Reading in the Wild has been in my pre-order cart at Amazon for months. I read Donalyn Miller's first book, The Book Whisperer, years ago and it changed how I encourage my children to read. Even though I'm not in the classroom as a teacher at the moment, I have the same struggles with my own children trying to get them to read as I did with certain students in my classroom. Because of The Book Whisperer, I increased the amount of kid-lit I read. I always read a lot of children's books, but now I am reading with my own children in mind. I read books I think might interest my boys and then I pass the books on to them. I read books I think might interest my girls and then pass the books on to them. I was talking to Molly's assistant principal last week and she told me she was talking to Molly's class about reading. They were talking about how they select books. Molly's responded, "My mom reads a lot of books and recommends books to me. Sometimes, I look at the cover and think I won't like it, but once I get into it, I find out that it was really a good book. My mom was right." Ahhh, "my mom was right," that is ear candy to a mom!
In the beginning of Reading in the Wild, Donalyn Miller talks about dedicating time to reading. She gives her students a reading itinerary to keep track of where they read. She wants her students to start thinking about stealing pockets of time to read. Adult "Wild Readers" that responded to her survey said that they read for more than four hours a week and some read up to twenty hours. "Wild readers don't have more hours in the day than other people, so how do they find the time? It turns out that they read in the edge time, snatch a few minutes of reading time between appointments, while waiting for their children during dance practice or before falling asleep at night. Life is full of wasted moments in between our daily commitments."
Hmmm, the "edge of time," reading on the edge, I loved this phrase. I visit Molly's class on Thursdays and for one week they are keeping track of where they read. I told them that everywhere counts. I told them that I always have a book with me. I read while I wait for Shannon to finish with soccer practice, I read while I wait for the boys to finish with basketball practice, I read at the orthodontist office, I read in carline to pick-up Molly. I read on the "edge" of all the other activities that are written in my family planner.
"On the edge," this phrase really stuck with me...and then I thought of Lady Gaga's song "Edge of Glory." A few weeks ago, I read Mr. Tiger Goes Wild and Carnivores to Molly's class. We then read Katy Perry's lyrics to Roar and then we sang and we sang and we roared! Both books and the song are all about being yourself, standing-up for what you believe in, and it's okay not to follow the crowd all the time. The kids loved it! So now I'm thinking, maybe we should sing again. Even though "Edge of Glory" is about her grandfather's death, I think we can sing about being on the edge of reading. We will talk about their reading itineraries, we will discuss their favorite places to read, we will think about opportunities for them to steal some time on the "edge" of their busy lives to read, The Edge of Reading!
Where do you read? Are you a wild reader? Do you read on the edge?
Timmy reading…uh, sleeping, in my bed.
Ryan in my bed.
My mom on a visit this past March. I think it was the one snow "storm" we got all winter.
Molly sitting on the floor of the study by the window.
Not sure why Timmy decided to read on the kitchen floor?
At the pool.
At the beach.
Molly reading at Grandma's house before going to the beach. This was my childhood bedroom.
Reading during Molly's gymnastic class.
Molly reading in a shopping cart after gymnastics class.
Another shopping cart read. I bought Molly this magazine because she has an interest in everything British.
Molly at Shannon's soccer game.
Another soccer game, it was really hot that day.
On this day, Molly had bought some books from the school book fair. She ran outside to her favorite reading tree.
Went to kiss Molly goodnight and found her in bed reading, seriously, this is how I found her.
Even Elizabeth, our cat, likes to read. She is a WILD READER!
The Molly and Mommy Mega Mania Miraculous Magical Read Aloud: Day 44
Books Completed 5
We finished Beryl a Pigs Tale and we are now reading Chains.
And to all my Sanders Corner friends, don't forget the book fair is this week.
I know I'll walk out with more tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment