Name: Tess
Home: St. Louis
Summer Reading
Recently we took Ben's reading list to the local library for their "Catch the Reading Bug" program. We had read 50 books, so he was eligible to receive prizes: bug stickers, a plastic bug catcher, and a wind-up ladybug that does flips. I had promised him we could read his last five books before our trip to the library, but he slowed the process down considerably by insisting on reading them himself. It's fascinating watching him read; he has no trouble with very basic books, but he often guesses longer words based on context and the first few letters. The elementary teachers I know assure me this is normal, and it makes me wish I knew more about how kids learn to read.
I was proud to see Ben reading, even if it did put us behind schedule on our errands; I have been waiting for him to be literate practically since he was born, with all the impatience of a father who buys his infant son a baseball glove. I swear I have tried not to be a pushy parent--and Ben is so stubborn that pushing rarely yields results anyway--but reading is one of the main family activities, and I'm happy he can now participate. (Playing baseball, on the other hand, will probably require some tutoring from his uncles.)
The summer reading program also made me nostalgic for the days when I could earn prizes just by reading a large quantity of books. I was always happy when we had to keep reading logs for elementary school or summer reading programs--it was as if they had decided to start handing out prizes for breathing! My extensive reading lists revealed a habit that was, perhaps, more compulsive than it was healthy; I can still remember my mom (whose own reading habits were voracious, ranging from science fiction to Anthony Trollope) telling me during summer vacations to stop reading and go outside and play for a while.
Of course, reading is its own reward--or rather, it's still something I do compulsively. Still, I can't help making mental note my own summer book list (Out Stealing Horses; I Was Told There'd Be Cake; Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; When You Are Engulfed in Flames; Persepolis) and thinking that from time to time it would be nice to get a few stickers too.
I was proud to see Ben reading, even if it did put us behind schedule on our errands; I have been waiting for him to be literate practically since he was born, with all the impatience of a father who buys his infant son a baseball glove. I swear I have tried not to be a pushy parent--and Ben is so stubborn that pushing rarely yields results anyway--but reading is one of the main family activities, and I'm happy he can now participate. (Playing baseball, on the other hand, will probably require some tutoring from his uncles.)
The summer reading program also made me nostalgic for the days when I could earn prizes just by reading a large quantity of books. I was always happy when we had to keep reading logs for elementary school or summer reading programs--it was as if they had decided to start handing out prizes for breathing! My extensive reading lists revealed a habit that was, perhaps, more compulsive than it was healthy; I can still remember my mom (whose own reading habits were voracious, ranging from science fiction to Anthony Trollope) telling me during summer vacations to stop reading and go outside and play for a while.
Of course, reading is its own reward--or rather, it's still something I do compulsively. Still, I can't help making mental note my own summer book list (Out Stealing Horses; I Was Told There'd Be Cake; Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; When You Are Engulfed in Flames; Persepolis) and thinking that from time to time it would be nice to get a few stickers too.
posted by Tess | 12:39 PM
2 Comments:
I was one of those kids too, who spent most of the summer on the couch reading. I did Schlow's summer reading program a few years (I got a number of sundaes at The Amity House for that). What memories!
Our library has a summer reading program for all ages. The adults get their name entered in a drawing for each book they've read. Sounds like yours doesn't though, which is too bad.
Hi, Tess, long time!
For next summer, go register at one of the city libraries. They not only have a summer reading program, but the grand prize is a laptop computer.
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