My co department chair and I are planning a Parent Coffee at our local Barnes and Noble in October. The topic is going to be on How to Motivate Your Reluctant Reader. Unfortunately, I can relate to this because my two very active boys do not necessarily embrace reading. While they love being read to (and we do that a lot) they can't stand sitting down and reading a book on their own. My husband and I are both avid readers so our modeling obviously hasn't worked. I am always searching for books for my almost 8 year old to read on his own. I hit gold this week when I found a Spongebob joke book. He has been reading and giggling all week. He will also occasionally read a few pages of Diary of a Wimpy Kid but it's really hard for him to get into "the zone" as Nancy Atwell, my hero, would say.
I pray he has a second grade teacher next year who really sets that flame burning and inspires him to WANT to read on his own. Teachers play such an important role in their students lives. My students absolutely love when I have read a book they are reading and I can discuss it with them on their level. They think that I am actually a person and not just a teacher. My hope with the parent coffee is to give them some pretty grim statistics
(thank you The High-Tech Teacher) and hopefully show them amazing books they can not only get for their kids but also read with their kids to inspire them to read!
If you have not read The Reading Promise, I highly suggest it. Not only is it an amazingly sweet story, it will really make you see how important reading aloud to your children continues to be even as they get older.
I am off to go work on my classroom for a few hours! Shamelessly, I have bribed my 14 year old sister and her friend with Chic Fila and Starbucks to come help me! My hope is to at least get my chairs and desks in order! Baby steps!
:)
P
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