Daily reading makes lifelong readers

Finding ways to make Dr. Seuss’ birthday celebration last all year long.

By: Erin Murphy Sanders
   Linda Michaels’ blue eyes sparkled as she reminisced about childhood summers spent lounging in the backyard with a book. She still remembers that "old book smell" in her small-town library and the librarian behind the counter who knew her by name.
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   Ms. Michaels is an avid reader and she’s determined to pass on that reading legacy to her three sons — Cody, 8; Chris, 11; and Cory 13. She continues to read with her sons even though most parents stop once their children become independent readers. Why?
   "Because my parents did it with us," she said. "My mother really encouraged us to read."
   The Michaels family, of Washington Township, practices what the National Education Association preaches through its annual Read Across America project.
   For the fourth consecutive year, schools and libraries across the country celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2, focusing attention on the joy of reading and the crucial role parents play in their children’s reading success.
   The NEA estimates that close to 35 millions children and adults participated this year. But what about the other 364 days of the year? How do you keep your child reading after the celebrity readers have left, the green eggs and ham are gone, and Dr. Seuss’ birthday candles are blown out?
   How do you make your child a reader for life? All the experts agree — read with your child daily and start early.
   "You should read to your child as early as you feel the child will pay attention," said Marilyn Fischer, children’s librarian at the Lawrence Branch of the Mercer County Library and coordinator of youth services librarians for the county system.
   "Just show them the pictures and talk about them. They don’t have to be stories."
   Ms. Michaels remembers that when her youngest child was an infant, she would pile all three boys in the bed to read. Only Cory, the eldest, attended school, but all three benefited. The routine of daily family reading sent a clear message: reading is important and fun.
   Ann Marie Ehrenberg, youth services librarian at the Washington Township Branch of the Mercer County Library, said it’s very important for parents to read to their children.
   "You can read as little as 10 minutes a day, depending on the age of the child," she said. "It gives them time to spend with you and gets them interested in books."
   She also encouraged parents to visit the library with their children.
   "If you introduce children to the library young enough and come in consistently, they become library users for life," Ms. Ehrenberg said.
   The Mercer County Library system strives to make those visits enjoyable through a variety of programs.
   Storytime programs, which include a story and an activity, are offered in the morning for toddlers and preschoolers and after school for children through fifth-grade. The popular summer reading program is offered annually to encourage reading for pleasure outside of school.
   When your child begins to read, you can start sharing the daily reading responsibility with them.
   "In order for children to learn how to read they have to have the opportunity to read," said Sandy Holmes, a basic skills teacher at Sharon School in Washington. "They have to practice those skills."
   Modifying television viewing in the household gives children the quiet time they need to read.
   "The important thing is to always end the reading activity on a successful note," Ms. Holmes said. "The child who feels successful reading will want to continue to read."
   Your work isn’t over when your child becomes an independent reader, Paul Kropp cautioned in his book "How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life." Instead, your role shifts from helping with the mechanics of reading to talking about the reading. Books become a launch pad for discussions of life, the universe and everything in between.
   He reports that between the ages of 9 and 15 children must increase their recognition vocabulary from 3,000 to 100,000 words and double their reading speed to 200 words a minute. Unfortunately, during this critical time two things can happen: children stop reading for pleasure and parents stop reading with their children.
   "What happens around fourth grade is these kids are so overloaded with homework and activities they don’t have time to read. It’s an effort," Ms. Ehrenberg said.
   What’s a parent to do?
   "Make reading as painless as possible," Ms. Fischer said. "Have newspapers and magazines coming into your home. Particularly the boys stop reading books but will read the sports pages in the newspaper, which is still reading.
   "Let them see you reading. Find out what they’re interested in and make suggestions. Encourage them to come to the library to read for pleasure, as opposed to seeing the library as only the place you go to for school work."
   If your child still can’t find something interesting to read, Ms. Fischer suggested they stop at the New Book Cart. With its assortment of fiction and non-fiction books in a wide variety of genres and subjects, there’s bound to be something to spark interest.
   "Let them pick out their own books," Mrs. Fischer said. "Don’t be concerned about the quality of the writing all the time. They don’t have to be classics."
   Young adult librarians, like Laura Gruninger at the Lawrence Branch of the Mercer County Library, are trying to get young teens back into the library. In addition to collecting youth-oriented magazines, software, CDs, videos, and popular paperback series, she develops programs.
   Participants in her Campout program, last summer, sat around a "campfire," listened to scary stories, and ate smores. Her Haunted Library program featured a horror film and a costume contest for the best literary character.
   Some question whether this is really promoting reading, but Ms. Gruninger said a lot of libraries are doing it.
   "It gets the kids into the library, and maybe they’ll take out a book or two," she said. "It also gets them in contact with other teens and lets me get familiar with them."
   The Michaels family schedules reading time around travel hockey, baseball and homework. Ms. Michaels admitted they’ve taken breaks from reading, but pick it up again as soon as they can. She warned, however, that it can be hard to get back into it.
   Since piling into bed and reading with Mom isn’t cool anymore, Ms. Michaels has adapted how she reads with her sons. And that’s not easy with three different reading levels and styles in the house. The schedule varies and she doesn’t always get to all three. Her philosophy, "Go with the flow."
   In the evening, she might start out reading a Magic Tree House chapter book with 8-year-old Cody. Cody is the baseball player in the family, though recently they read a hockey rulebook so he would understand the referee signals at his brothers’ games.
   Then she might check in with Chris, a fifth-grader, to discuss the book he’s reading. Chris prefers to read independently, though like many families, Ms. Michaels said they both enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books aloud.
   Her final stop for the evening is 13-year-old Cory. Skimming through his school textbooks helps her know what’s going on at school and gives them some common ground for discussion.
   Other times they might discuss a newspaper article. Not a bad thing, since as she pointed out, Cory will be a registered voter in four years.
   "Sometimes we get off the subject but at least it’s time together," she said.
   Your child can become a reader for life, but can’t do it alone. He needs your interest and your time. Why not use Dr. Seuss’ birthday, as an annual reminder to renew your commitment to reading with your child?