Last week, schools in our country celebrated Read Across America Week, which recognizes the legacy of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), on the anniversary of his birth, March 2. Its purpose is to promote a love of reading. Last Monday, St. Michael's School students on North Campus dressed up in character, as they delved into their favorite stories
Research strongly identifies reading as the primary indicator of solid cognitive development and a love of learning. Children who read every day increase their vocabulary exponentially, they recognize and use complex sentence structures, they develop empathy by relating to diverse characters, and they have a better understanding of the world.
As children get older, they become more involved in extracurricular activities, such as sports, music, and scouts, for example. Each of these activities is extremely important in developing the whole child, but unfortunately, time is limited and reading for pleasure often ends up taking a back seat. New students in grades 5-8, who wish to enroll at St. Michael's School, must participate in an interview with the Principal prior to consideration. I have just concluded the bulk of the new student interviews, and one of the questions I ask prospective students is "What is your favorite book, author, series, or genre, and why?" Sadly, most of the students I interviewed could not identify a book or genre they liked, while they were very articulate about their extracurricular activities. Perhaps our current students would be able to answer my question - I would like to think so.
Finding time and balance in life is a challenge for all of us, but I encourage you, especially during the Season of Lent, to try to find some quiet time as a family every day and read together. When parents model reading, children are much more likely to get on board. For reluctant readers, you might need to partner read (you read a page, they read a page), or help them find a topic (sports) or genre (fantasy) that interests them. If you start these habits early, your children will certainly reap the rewards. The added benefit is that you might enjoy the downtime as well.
Happy Reading!
In Mission, Kathy