tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post113146094983815629..comments2024-02-20T03:18:43.590-05:00Comments on Magnificent Octopus: Reading to my kidIsabella Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735198478395875257noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post-1132413623396393862005-11-19T10:20:00.000-05:002005-11-19T10:20:00.000-05:00Mom read me a bedtime story until I could read on ...Mom read me a bedtime story until I could read on my own and tuck myself in at night. After it stopped, the conversations around reading could have continued. In my case it didn't but could springboard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post-1131648202759809932005-11-10T13:43:00.000-05:002005-11-10T13:43:00.000-05:00My son could not get enough of me reading to him. ...My son could not get enough of me reading to him. By 18 months or so he could sit through a whole Beatrix Potter book. We read constantly, because we both enjoyed it. But now he'd rather create comic books than read. My daughter, on the other hand, was never that interested in books -- until she learned to read on her own. Now she's the little bookworm. Go figure.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486646522914924111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post-1131565414618850242005-11-09T14:43:00.000-05:002005-11-09T14:43:00.000-05:00I didn't mean to suggest that anyone stop reading ...I didn't mean to suggest that anyone stop reading aloud on the basis of these study results. The study itself seems fairly objective in examining kids' attention to print. <BR/><BR/>What surprises me is the implication of the article that the object of reading to one's children is to teach them to read. I'm curious how many parents undertake storytime with that specific objective in mind. I am not surprised, of course, that all of you commenting here know better.Isabella Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10735198478395875257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post-1131556381990603202005-11-09T12:13:00.000-05:002005-11-09T12:13:00.000-05:00I read to my kids every day, but I don't think tha...I read to my kids every day, but I don't think that the older one makes a connection between what I'm saying and what letters are on the page. <BR/><BR/>Sometimes I point to each word as I say it, pointing out punctuation as well as letters. Mostly, though, I just read. What I'm hoping to accomplish is instilling a love of reading that lasts longer than the young years. The close, quiet time with my kids is also something I savor in and of itself.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17358441701832129130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post-1131549834069409602005-11-09T10:23:00.000-05:002005-11-09T10:23:00.000-05:00This may sound repetitious, but my experience has ...This may sound repetitious, but my experience has been the same. We have read to our children every single night, even before they could talk. We read with them on weekends. We even read them things like ingredient lists when they ask about new foods, not to mention things like board game instructions and birthday cards and so on.<BR/>Our oldest son was reading before he hit kindergarten, and reading in two languages by the time he was finished kindergarten. Our youngest, while not as "advanced," loves books, and retains everything we read him - you should hear him talk about Anne of Green Gables! He writes his name, which is something some of his kindergarten classmates cannot do yet. He's now starting to read, one word at a time.<BR/>Studies, schmudies. Whether or not exposure to books does one thing or another, no one has ever said it's bad. Read to your children!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post-1131543317665841802005-11-09T08:35:00.000-05:002005-11-09T08:35:00.000-05:00Interesting. I, too, was a mother who diligently r...Interesting. I, too, was a mother who diligently read the bedtime stories to the children, and I felt at the time, reaped the rewards. As did the kids. They were always the earliest readers in their peer groups. And that, at the time anyway, translated to popularity, teacher favoritism and just a general sense of loving school.<BR/><BR/>At the same time, it didn't really translate to their high school years, this early reading equals good grades business that is. All but one of my children had very mediocre high school grades, but that, too, was a function of what was going on in the family at the time, I suppose.<BR/><BR/>I do believe that families emphasize what they value (duh!) and become passionate about all kinds of things, depending. I suppose (and I am really going out on a limb here, as you can tell) it's just good to be passionate about something, family-wise.<BR/><BR/>Gee, that was brilliant. As you can see, my early reading skills have definitely panned out in my adulthood.<BR/><BR/>:-)!Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11481145503446286549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5767816.post-1131482352922087812005-11-08T15:39:00.000-05:002005-11-08T15:39:00.000-05:00I think the chances are good that Helena will valu...I think the chances are good that Helena will value reading regardless of whether you read to her at bedtime. One thing my husband and I have observed up close is that every family has its own culture, its own sense of what is valuable. My older sister has a science family-- the games they play in the car revolve around numbers and equations, games like who can translate the outside temperature from Fahrenheit to Celsius and back the quickest. All the kids are great at science. They could be great at whatever, but science is the family medium. I know plenty of families that primarily value sports and physical activities. And I realized a ways back that our family culture centers around the arts, with reading at its center. Of course the kids have their own unique personalities, and likes and dislikes, but I think that they come to themselves through the filter of what you (the parent) value. For better or worse. I like to think a love of the arts is a good thing, though maybe years from now when my kids are in therapy trying to rid themselves of me, they will disagree!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com