My Reading Journey
Introduction to Reading
My parents have always put an emphasis on reading. At least once a week when my dad got home from work, he would take my two younger siblings and I to the Haddonfield Public Library. It became a ritual for us - loading up, heading to the library, and selecting books for the week. Additionally, during the summers, we always participated in the library's summer reading program. One summer I even read the most books for my age group!
Before bed each night, my parents would lay in bed with me and read. We would read any and every book. We had an extensive collections of books on a dollhouse-esque bookshelf. My parents even kept some of their books from childhood and shared them with us!
I can vividly remember a time before I was able to read. My mom was reading to me before bed and I just kept staring at her mouth. I couldn't comprehend how her eyes were seeing the words on a page and how her mouth spoke those words. She asked why I wasn't looking at the book and all I remember was asking her how she was doing what she was doing. She told me soon enough I would be able to do the same thing!
Picture: Spring 2003
Learning to Read
My formal introduction to reading, like many others was through attending school. I learned to read quickly. It was something that just came easy to me. I could (and would) read nearly anything I could get my hands on. Before long, my parents laid in bed as I read to them. I would even read to my younger siblings and try to teach them how to read. There wasn't a specific technique to my reading - it was balanced. I remember in kindergarten identifying words we knew and then using phonetic breakdowns to read the words we didn't know. We spent time practicing the "th", "st", and "sh" sounding when reading. I can remember underlining and circling the sounds I knew letters made while in kindergarten then, when Mrs. Chism ended the day by giving us all a Happy Gram, any sounds or sight words were underlined or circled. Additionally, we spent a great deal of time writing and interacting with words, sounds, adn spelling. While picture books have always had my heart, I was able to start reading chapter books in first grade - my favorite being the Junie B. Jones series! My favorite subjects in school pertained to the humanities. I became an avid reader and writer with an immense quest for knowledge.
When I was in kindergarten, my parents noticed my love and achievements in reading, so on Saturday mornings they accompanied me to an extracurricular reading program. I spent my Saturday morning enhancing my reading skills. That experience allowed me to grow as a reader and become
fairly advanced compared to my peers at such a young age. During the school day, I enjoyed SSR (silent sustained reading) and group read alouds. I was fortunate enough to have teachers who truly valued reading and set aside ample time for reading in a variety of forms throughout the day. In fourth grade, my teacher Mrs. Goodwin introduced me to one of my favorite books -- Because of Winn-Dixie, which still sits on my bookshelf. I really appreciated hearing stories instead of always reading them myself.
I credit my parents for a great deal of learning how to read because they instilled the practice and eye-opening experiences before I headed to school. Once I was in school Mrs. Chism, my kindergarten teacher, and Mrs. Wagner, my first grade teacher, took the reins and gave me the tools to excel in the subject. The support of my parents and teachers changed my world as I became proficient in reading.
Pictures: Winter 2008, Kindergarten
