Friday's Quote: Barack Obama

 

Image Credit: QuoteFancy

Since the beginning of this year, I've been reading with my younger sister's two youngest sons. She had complained (again) that her boys were behind in reading, especially her youngest. I had tried giving her several solutions before, but she either didn't implement them or it didn't work. If you're wondering why my sister (and her husband) don't read with their sons, all I can say (without judgment and in all honesty) is that they're lazy. My nephews are pre-teens and they would've already done it if they had wanted to.

So, I proposed a solution, in which I was part of the solution. Every weeknight, I call them on Google Duo and I read with each boy for 20 minutes (click here you want to know why 20 minutes per day is important) on Epic, a book app (yes, I pay for the app too).  Some days, the 40 minutes pass quickly and some days it's a chore. There have been days where I had to skip (like earlier in the month when my children had norovirus/rotavirus and I caught it from them) because my children or I was too sick. Overall, I've been consistent in showing up and so have they. With the oldest, I've been trying to teach him to read more slowly and to pay attention to what he's reading. With the youngest, I've been trying to work him up to word recognition/sight words and reading fluency (he's not a first grader, but he isn't reading at a first grader's level). I'm noticing the biggest changes with my younger nephew because his reading fluency has actually improved. This arrangement (thanks to today's technology) will probably continue into the summer.

Why am I doing all of this? Because I love my nephews and they deserve more (even if they hate reading with me and don't understand the power of literacy). Because I believe in the power of reading and the power of books to transform one's life. Because reading is a gateway into learning about other things and opening one's eyes/mind to something bigger. So, I will continue to read with my nephews and we'll see how this goes.

So, how are you doing? What is going on in your world?