What I learned from my children about reading...

I was listening to Stuart McLean yesterday, who I just love, and he was doing a Mother's Day show.   Telling the story of a daughter who taught her mother to read, he said: "A good parent teaches their children the necessary skills to get through life.  A great parent learns from their children."  I thought about how much I love to read and how I hope to translate that to my little boys.  But then I consider what I had already learned from them about reading in their short little lives.  In honour of mother's day, and parents everywhere, this is what I have learned about reading from my children.

Most stories are better if you let someone else tell them.  I'm pretty used to reading in my head and figured this method was the best way to really 'hear' a book.  But as A will bring me book after book and will bring book after book to his grandparents and friends, I started to consider that maybe it much better to have someone else give you their spin on a story.  Then the other person is in control of pace, tone and experience.  And although control is nice to have, it is also good to give up and let someone else guide you through a book.  Easy enough to do with Audio books and friends -- just take a minute a listen.  

Some stories are better when you hear them more than once (and others are not).  Kids books vary greatly in quality--I definitely have some favourites among A & D's collection--and usually I hope those are the ones that get chosen to read.  However, I'm not always that lucky.  Sometimes A chooses the really boring ones or the ones with questionable teachings.  But then there are others, really really simply ones, that you can read a myriad of different ways and with different voices.  There seems to be something good about coming back to books that have lots to them (even if written very simply).  I have learned from A that most likely I haven't gotten everything from a book by reading it once.  If something seems to hold more, it likely does.  And it can be worth coming back to.

Books are better in community.  My little guys love to read with us, or with anyone, for that matter.  And knowing how much they love those moments of sharing a story reminds me to read in community with others.  That is one reason I write this blog -- to foster some small community around reading.  Because I certainly don't have any more expertise to offer than anyone else and it is so good to hear many voices.  That's why I love book club and why I love hearing what others are reading whether it is good, bad or in between.  

I hope to keep learning from my little ones.  Happy Mother's Day!