Reading to Kids Besides Your Own
(contd from Raising a Generation of Readers 1)
So, we’ve established that reading to kids is important. Not just our own kids, but to those who don’t have the benefit of being raised in an environment which comprises of books and reading.
There is no question – if we want our kids to inherit a better world, we had better begin equipping them with the tools today. And, among other things, improving literacy levels ought to be our number one priority.
So, besides reading to our kids everyday, exposing them to different kinds of books and knowledge and providing them opportunities to learn and expand their minds – what else needs to be done in order to raise the generation of readers that will make this possible? In other words, what specific actions can each of us – parents, educators, librarians and anybody interested in creating such a world – take?
Plenty. Regardless of the time on your hands, your skills, interests or motivation, there is always something you can do about spreading literacy around you, be it small or significant.
Whether we spare 30 minutes a day or 1 hour per week – the time we choose to spend in helping kids(besides our own) learn to read is probably among the best investments we make towards our children’s future.
1.Believe that it’s NEVER too late to start. Yes, it’s true that kids should be read to from an early age and that they benefit most when they are exposed to books and language at home since birth. And yes, most of the nerve connections in a child’s brain are formed by the time he turns 5 and his brain, up until that age acts like a sponge – under ideal conditions, he would have been read to countless times by that golden age. However, just because a child missed out on reading for the first few years doesn’t mean that he has to miss out for the rest of his life. If you know a child who hasn’t been read to since he was a baby or a family where kids are not exposed to reading – do your best to encourage them to start. Now. Reading, no matter how late you begin, improves things.
2.Volunteer your time and skills. Become a reading mentor. If you enjoy reading to your children and have seen them benefit from the process, why not share the experience with other children who may not have access to books or people who read to them? Several organizations provide you the opportunity to volunteer just an hour of your time every week to read to children from low income families or who are at a high risk for dropping out of school, taking to drugs or crime or simply choosing lives they don’t really deserve. It’s hard to imagine that 30-45 minutes of your time a week will make any difference to these kids, but you’d be surprised at how eagerly kids start looking forward to these sessions, how well they respond to your reading and how this seemingly insignificant gesture on your part could improve their chances of staying in school and opting for better lives. A list and description of various organizations and programs that you could volunteer with warrants a separate post – but just to mention some of them – Everybody Wins Power Lunch( spend 30 mins of your lunch hour a week reading to a child), Reach out and Read (among other things, volunteers read to children in waiting rooms, organize community book drives, build bookcases), Communities in Schools After School program( Help kids prepare for life by providing homework help and reading to them for about an hour every week) You could also do this on your own for kids in your community, if you don’t want to commit to a particular organization or program. But I find that doing it through an organization has many benefits – it is regulated, you have a common place to meet, a set time for reading, coordinators you can discuss issues with and books always readily available to read.
3. Donate children’s books – new and old. One of the most important factors affecting literacy is access to books. In low income neighborhoods in the United States, there is only one age appropriate book available for every 300 children. (Source: FirstBook) So, when it’s time to clear out the clutter in your child’s bedroom, the attic or in your garage, have a plan for salvaging and separating children’s books, categorizing them and boxing them so you can donate them to kids who could use them. There are several places you could donate used books that redistribute them to needy children. Alternatively, if you know kids or families that would benefit from those books, you could donate directly to them. But, unless there is someone in the family who can read the books to the children, this may not be of much use. So, even if you donate books,spending your time reading to those kids is still important. Of course, if you’d like to and can afford to donate new books – even better.
4. Encourage your kids to read to others. It’s no secret – kids are mirrors. If they watch you reading to other kids or know that you donate your time for the purpose, they’re bound to be inspired to do the same. If your kids are reading at or above grade level, encourage them to read to/with their classmates or peers who could use some reading help.
5. Read to your child’s class. If your child is in elementary school, your child’s teacher may be more than happy to have you volunteer in her class every week. Even if you can’t volunteer with an organization, try committing an hour or so a week to your child’s class. You could either offer to help a handful of kids with reading, or read to the class as a whole, depending on what the teacher prefers, the reading levels of children in the class and how much time you can commit each week.
