When my second daughter was learning to read, she had trouble. She knew her letters and their sounds and could put them together into words but became discouraged and tearful before she finished a line. Her glasses were fine. She wanted to read. I was puzzled. I found out by accident, one day, what the difficulty was: she… Read More Learning to Read
Years ago, a friend told me a story that I’ve never forgotten. Her mother was bedridden, in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease, and had a woman who came in to care for her. On several occasions, my friend would arrive to find this woman reading to her mother. She was a horrible reader – stumbling over and mispronouncing… Read More Hey, Will You Read to Me?
I agree with C. S. Lewis’s pronouncement that “reading oneself to sleep,” is a “deplorable practice,” but I do think that bedtime reading can serve other purposes. When I reflect on my childhood, straining to recall my earliest memories, one that surfaces most distinctly is bedtime reading. My mother, whether consciously or unconsciously, fulfilled the role of “Super Mom.” She… Read More Bedtime Reading
The house is quiet, the kind of quiet that makes listening easy, when you can hear the softest sounds: a page turning, a little sniff, the sound of someone shifting position In a chair. That’s the way readingtime sounds in our house. There are often little breaks in this quiet, groans of dismay or disgust at who-knows-what predicament,… Read More Family Reading
That reading is in decline is indisputable. Despite the popularity of audio books, e-readers, and the superabundance of published printed books continuing to stream our way, the real reading of books is not considered a necessity, let alone pleasure or privilege, for most people. If you are reading this, you are probably not one of the “most people,” or, possibly,… Read More Are You Afraid to Read?
Why is it that I often bemoan not having enough time to read? At the end of the year, the list usually surprises me because I read more than I thought. This must simply continue to prove my theory that, here a little, there a little, every day a little, gets you through a lot of books in… Read More What I was Reading Last Year
I have written before about the atmosphere of reading, how the presence of books in the home, parents who read, and reading aloud to children influence our children’s embracing of reading as a way of life, so I don’t know why I am chagrined when my grown children, when some offhand remark about audio books occurs, comment, “The sound… Read More Reading with the Ear
I’m afraid that when we think of discipling our children, we tend to think in terms of taking them to church, reading the Bible to them, or engaging in spiritual conversations with them. Those are necessary to discipleship of course, but in reality, our children are discipled much more unconsciously than we are aware. Just think of the last… Read More Out of the Mouths of Babes
Next to comments about the weather, fellow students or coworkers frequently gravitate to the question, “What’s on TV tonight,” or else refer to the last episode as they share their intention to watch tonight’s continuation . Though my childhood is increasingly in the far and distant past, I can still remember the night of the week my favorite programs were… Read More What’s On Tonight?
When I addressed this subject earlier, I tackled the question, “Is reading any book of any kind good enough?” I concluded that reading is a matter of life and death and that all books are not created equal. The challenge to us as parents and teachers is strengthening this habit of reading and growing in our taste and appetite… Read More Hard Thinking About Easy Reading, Part 3