Oh, The Places You'll Go
By: Regina Clark
When I became a mother my number one goal was to help my kids in any way that I can to be happy , healthy children and to be a contributing member of society when they grow up. I began reading to my daughter the first night I brought her home from the hospital. I read a little book full of nursery rhymes. It was at the end of the day. Just my baby and me in the rocking chair reading together.
It's been almost 15 years now. I read to her almost every night. Like most mothers I though she was the brightest child I had ever seen. She started picking out letters when she was 18 months old. She would say "there is a T, there is a B." One day we were playing in her room. She was 4 years old. She picked up a book and said, "I can ready this, Mommy." I said. "Ok read it." It was a book that we had not read before. She read it perfectly. I couldn't believe it. By the time she started Kindergarten she could read almost anything. This is not always a good thing. When she was 3, I had wrapped all the Christmas presents including the ones from Santa and put everything under the tree. One day she said, "Look mom, Santa has the same wrapping paper we do!" She had read all the name tags on the presents. No more presents under the tree from Santa.
When my daughter was 3, we gave her a little brother. Every child is unique and each has their own special abilities. My husband and I wondered if he would be as smart as we thought our daughter was, but we were not going to put any expectations on him. I read to him when I brought him home from the hospital. Just the same as my daughter he was picking out letters at an early age. He too could read anything before he went to Kindergarten. One day we were heading home and I said to my husband that the kids were good and I thought we should take them and get them a treat. Maybe we could go (as I spelled it out) to M-c-D-o-n-a-l-d-s. My son instantly got excited and shouted, "We get to go to McDonald's! Okay-now we can't spell anything in front of them.
These days there are sophisticated reading systems such as the one I saw at our BabyTime Expo "Your Baby Can Read". Systems like this teach kids word recognition as early as 3 months old. The most important part is your interaction with your child. As I remember those early days I can't help but feel a little sad that they don't need bedtime stories anymore. But I wouldn't trade those precious moments in the rocking chair reading to my babies for anything. I hope that by giving them the gift of loving to read, that they will continue to have happy, healthy lives and grow up to become contributing members of society. Reading to your child is a gift that you can give from the heart. The only cost is a little of your time. It could make a world of difference to your child. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite authors:
The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
- Dr. Suess, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"
When I became a mother my number one goal was to help my kids in any way that I can to be happy , healthy children and to be a contributing member of society when they grow up. I began reading to my daughter the first night I brought her home from the hospital. I read a little book full of nursery rhymes. It was at the end of the day. Just my baby and me in the rocking chair reading together.
It's been almost 15 years now. I read to her almost every night. Like most mothers I though she was the brightest child I had ever seen. She started picking out letters when she was 18 months old. She would say "there is a T, there is a B." One day we were playing in her room. She was 4 years old. She picked up a book and said, "I can ready this, Mommy." I said. "Ok read it." It was a book that we had not read before. She read it perfectly. I couldn't believe it. By the time she started Kindergarten she could read almost anything. This is not always a good thing. When she was 3, I had wrapped all the Christmas presents including the ones from Santa and put everything under the tree. One day she said, "Look mom, Santa has the same wrapping paper we do!" She had read all the name tags on the presents. No more presents under the tree from Santa.
When my daughter was 3, we gave her a little brother. Every child is unique and each has their own special abilities. My husband and I wondered if he would be as smart as we thought our daughter was, but we were not going to put any expectations on him. I read to him when I brought him home from the hospital. Just the same as my daughter he was picking out letters at an early age. He too could read anything before he went to Kindergarten. One day we were heading home and I said to my husband that the kids were good and I thought we should take them and get them a treat. Maybe we could go (as I spelled it out) to M-c-D-o-n-a-l-d-s. My son instantly got excited and shouted, "We get to go to McDonald's! Okay-now we can't spell anything in front of them.
These days there are sophisticated reading systems such as the one I saw at our BabyTime Expo "Your Baby Can Read". Systems like this teach kids word recognition as early as 3 months old. The most important part is your interaction with your child. As I remember those early days I can't help but feel a little sad that they don't need bedtime stories anymore. But I wouldn't trade those precious moments in the rocking chair reading to my babies for anything. I hope that by giving them the gift of loving to read, that they will continue to have happy, healthy lives and grow up to become contributing members of society. Reading to your child is a gift that you can give from the heart. The only cost is a little of your time. It could make a world of difference to your child. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite authors:
The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
- Dr. Suess, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"
Labels: BabyTime Expo, Dr. Suess, reading to my daughter
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