When Their Love of Reading Blossoms

As a homeschooling Mom, I don't know if there is anything that touches my heart more than when my children learn to read and then eventually find their love for reading. I don't know what it is about reading that touches me so much, perhaps it is because reading is the backbone for everything else. You can't learn if you can't read.

I remember when my oldest who is now 10 discovered the joy of independent reading. It seemed like overnight he went from not picking up a book on his own to devouring everything he could get his hands on. I remember scrambling to find him books that were appropriate and on his reading level. Fortunately at that time he wasn't picky about which books he read, every subject and story line interested him.

Then along came my next son. He was my early reader so I thought for sure he would always have the love and curiosity for learning that he showed at such a young age. Just goes to show though that you can never assume anything, especially when it comes to your children. Reading has always been easy for "A" but he has never just picked up a book and started reading all on his own. Sure he will pull a picture book off of the shelf or thumb through a picture filed science book but to read a book from cover to cover all on his own hasn't ever happened. Well, I should say it hasn't happened up until very recently.

Shortly before Christmas I was in the schoolroom and found a few fiction books in a series with a science theme. The basis of the books is fiction but sprinkled throughout the story line are non-fiction facts about various animals. I showed these to "A" and he showed some interest in reading them. So we sat down together and he read a few pages here and there to me. Only later did I find out that he was also reading these books before bedtime. Each book is about 100 pages with 10 or so chapters. Once I realized I might be on to something with the science themed chapter books I set out to find another series that he might enjoy. Early chapter books with a science theme are far from common unfortunately. But I did stumble upon one series I thought he might enjoy so I ordered the first box set as a Christmas gift. Thankfully he loves them!

But I digress, what I want to stress here is the moment when you see your child reading all on his own, without your prompting, when he could otherwise be off playing and rough housing. That moment for me happened this morning. I was sitting on the couch feeding one of my twins when I looked in the kitchen and saw my son sitting at the kitchen table, knees to his chest with his nose in one of the new books I bought for him. I couldn't stop from staring. Finally I was witnessing an event that for a long time I thought would never happen. "A" had discovered his love for learning and it can only grow from here. After he was done reading his chapter he came and sat next to me on the couch and read another chapter to me out loud. My heart could not have swelled any bigger at that moment.

I am thrilled that finally together he and I discovered the key to unlocking his love for reading. Some kids will only read books on certain subjects. If the book subject does not interest them then they will have no interest in reading it thus preventing them from discovering their own love for reading. As I mentioned earlier my oldest was far from picky in the books he chose to read, any subject was fair game with him and he loved them all equally. Once I realized my next son was only excited about reading certain subjects I was a Mom on a mission. Thankfully I have succeeded in at least the early stages of my mission and prayerfully his love for reading will only continue to grow and blossom.