Readers....

There are a lot of things that we are responsible for as parents but I think that one of the most important things that we can give to our children is a love of learning. To that end I think that we also need to instill in our children a love of reading. I love to read, though definitely do not have the time I want to enjoy it but it seems that reading today, especially for the young, has become a chore like homework. In conversations I have had with our neighbors older children they all seem to dislike reading only doing it because they are required to, never reading for the joy of reading. Reading is such an essential part of learning that you can't have someone who is excited to learn if they hate to read. Also in all the studies I have read a child's success in school and in life is directly tied to their reading ability.

So I always try to incorporate lots of reading into our daily lives - not just at bedtime but whenever we can, especially during these cold miserable days when going outside is just not possible.

In the past couple of months, Greyson has started reading on his own and I am so proud of him. He is so excited when he starts a new book (we are currently working through the Bob Book Series). Every night he sits down with Daddy and Daddy reads a book or two then it is Greyson's turn to read to Daddy. On the rare occasions when Quinn gets in bed before Greyson I sneak over and listen to father and son read to each other and it just melts my heart. I think he loves to read so much because we have made reading his special one-on-one time with Daddy. Then after they finish he always comes over and reads a few pages to me. He is so proud of himself and insists on giving me a hug after every page he reads.

As for Quinn, well we don't call her the 'parrot' for nothing. She insists on doing everything her brother does so it comes as no surprise that last week she came up to me and said "Mommy, I want to learn to read too." She already knew all her letters and their sounds so we have started off at the first words. We have gone through all the AT words (cat, rat, sat, etc) and all the IT words. She is also so excited and wants to do her 'letters' each and every evening.

So to Greyson and Quinn - I hope this is the beginning of a life long love affair with reading and with learning. May you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy reading to you.