What is your favorite reading memory?
What is your favorite reading memory? This is a question I often asked parents on Back-to-School Night, prompting them to think and write their reflections as a special gift to their child. When students arrived the next morning at school, they eagerly asked me to read their parents’ reflections. Their faces beamed with smiles as I read about the many warm memories related to books.
Read to your child. As parents, we are told this from the time our children are born. Some of my favorite memories with my own children are our bedtime reading routines, from Goodnight Moon and Owl Babies to The Secret Garden and The Hunger Games. Some people think that once your children can read on their own that you do not need to read to them anymore. I believe that you should read to your children as long as they will allow it! It is one of the most impactful experiences you can give your child and yourself. Slow down, take some time and enjoy a book together.
You may have a child that struggled to learn to read and may not like reading as a result. You may have a child who won’t put a book down, even to eat or sleep. You may have one of each. Either way, try to find books that your child is interested in and read to them daily. Consider making it part of your family’s bedtime routine. At some point, they will kick you out of their rooms and not let you read to them anymore, but until then, read on and create some warm memories and a lifelong love of reading.
Resources:
We Need Diverse Books – weneeddiversebooks.org
16 New Picture Books By Caldecott Award Winners
Best Young Adult Novels, Best Teen Fiction, Top 100 Teen Novels
