Learning to love to read

Its finally happened, Caleb has engaged in a book! Caleb is an awesome reader - he is reading 3 grade levels above his own and has awesome comprehension. The only problem was, every book he read was like reading an encyclopedia for him. There was no emotion involved. He could read one book one day for reading homework and then the next day choose a whole other book. He wasn't engaging in stories and it seriously has made my heart break.

I don't read as much now as I would like but as a child and young adult I was an avid reader. I learned so much from books. They take you to places you cant travel to and teach you new words and customs. They really are the best education a person can find. I really want my children to feel that same passion and its been a killer to have such a great reader who couldn't have cared less.

I finally had the inspiration to allow him to read into the night for a while after the other boys have gone to bed. Ive always resisted allowing them to read in bed at night because it inevitably turns into playtime. Plus Caleb takes so long to fall asleep normally that the few times we did try it, he stayed up even longer into the night. Now I have him reading in the playroom chair and not only has it helped him look forward to reading but he is also going to sleep so much faster!

And what you may wonder was the magical book that made it happen....Harry Potter of course. There is something magical about Harry Potter. I'm not sure why but whenever something in my life has gone terribly wrong, I read them again. I escape into the magical world of Hogwarts and enjoy the struggle of good verses evil and the joy of triumph in the end. It might be cheesy and childish but I LOVE them and I can see Caleb does too and it makes me so happy. Even my Mom had a little bit of this. When she was sick she started them over again and was in the middle of book 4 when she passed away. I continued to reading them thought the end when I got home.

Seriously this Alan Rickman quote sums it up for me...

I feel the same way (even if I didn't play Professor Snape in the movies). There just has never been a seres that touched my heart in quite the same way.

I cant wait for all of the adventures that Caleb is about to embark on. What a glorious opportunity to have books and an imagination!