Cobblestone & Cricket: Share the Joy, Constantly

When our daughter finished the fifth grade, her teacher paid me a great compliment. "Your children are two of the best readers that I have ever taught," she said of Jamie, now thirteen, and Ilsa, now eleven. "What have you done to make them love books so much?" I am a book-loving nerd (as my children have kindly dubbed me) and was determined that they, too would also know the joy of books and treasure them as I do. I read to them when they were little, of course, but here are some of the other tricks I've used to incorporate reading into their lives.

Read to them over breakfast. I started doing this in self-defense. Our son is a morning person, chipper and energetic, while our daughter tends to be slow and grumpy. She makes an irresistible target and the fighting between them could be unbearable. Her operatic screaming at 6:30 in the morning can make your eyebrows fall out. How to cope? By reading aloud - actually by performing. As my kids have quietly munched their Cheerios over the years, I have read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories, The Jungle Book, Out of Africa, and A Christmas Carol, to name a few. I use different voices for the different characters and read with expression. Although Meryl Streep has no competition from me, my performances are captivating enough that I've had one or the other of the children rush off to the bathroom only to leave the door ajar with the admonition, "Keep reading! I can hear you!"
Read to them whenever you're waiting. I have been known to read to the kids while at the beach, in restaurants, in airports, and on airplanes. While in public, I read in a whisper, their heads nearly touching mine as they listen. Are they embarrassed? Occasionally, but they've gotten used to that because I am a very embarrassing mother (so they constantly tell me). But they want to hear the ending; they want to solve the mystery. All of us endure waiting. Reading makes it productive.
Keep reading aloud even when they are older. One dark and stormy night our television cable went out and so we started a fire in the fireplace, dimmed the lights, and I read "The Monkey's Paw." Even my husband enjoys hearing me read. The children are currently in middle school, but there is something very soothing in having someone tell you a story or read to you, no matter what your age might be.
Play books on tape on car trips. We are very fond of car trips in our house, but the trips are more interesting when we listen to books. Traffic isn't as irritating when you have a good story playing and an added bonus is that the children aren't shrieking like howler monkeys in the back seat. Charlotte's Web, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone stories are some of our favorites. For younger children, Jim Weiss does some excellent tapes of Greek myths, stories of King Arthur, fairy tales, and others. The Harry Potter books as read by Jim Dale are also delightful.
Keep children's magazines in the car. We have subscriptions to MUSE^®, ODYSSEY^TM, COBBLESTONE^®, and DIG^TM. All kids enjoy interesting articles about science, nature, and history, but the operative word is interesting. Their schoolbooks tend to be very general with these topics (often deadly dull, in fact), but the magazines offer great photos and up-to-date information on new discoveries. We save many of the old issues and they have been very valuable for the kids to use as sources for reports. By keeping them in the car, the magazines have a captive audience. The little errands we run are not so dull for the children when they can read an article on bog mummies while we pick up the dry cleaning.
Have fine quality children's books available at all times. This requires regular visits to the library or your local children's bookstore. I prefer children's bookstores because they tend to have helpful and knowledgeable employees. If you have a second grader who loves dragons, they can find the perfect book for you. Our library and local children's bookstore are frequent stops for me as I run errands, with or without the kids. There is always something interesting available in the house for the kids to read. I also emphasize fine quality in children's literature. I don't want them wasting their valuable reading time on mediocre books. My son was hooked on the Animorphs series for awhile, so I made a deal with him. He could read the series, but he had to alternate with an award-winning book. Check the back covers where the publishers list the awards. There are many issued for children's books and this is an easy way to ensure that the books they read offer more than mere entertainment. The kids also like knowing that the books they read are winners.
Give books and magazines as gifts. Magazines and books are wonderful presents because you can always find something to suit a child's interests and reading level. For every holiday that requires gifts, our children receive at least one book or magazine. I also give my childrens' teachers books or magazine subscriptions for their classrooms and the kids help pick them out. They love the opportunity to share their favorites with their teachers and the future students of those teachers. This elevates the stature of books and magazines and the teachers are very appreciative.
Schedule time for the children to read every day and stick to it. This can be difficult given how busy everyone's schedule tends to be. We do our best to have the kids go to bed early enough to read before they go to sleep, but sports and homework often interfere with our good intentions. I make sure that they have time to read on the weekends to make up for this, but my preference is to have them read daily. I found that this was particularly important when the kids were in first through fifth grades. Reading is a skill that requires practice. We cut back on after school activities to make sure that the kids had as much time as they needed for both homework and reading. The message must be clear: Reading is as essential as brushing your teeth.
Cut television time. I have heard so many child experts say this, but I know there are many kids out there still watching a lot of TV or playing a lot of video games. In our house we do not allow television on school nights. The kids can watch TV on the weekends, but only if they've finished all chores, homework, and have done some reading. If the books are good, however, they often forget about watching TV (yes, you read that correctly. They actually forget about television).
Read the books your children recommend. It is so easy to read a book that your child is excited about and it gives them great pleasure to know that you value their opinion enough to take the time to read one of their favorites. The variety and quality of children's books today is much greater than it was when we parents were children. You will be pleasantly surprised if you haven't read any children's books in recent years. An added benefit in this is getting to know your children very well through the books they love.
Take your children to museums. What does this have to do with reading? Plenty. Museums can enhance your child's reading experience. At the Gene Autry Museum, children can see a stagecoach, steamer trunks, glassware, iron skillets, toys, and numerous other everyday items used by the pioneers. When children then read the Laura Ingall Wilder series, for example, they will have a different reading experience, one that is far richer and has much more significance for them. Our local harbor had a replica of one of Christopher Columbus' ship, available for tours one weekend. Our children will never forget how small the ship was and how primitive. That tour enabled them to truly understand the mutinous attitude of the crew and the pressures Columbus felt to find land. History lessons on Columbus have never been the same. I also try to gear our museum visits to fit the school curriculum. When they studied California missions, we visited a few. California has a wealth of museums and historical sites which can make for very enjoyable family outings.
Take your children to plays. Plays are, in a sense, another way to have someone read to you or tell you a story. There is an enormous difference in seeing a play versus a movie. The subtle interaction between audience and actor makes every performance unique and every child should experience this. The logistics of changing scenery and costumes means that the language and action of a play carries a story differently that it does in a movie. This became clear when we had two exchange students stay with us last year, a boy and a girl who spoke excellent English, but were accustomed to using their free time to play video games, watch TV, or listen to their CD players. During the week they were busy with school activities, but the weekend loomed large before me as I debated about what to do to for entertainment. We decided to take them to see West Side Story. Prior to going, I sketched out the plot to give the children a framework for following the story. The exchange students had never been to a play and I must say that that they were not enthusiastic about seeing this one. They were, however, utterly transfixed by the performance. They both told me later that the play was their favorite part of the visit. How gratifying! Inexpensive performances abound here in the land of struggling actors. High schools, community colleges, universities - all offer relatively inexpensive theater.

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