June 6: The Power of Reading

I stumbled upon this story from NPR today. It makes my heart smile!

The Muscle-Flexing, Mind-Blowing Book Girls Will Inherit the Earth

My very favorite part of the day is story time. Every night Aria and I snuggle in my bed to read stories. She rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her to hold the book, and we immerse ourselves in the words. We have done this since she was a baby when she had no idea what the words I was reading meant – only that my voice was soothing.

It is a sacred time to me. No electronics. No phones. No outside interference. We create a bliss-filled bubble in my bed where we focus on an unfolding saga. On being transported from our humble surroundings in Iowa to far away times and places. Favorites have been everything from Beatrix Potter’s tales to the Harry Potter series (which we read twice in a row – seriously – all 7 books and then repeated all 7 books).

There was a solid year when she was around 3 that we rarely read a book, but rather made them up. I’d start off with “Once upon a time” and we’d tag team the stories. How I wish I had thought to record them. Her imagination was boundless.

Aria loves reading. She can pick up a book and lose herself in it for hours at a time. She comes by this naturally. Her Gigi (great grandma) is a voracious reader, and it carries down through the generations.

With the school year ending, we got back a plethora of notebooks, papers and various pencil cases and used erasers. Her Iowa Tests of Basic Skills assessment came back also. It tells me that Aria’s reading skills (comprehension, vocab, linguistic skills, etc) are equivalent to a 12.6 grade level. I had to look it up to be sure I understood. She reads like a senior who just graduated high school. This just wowed me.

Her Math and Science scores were also off the charts, but the reading scores were the highest area. We do math work and lots of earth/science in our daily bread. We study rocks, do constant experiments, and even make baking into science class. I teach her to learn that art is something in our daily bread and not just in museums. I also want her to know science is everywhere. Math matters. I have her help count change at the grocer, or give her $10 and tell her to buy all the cat toys she can to donate to the local ARL. It's amazing how savvy she becomes quickly. I want learning to be a fun thing for her. I pray she has a life of it and never stops learning.

But mostly? Consistently? Every single day? The learning we commit to most? We read. We read and read. And then we reflect upon what we’ve read. We talk about what someone was thinking. What motivated them. What happened after the story ended. Who should play the heroine in the screen play. If we should write the screen play. We revel in the magic of the written word.

I am delighted to see that our passion for books is translating to success in school. I wish every child the joy of bedtime stories.

 Alicia Keys - Girl On Fire