it. So, why then would
that same non-reading behavior be off-limits to my Kiddo?
It’s not just my instincts that tell me I’m right. There’s actually a lot of research that backs
me up on this, the most recent of which was published in 2010. In a 20 year study of children in homes in China and in the US, Mariah Evans of the University of Nevada and her team
found that the number of books in a home – not the number of books read- but
the size of a home’s library – had slightly more of an impact on a child’s education
level than did the level of the child’s parent’s education. What this means is this: if a child lives in
a home surrounded by books with non-educated parents, that child has a greater
chance of going to college than a child living in a home with college-educated
parents, but without many books.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. OF COURSE Kiddo reads books – a lot of
them. In fact, she reads MOST of what we
bring home from the library, but not all, and I don’t think there’s a reason to
change that. And how would I go about
doing that anyway? Limit her to, say, 5
books instead of as many as she can carry?
What would be the point: to make her a more efficient chooser of reading
material? That doesn’t seem to serve her
growth as a reader.
It’s more important to me that Kiddo knows her way around
the library than for her to know her limits when it comes to reading through
what she’s checked out before their due dates.
Heck, even I don’t know my limits!
How many times have I walked out of the library with more than 2,000
pages of material and only 21 days to read them?
I want Kiddo to
experience the thrill of possibility
as she browses through the stacks. I
want her eyes to be bigger than her stomach when it comes to choosing
books. This is all part of being a
reader, and raising one too!
I feel the same way with my almost 3 year old. She can't read yet so I do all the reading of the mountain of checked out books. She is free to pick any book she wants. Does it matter that there are too many words and she will lose interest? No. I never want her to feel that any book is out of bounds. We don't always read all of her books either, but I think it's important for her to have as many books as she would like. Why should the rules be different for her? Yesterday she was sick so I went to the library and checked out 17 books as a surprise for her. We read all of them, some several times. Some were good others were not, but she was exposed to all of them and I think that is important.
ReplyDeleteMolly,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insightful (and, as always, well-worded) comment. You raise another important point: reading books that are “above” your child’s level. I’m with you – there’s no such thing as a book that is too hard for our little ones. If a child is interested in a book, then it’s a good fit! If he or she needs some extra help with the words – or needs the words read to them in their entirety- all the better! It’s one more chance for you to share a moment with your child.
Happy Reading,
Ellie
Hey Ellie! Been reading through your blog and I love how your writing moves along, it just sounds like you! Awesome layout and I look forward to reading more
ReplyDeleteJessie
Awwww, Thanks Jess! I'm so glad you are enjoying it!
DeleteHappy Reading,
Ellie
We choose books of the shelf for many reasons. Some because they have a great cover or an intriguing synopsis, others because they were highly recommended or were best sellers. But when we get the book home and start reading it we sometimes find it is not written well, not the book we thought it was going to be, doesn't capture our imagination, or we just don't like it. So we stop reading the book. Why should a child read a book they aren't interested in? Learning to discern what we like in a book is important for our growth as a reader.
ReplyDeleteMimi
Mimi,
DeleteThank you for your comment. You raise another salient point about an authentic reading life: choosing to STOP reading. You've inspired me to write a new post on this topic.
Happy Reading,
Ellie