The Love Of Reading...

There was a time when birthdays were celebrated with wrapped up story books and comics. Today, we have replaced them with action figures, Barbie dolls and play station games. “That is what our children want. It’s their happiness that matters.” Quite right I suppose. Their wish list is our top priority.

This however, does not take away the necessity to read. To be aware and  informed. Creating a love for reading books, appears as a gigantic task, but in reality, it’s quite simple.

Introducing your two year old to a colourful picture book is a start. One word identification is thrilling for the child and quite an achievement in reality. Having a special shelf or book rack to keep the books is taking it a step further, inculcating good book handling skills. It’s always a good idea to begin with one book. You will notice that the child will learn to recognize the matter faster in comparison to having many books to share. Once the target language has been conquered, you can go buy a new one.

The process of purchasing books should never come to a standstill as that can take away the interest. Infact as the child becomes older, the bookstore visits should be together. Books can actually help design the working of your child’s thoughts to your benefit. When I was going to have my second baby, I took my son along who was four and a half, to buy him a book. We had a good look and my eyes fell upon a beautiful simple storybook called, “Our new Baby” by Egmont Children’s Books Limited. I browsed through it and immediately decided to buy it. It was the story of a 2 year old girl whose mum was going to have a second baby. And while sharing this story with my son, I actually learnt a lot about what to encounter in the coming days. It related the importance of involving the child in the preparations for the new arrival. It spoke of changes that happen when the baby comes home, purely from the perspective of a child. I used to read him the book everyday and indirectly prepared him well for the event that would otherwise be quite difficult to digest. I was amazed at his understanding of routines that followed and the way he played his role in the whole process. The story had really educated him well.

While teaching I often came across children whose parents complained that their child had no liking for a book. They were ready to purchase the books but it was a useless effort as they were mostly found covered with dust. These were parents who had missed the opportunity to begin early. No hope was lost as I would always be ready to take the pains to come up with a plan for the birth of such an important habit.

And so I came up with the ‘10 minute morning news clips’ to share. I asked the children to go home and at the end of the day, cut out one good news and one bad news from the newspaper and carry it to the school the next day to share. The next day, we shared the good news about more educational institutions being built in Bangladesh, and some bad news in the form of people setting an effigy ablaze in Egypt showcasing an act of hatred. Along with the reading, we successfully engaged in constructive debates and slowly became familiarized with the design of a newspaper. It was a daily ritual and the true reward came in the form of the feedback the parents gave where they informed me about the debates that their children were having with them at their breakfast tables and the sense of inquiry that had lead them to buy a few encyclopaedias.

The love of reading must also arise from realistic expectations. When you buy a book for your child, do not expect him/her to immediately read through. They may have appeared very enthusiastic at the shop, but the burden to read through can kill the thrill for a while. This should not get you to label it as a waste of money or time. Just like we play with our children to teach them about toys and their working, similarly, we need to sit with our children to teach them about books and book reading.

I used to have my reading class with my grade 2’s every week. The ORT (Oxford Reading Tree) series was quite popular with the children. They loved the characters, as I had drawn, cut and pasted them in my reading corner which I had created with a mat and a few books in the class room. They gathered every week to discover a new story. The fresh vocabulary would already be lying there on flashcards for everyone to share and determine the meanings before the reading began. I knew that the first reading of the story would be a distracted one with so many new pictures to look at. So I planned my lesson understanding this natural tendency in young readers. We would all take up the challenge to create what we thought the story would be all about by just looking at the pictures. The students covered the text with their hands and we constructed a story based on the clues we determined through the illustrations. Once the excitement of the pictures had settled, we had a serious reading session. I realized that the students had their complete concentration on the story this time as they were anxious to find out if the actual happenings  in the story matched with their conclusions. It was a successful method that was aimed at accomodating their inclinations and likings in reading and at the same time built the focus needed to read a book.

Sometimes it is also a good idea to encourage your child to create his/her own story book. You can set a good example by creating one yourself. Think of characters together, themes to follow and some fun action to make the story interesting. Keep it short accompanied by lots of pictures. Staple the pages together to give it a physical appearance. With a little more effort, you both could actually create a complete series of story books that you could boast about. Through this process, you will observe that your child will not only become literate about the structure and outline of a story but he will also read it many times feeling a sense of achievement. These are small ways in which we as parents and teachers can give birth to the love of reading books and appreciating this craft.

And while it’s quite evident that there is no super hero like Iron Man, or nothing more delightful than a weekend with a new play station game, it is no excuse to eliminate the very need to sometimes walk them into a bookstore and buy them a story to share.

Today, my children love to buy books. Sometimes, they follow it up seriously while at other times it’s only about increasing the volume of their collections. But each time, I allow them to indulge in this activity because I know the importance and relevance of this habit that will create a sense of inquiry and also the ability to interpret and comprehend well. The more you read, the greater the exposure, whether to language or life itself.