A Love of Reading

My firstborn loves to read and be read to. And it makes me SO happy. The teacher in me cheers every time I hear him reading a book over the montior after he wakes up in the morning, or when he brings me a book and asks me to read to him, or when he tries to read to or show Austin a book, and when he gets excited about going to the library. It really is music to this teacher turned stay-at-home mama's ears. A love of reading is a huge indictator of future success with reading in school-age children. Especially boys. Boys need to find enjoyment in reading so that they'll slow down long enough to read.

We started reading to Garrison before naps and bedtime when he was 4 or 5 months old. And that's all it took. Reading aloud to him on a regular basis instilled a love of reading and an enjoyment of books and stories and pictures and all things new. So we've started reading aloud to Austin too. It's true that you can never start too early. (Plus I am oh so sensitive about my baby boy and determined to "provide" for him in the same way I did/do for Garrison.)

Reading has had such a positive impact on Garrison... his vocabulary, memorization, comprehension and ability to recall events/facts/details. Plus our board books have played a big role in him learning his colors, letters, numbers, shapes, etc.

Which means I'm now slightly obsessing over making sure Austin loves books and being read to as well. Which means I'm trying my best to make sure we're reading aloud to him a few times a day, or at least giving him a cloth book to play with and put in his mouth. Ha! And, since the boys and I spend most of our days together and Garrison is at an age in which he needs to be engaged in something all the time or he'll get into trouble (or just get bored and drive me crazy), I've enlisted the help of big brother. Because big brother is an expert on books and "reading".

He loves reading/retelling stories from his Bible

He loves reading to Austin in his lap (Okay so that only happend once. Ausin is too heavy mama!)

Being scholarly and reading books at the library

Showing Austin a book and "reading" to him

Reading with a flashlight at bedtime

And reading to Austin in the kitchen while I cook

Sometimes I let myself feel really guilty about not spending/having enough one-on-one time with Austin. I wonder if he'll get all the instruction and learning opportunities I provided for Garrison. I actually let myself stress over things like whether he'll love to read or not. But then I think about the opportunities he's provided with as the second child. The interactions he has with a big brother who's willing to take the time to read to him and show him different books. The example he has in seeing Garrison do different things, like reading or looking at pictures in a book. And I relax a little. Baby boy is going to be just fine. A love of reading is slowly but surely being established. And he's only 6 months old. I think it's okay to not obsess over it at this point.