I had a rocky start with reading. I was far more interested in being outside and building things than sitting down with books. In Grade 3 my lack of reading and writing skills was having a significant impact on my progression, so my parents built a points based program around those skills and helped me build those skills to a functional level. However the real watershed moment came in Grade 7 when I discovered, Terry Brooks Shannara series. I had never in my life seen a book that thick or gotten so lost in. story. I blasted through the whole series in a few months, resulting in a voracious appetite for books. This passion for reading guided me through my post secondary studies and a teaching career. To this day I usually have 2 or 3 books on the go at any given time.
When parents ask me what they can do to help their child my go to response is always read to them, read with them and make reading a part of your household. When your kids see you reading, it encourages them to read. Pick a book and read it with your kids. I am looking forward to my kids being old enough to enjoy reading with me great books like The Hobbit, Harry Potter, The Secret Garden….. The list is endless.
During these strange days I am constantly reminded of the joy of reading. The ability to pick up a novel and escape inside its pages for a few hours, is a gift that is only the turn of a page away.
