When I was a wee lad, I was a big reader. It all started with my father reading fiction childrens books to me as a child. He was rarely home because he worked so hard, but when he was, he would read to me before bedtime. We read stories of all kinds, at first with illustrations, and gradually without. Eventually he stopped reading to me, and read with me.
It’s really a matter of enthusiasm. I remember how he worked to teach me to read and write my letters, when I was around four years old. I could write almost all of my letters, and he would fall off of his chair and pretend to faint on the floor. I jumped on him laughing, telling him to wake up! The only trouble arose when I had to write my b’s and my d’s. I couldn’t get them right, and he, probably worried that I was dyslexic, only struggled harder to teach me. Continuing to fail, I burst into tears and ran away from the learning table, only to be comforted by him telling me that it takes practice.
And after that, practice I did. I would buy children’s books every week, and devour them greedily. But it all started with my parents taking the time to teach me. Here at Swordpen, we know that reading makes kids smarter, but when kids are just starting out, it takes two. You are the best way to get your child to start reading, and those memories last forever.
