Z loves to read. So much so that she distracts herself with reading with every job and chore she faces. Inevitably, a 2 minute job of brushing her hair and teeth includes a chapter of Junie B. Jones, turning the 2 minute chore into a 10 minute one.
I can't believe my ears as I tell her several times each day: "No you cannot read right now, it is time to get ready for school. If you don't put that book down, you are going to find yourself in time out!"
A time out for reading? Crazy talk, yet I find myself struggling between the life lessons of a love for learning and the ability to manage her time wisely! My heart goes out to my parents for all the times that I disappeared at the bookstore with a good book, when I should have been filing the science fiction section. I don't regret the reading part though or skipping out on the work... hmm is there a pattern here? =)
I am thrilled Z loves to read and envy her ability to tune the world out as she settles into a good book. Does anyone have suggestions how to balance responsibilities and reading?
Z's teacher told me Z will begin a special reading program in the next few weeks. It is usually started in first grade but because she excels in reading, she will begin this year. She will select a book from a list of required reading and test on it each week, these points are accumulated throughout her time in elementary school. Reading chapter books will thrill Z to no end. No more "Mat sat on a rat" books for her!
Last Thursday, Z had student led conferences with me. Such a wonderful opportunity for her to show me all she's done this past year. A student led conference is where your child sits down with you in her classroom and presents her portfolio and shows you her evaluation of her reading, math, and behavior. Z practiced reading a Valentine's Day book for a few weeks to read to me. She showed me how to play Mickey Mouse Math using three circles and colored blocks. Finally she showed me her behavior checklist- it had a list of statements concerning behavior such as: I follow school rules. Next to each statement were three faces, a happy, neutral, or sad face for her to pick and color in. She of course did a wonderful job in each category, but my favorite was "I follow school rules." She had colored in the neutral face, erased it then colored in the happy face. I asked her about the change and she replied, "I love to swing on my stomach." While that may be a school rule, and it is important to follow the rules- if this is the extent of her rule breaking, I am in pretty good shape.
This is a very good problem to have. Both of my boys will grab a book and flip through the pages many times a day. Isaac can "read" some of them and will read them to Eric. I love when this happens! My house is always a mess these days. We clean up at night before bedtime and thats about it. Just remember if your kids can read they can do anything they set their minds to! And that includes cleaning for 15-20min. before they get invloved in a good book!
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