MNN - Mother Nature Network

It's National Read A Book Day!  Can you think of a better time to curl up with your kids and a good book?  Me neither.  

 

At the beginning of the summer, I posted about a summer experiment with reading that I was embarking on with my kids in an effort to help them learn to love reading.  Everyday this summer, my girls had to start and end each day by reading.  Maybe a short book, maybe just a chapter - depending upon our schedule for the day.

 

So how did it go?  Overall, I'd say it was a giant success.  If you recall, at the beginning of the summer, my eldest daughter - who is already an excellent reader - was hesitant to take the time out of her day to read, while my youngest daughter - who is just learning to read - still saw reading as homework rather than pleasure.  But by the end of the summer, it was not unusual to find either girl engrossed in a few pages of her favorite book - even when it wasn't the required reading time set aside by me.

 

That's not to say that there weren't days that the girls balked at the idea of all of that reading. But as I suspected, once they started to read, it was often hard for either of them to put down their books.  I think my youngest daughter benefited most from all of that extra reading time.  When we began, I had to beg her to read to me, even though I knew very well that she could read many of the simpler books we were reading on her own.  But now she reads at least one short story to me almost every day - and I know that she's probably reading even more to herself when I'm not looking!

 

I think that today - National Read A Book Day - is a great day to celebrate our summer reading success.  We'll celebrate - of course - by reading a good book!

 

What books will you read with your kids today?