6. Start a reading program at a library or community center – Your local library will most probably have story time sessions for babies and preschoolers. Check with the youth services librarian if you can start a program to help older kids to read or expand on an existing program. You could start a weekly reading session and invite older kids who have difficulty reading or who don’t have access to books or reading mentors to participate. You could even use the library to interact with kids individually, tutor them and help them with reading. Work with your librarian, parents and teachers in your area to come up with a program that will benefit kids with regards to reading.
7. Read about reading to kids. Write about reading to kids. Talk about reading to kids. No matter how much you know or do, you know there’s more that could be done. If you’re truly interested in and passionate about raising a generation of readers and thinkers, keep looking for ways to make reading accessible and pleasurable to children. Use any platform you have to your advantage – blog and tweet about why it’s important to read to children, write to an editor of a magazine or newspaper, talk to your friends, join ‘groups’ or become a ‘fan’ and use whatever medium and technique you’re comfortable with to share your interest in raising enthusiastic readers.
8. Hold reading events at home, the park or at the library. In an earlier post about why it’s never too late to start reading to your kids, I suggested a few fun ways to get older kids interested in reading. Use whatever works for you in your efforts to help kids with reading. Meet other parents and kids at the park, library or a picnic area and have a reading party. Reading to kids in an informal, outdoor environment may help them overcome inhibitions associated with school work or required reading, especially if they have difficulty with it.
9. Help kids start or join a book club. Guide them. Encourage participation from kids of all reading levels and not just those who read above their grade levels. Help kids select books that appeal to reluctant readers. Ask your librarian for book recommendations. Be open to stopping a book mid-way and switching to a new one if it doesn’t ignite interest in the group. Encourage interaction, provide directions for discussion, ask questions, suggest alternative answers – your goal is simply to get the kids excited about the idea of reading. For very young children, a book club could simply be a version of a story time where you encourage other parents to bring their children to a certain venue every week and read aloud to them from various books, tell them stories and even show parents by example, how to read with their kids. Or you could just help spread the word about story time sessions at the library or book store in your community. I’m always surprised by how many parents I talk to aren’t aware of or simply do not have the inclination to bring their kids to these free reading sessions.
10. Talk to friends and family about steps 1-9 and encourage them to adopt as many as they can or would like to.
By adopting these or any other measure, if each of us make just a little impact on a few children during the course of a lifetime, and manage to encourage friends and family to do the same, we might actually be closer to creating a better, more literate world for our kids. Laughable? Maybe. Anyone who has ever tried to do any good, wonders at some point, “Will this really make a difference? Is this enough? A drop in the ocean!”
I’m no exception – I often wonder if these 30 minute reading or tutoring sessions will really have any impact on kids. Will those 30 minutes spent with books make a difference to the other countless hours spent away from them?
I’m not always convinced, but I have to believe that it does make a difference.
Studies show that even with a late start, children who are read to and who have a positive mentor or role model in their lives, have a better chance of going on to complete school and enroll in college and lead better, healthier, more fulfilling lives than their counterparts who don’t have the experience. When we remember that the idea, to start out with, is to get kids enthusiastic about and interested in reading, learning and books, and not so much about grades or instant improvement in academic results – we may begin to view things in perspective. So, remember – if you start today and read to a child, albeit an older child, once a day or week, by the end of the year he would have been read to 365 times. Or at least 52 times.
Which is way better than 0. No matter how old the kid is.
My husband has this weird benchmark when it comes to measuring anything – he says, look at it terms of a calendar year – 365 days. And pretty much like the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding whose solution to every problem is Windex, my husband’s answer to almost any frustration or problem is – give it a year and see how it turns out.
Me: I don’t think I like this new city. I want to go back. Him: Give it a year and then we’ll see.
Me: I’m sure this new project won’t work out. Him: Give it a year and then we’ll see.
Me: I’ll never be able to potty train M. It’s just impossible. Him: Why don’t we keep trying and check back in a year.
And sure enough, when I look back a year later, I’ve almost always managed to accomplish what I believed to be impossible 365 days ago. And at time, it seems ridiculous that I was ready to give up even before I had begun.
So, I’m thinking – Maybe, if we all worked at it, our little efforts and baby steps at spreading literacy and raising readers will pay off after all.
What do you think we can do to raise a generation of readers?
