Looks Like We Got Us a Reader
Abbie’s reading habits are changing. I used to sit with her in the rocking chair and read book after book with titles like “My First Counting Book,” “My Little 123 Book,” “My First 123 Counting Book.” Usually I would grow bored long before she would, and off we would go to find another way to kill time before her next nap. Of course, this was when Abbie was powerless to move and express her displeasure, so maybe she was bored with the books too.
Now I don’t even bother with the rocking chair since her increased mobility means she can effectively squirm her way onto the floor when daddy bores her with a book. She’s old enough to know what she wants, or at least old enough to realize that she can do something more exciting than read whatever lame book daddy placed in front of her, so I just sit on the floor with her and read whatever she grabs. The advantage of this tactic is she takes control of what she reads, which teaches her decision-making. She decides which book she wants to read, she decides when she’s done with that book, and she decides which book to read next. Hopefully she will soon decide that she wants to leave the dishwasher alone while daddy is filling it instead of being scolded every time she reaches for a fork, or maybe she’ll decide that she wants to help daddy pick up the floor when he’s trying to vacuum instead of pulling every toy out of the box as fast as he can put it back in. The drawback to the sitting on the floor technique is I usually sit facing Abbie, forcing me to read the book upside down. This can lead to some dyslexic moments as I mix the order of letters and words.* Fortunately I have most of her books memorized, allowing me to fall back on memory if I have trouble reading since I know “seven houses” comes between “six hats” and “eight donuts.”
When I allow Abbie to decide what to ready, she usually elects to read the same book again; just flip it over, and it’s like a completely new book filled with pages to read again for the first time. To keep my sanity as I read the exact same thing for the 14,517th time (713th consecutive time) I have to let my mind wander to find new things to grab my attention. Some of the things I’ve noticed about her books are:
- One of her books misspells “weird” as “wierd.” I realize that all she concentrates mostly on the pictures while reading, but the first time she writes “wierd,” this book will be the first thing that comes to mind. How they could misspell “weird” when I have to fight Microsoft word to correctly type it incorrectly is beyond me. If her first choice of colleges rejects her, I may sue.
- I think the only reason that every child recognizes a xylophone is that it’s one of the only things that begin with “X.” As an adult, I‘ve rarely had to deal with xylophones, much less than apples, babies, and cats, yet almost every alphabet book that needs to show something beginning with “X” relies on the xylophone, or possibly the x-ray. One alphabet book cheats and uses objects that end in “X” (“fox,” “box,” “sux”). Creative uses aside, is it too much to find new words to introduce to children that begin with “X?” They could use “xanthan gum” and teach kids about processed foods. Or they could use “xiphoid process” to teach kids anatomy. Or they could use “xenon” to teach kids about chemicals. They’re missing tons of teaching opportunities.
- I applaud the efforts of the alphabet book I own that uses “vegetables” for “V.” Familiarizing children with vegetables can only lead to a reduction in their inherent hatred for vegetables. However, the vegetables they pictured are a yellow pepper, lettuce, tomatoes, squash, a mushroom, and cabbage. Correct me if I’m wrong, but by my count that’s technically three fruits, two vegetables, and a fungus. I’m having a hard enough time teaching her to talk that I don’t need some ignorant book teaching her the wrong word for a whole class of foods. I may need to dump “First ABC” in favor of “My Little ABC Book,” or possibly “My First ABC.”
* “The god eats food good.”
Now I don’t even bother with the rocking chair since her increased mobility means she can effectively squirm her way onto the floor when daddy bores her with a book. She’s old enough to know what she wants, or at least old enough to realize that she can do something more exciting than read whatever lame book daddy placed in front of her, so I just sit on the floor with her and read whatever she grabs. The advantage of this tactic is she takes control of what she reads, which teaches her decision-making. She decides which book she wants to read, she decides when she’s done with that book, and she decides which book to read next. Hopefully she will soon decide that she wants to leave the dishwasher alone while daddy is filling it instead of being scolded every time she reaches for a fork, or maybe she’ll decide that she wants to help daddy pick up the floor when he’s trying to vacuum instead of pulling every toy out of the box as fast as he can put it back in. The drawback to the sitting on the floor technique is I usually sit facing Abbie, forcing me to read the book upside down. This can lead to some dyslexic moments as I mix the order of letters and words.* Fortunately I have most of her books memorized, allowing me to fall back on memory if I have trouble reading since I know “seven houses” comes between “six hats” and “eight donuts.”
When I allow Abbie to decide what to ready, she usually elects to read the same book again; just flip it over, and it’s like a completely new book filled with pages to read again for the first time. To keep my sanity as I read the exact same thing for the 14,517th time (713th consecutive time) I have to let my mind wander to find new things to grab my attention. Some of the things I’ve noticed about her books are:
- One of her books misspells “weird” as “wierd.” I realize that all she concentrates mostly on the pictures while reading, but the first time she writes “wierd,” this book will be the first thing that comes to mind. How they could misspell “weird” when I have to fight Microsoft word to correctly type it incorrectly is beyond me. If her first choice of colleges rejects her, I may sue.
- I think the only reason that every child recognizes a xylophone is that it’s one of the only things that begin with “X.” As an adult, I‘ve rarely had to deal with xylophones, much less than apples, babies, and cats, yet almost every alphabet book that needs to show something beginning with “X” relies on the xylophone, or possibly the x-ray. One alphabet book cheats and uses objects that end in “X” (“fox,” “box,” “sux”). Creative uses aside, is it too much to find new words to introduce to children that begin with “X?” They could use “xanthan gum” and teach kids about processed foods. Or they could use “xiphoid process” to teach kids anatomy. Or they could use “xenon” to teach kids about chemicals. They’re missing tons of teaching opportunities.
- I applaud the efforts of the alphabet book I own that uses “vegetables” for “V.” Familiarizing children with vegetables can only lead to a reduction in their inherent hatred for vegetables. However, the vegetables they pictured are a yellow pepper, lettuce, tomatoes, squash, a mushroom, and cabbage. Correct me if I’m wrong, but by my count that’s technically three fruits, two vegetables, and a fungus. I’m having a hard enough time teaching her to talk that I don’t need some ignorant book teaching her the wrong word for a whole class of foods. I may need to dump “First ABC” in favor of “My Little ABC Book,” or possibly “My First ABC.”
* “The god eats food good.”
posted by Matt at
9:31 PM
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