Reading

For anyone who knows me they know I love to read. It makes me happy. I'm pretty sure that there isn't a day that goes by when I don't sit down and read at least a paragraph of something. Reading is an outlet for me, a meditation, a release, in a sense an escape. (Not that I need to escape from my own reality all that often.)

I belong to a book club and I love it. I know I'm really nerdy, but I can't describe how much fun I have reading by myself, but knowing that there are at least four other women out there reading the same book and collecting thoughts and ideas about the same book I'm reading.When I'm reading and I read a particularly good or interesting part I get so excited to discuss it with the club. I find it extremely fulfilling. In fact if I could somehow figure out a way to read for a living, especially in the book club sense, I would be a millionaire because I would be so good at it.

Since this is something I can't live without I find it really hard to understand people who don't enjoy reading. And I'm married to one of them.
Once I got Matt to read The Life of Pi, which is a really good book that I highly recommend to any and everyone. So he started and he liked it. He read every night and I'd say it took him less than a week to finish. I loved seeing him read. It gave me a weird satisfaction. I loved talking and discussing the book with him. So, Matt, will you read the unabridged version of Count of Monte Cristo? And will you finish the Harry Potter Series? These alone will afford me the chance to see him reading every day for the next year.

There is a young lady(19 years old) who I used to work with on a daily basis and I couldn't understand why she didn't read. So I gave her some homework, (I know, I'm a freak show) which was to get a library card and then I gave her a list of books to read. I can't remember all of the books on the list but tonight she told me that she read the Twilight series. That's three books! Yeah, they are fluffy and you really don't have to do much thinking while you read them but it's a start. She enjoyed them. So I gave her a gentle reminder of the list pointing out that books are awesome and she could and would enjoy others. She responded by rolling her eyes at me.

Now about a little boy who is near and dear to me. Last year when Sam was in Kindergarten I had to drag him, kicking and screaming to school everyday. By Christmas break he still couldn't identify the whole alphabet. A health situation with his teacher caused them to have a new sub every week or so. Then once the Christmas break was over and the new semester started they moved his whole class into another teacher . This was good because they finally had some continuity, but I know Sam never felt loved or at ease about this teacher. It was a blessing in disguise. Regardless of how much we worked with Sam at home on his letters he wasn't getting it and it was so hard for us not to get mad at him. It is extremely frustrating to spend tons of time on something and repeat yourself over and over again and still no results. "Sam this is a G. Say G. Look at G. What is it? ( Shrug of the shoulders) IT'S G, I JUST TOLD YOU IT'S G!" It was really sad.
But this teacher who didn't make him feel loved, welcome, and who he said talked mean to him, decided to teach him the sounds the letters make before she taught him what they looked like. BINGO! That did the trick. He knew them all with in two weeks and started reading. Now my little first grader, who has a teacher that makes him feel loved and welcome, and who is ready for school and begging to go an hour early every day, reads at a third grade level and told me the other day that he knows how to read inside his head and that no one had to teach him. I loved this! Now if we could just get him to stop writing in mirror image.