Humboldt Public School promoted reading on Sept. 8 by holding a wrap-up to summer reading.
Besides a handful of prizes for their students, every student got to take home a book.
As a reader myself, it is very encouraging to see kids reading. It’s also a great thing to provide kids with new and different things to read.
One book per student may not seem like much, but think about what students here are being offered compared to other communities who may not have the opportunity.
I love the fact that the school itself is promoting this and making reading a priority.
Without teacher and adult role models, what will become of literacy in children?
The Canadian Pediatric Society’s top three tips for promoting reading in children are: “read to your child; read with your children; and be a role model.”
When children see adults enjoying something they are more likely to join in.
Seeing a parent enjoying a book means that children are more likely to look at books in a positive light.
Reading at home and not just in the classroom has amazing benefits, according to the Scholastics report, Access to Books.
“Children who are read aloud to at home develop a stronger vocabulary, more background knowledge, better expressive and receptive language abilities and stronger phonological awareness and early literacy skills.”
I love reading because I get to escape to somewhere for a couple of hours. I get to enjoy a life outside of my own.
Reading non-fiction, I get to learn about new places and people that I can only meet in books rather than real life.
This may not be the same reason other people enjoy reading, and there is nothing wrong with that.
People need to read for the reasons that they want to read. Same goes for children.
If they like adventure, encourage them to read adventure books. If they want to pick up a comic book, do not discourage them. Why should things like magazines as well not count as valid reading material?
Read is reading.
Any kind of reading, whether inside the classroom or out, means that children are going to gain the valuable skills that reading builds, no matter what they read.
Promoting reading means making sure children are enjoying what they read, and that means reading something they can relate to. Whether it is comic books, magazines or thousand-page novels, no reading is bad reading.
