A wide variety of books can keep the humdrum and mundane of everyday life from elbowing out the truly glorious and fertile growth possibilities that are so much larger than what is offered to children at home or in the standard curricula of K-12 education.
Gifting a book is an expression of care.
Really, the only defensible goal of learning to read in school is not to increase yearly test scores, but to help children become eager, daily readers of self-selected books.
Book time qualifies as special time that shouldn’t be interrupted.
How do some kids score as proficient on yearly tests while the large majority don’t?
When adults share their own stories with children, connections are built between people and literacy learning is nurtured.
Reading books with children and talking about what you read invites exploration of feelings and offers long-lasting permission to discuss all of life’s topics.
When children have their own books kept on a special shelf, they learn that books are valuable treasures.
Even if a book that a child wants to read over and over is not considered great literature, it can be a powerful influence on that child’s literacy growth and development of loving books.
I begin most days by reading the news. I read our local paper and a bit of national ones. I like to “keep up,” as us info junkies say. When I’m involved in something that prohibits my ability to read, I’ll listen to the news. I especially enjoy The New York Times online version’s invitation […]
