and my daughter hates to read.† How can that be possible?† In what world can I have a child who doesn’t devour reading?† I have read to her her entire life.† I still read to her.† EVERYDAY….
She loves stories, she loves words.† She loves to create words and stories and plays.† But give her a book to sit down and read…ain’t gonna† happen.† Last spring and summer I was adamant that she would read all Harry Potter books.† I even got the audio books for her to follow along because lets face it, HP are some LONG books.† She has always loved Harry Potter.† Loved the movies, loved the stories.† When the final book came out, she won 1st place at BAM for her costume.† What did she win you ask?† A copy of “Deathly Hallows”.
You should have heard her when I made her read everyday.† “I hate Harry Potter” “These are the dumbest books ever”† “I wish J.K. Rawlings had never written these dumb books.”
She actually made it to book 5 when I just said, “Forget it!”.
She reads now, when I make her, when I threaten her with something that is important to her.† My visions of her curled up reading and petting her dog have slowly diminished over time.
I have friends who read all the time and say they didn’t love to read as a child.† So I am hopeful.
How can she live in a world where there is she has never “been a resident of Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County, hunted the white whale aboard the Pequod, fought alongside Napoleon, sailed a raft with Huck and Jim, committed absurdities with Ignatius J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina, and strolled down Swann’s Way.” ~Quote from Rory Gilmore’s graduation speech.
But I am still reading to her everyday, and we listen to books on tape constantly.† We keep checking out tons of books that she thinks look interesting but never get opened and I will keep making her read and one day, I hope, she will understand the wonder of books….
That being said, we† had a good week.† Kei is having practice 3 days a week and that is taking up a lot of time.† She loves plays…she LOVES plays.† She would practice 7 days a week for hours.† This is her biggest role to date and she is having so much fun with it.† She also loves the fact that one of her BFF’s is in the play too.
These pictures are horrible, bad lighting and phone camera.† But here she is, with Cruella and her sidekick Jasper.† She loves playing the ‘bad guy’.
We are still studying the Greeks.† We may never leave!† Kei put on a puppet show about Zeus, Poseiden, Hades, Hera, Ares and more.† It was hysterical!
We found this really fun link.
She has known most of the capitals and states since she was 9 but now I am giving her blank maps and she has to fill in the states and capitals and SPELL them correctly. That is the challenge. 😉
This past weekend we went to see “Godspell” and it was AWESOME!!!† Bethel University, which was who had the summer camp Kei went to, performed it.† Kei got to see all her counselors and we both loved it.†† I was blown away by these talented kids.
Kei did some drawing.† I loved these 2 drawing of cats.† Of course Nomad decided he liked the Valentine cat and ate it!
Kei is trying to teach Nomad to clean.† I think she has visions of no more cleaning her room! *Disclaimer- no dogs were hurt in the taking of this picture!
We had Skate Day…complete with Valentine Boxes, cards, fun, laughter and candy.
And anyone guess what this is?
A good week, a simple week…a week filled with joy and laughter and learning.† What could be better?
Happy weekend,
Karen
ìThe world’s a theater, the earth a stage, Which God and nature do with actors fillî ~Proverb
*Answer: Nomad DESTROYED one of our pillows.† This is Kei wearing the stuffing.† Silly girl..silly dog..
I wouldn’t worry too much about her liking to read. With some children, it goes in cycles.
Visiting from HSbloggers yahoo group. My DS8 disliked reading until he started reading Hank The Cow Dog. He enjoys being read to and reading out loud though. I have a thought for your worries though. You have that wonderful quote about Kei living in a world where there is no sailing with Huck and Tom or no sad trains with Anna Karenina or walking down Swann’s Way. Have you ever thought she has found something even better? She is an actress, she actually gets to live those stories! That is such a spectaular gift in itself. She will be more than just a reader of these great stories, by acting she will have so many chances to belong to those worlds which we voracious readers can only dream of finding. Enjoy her gift, tell her the stories and let her make them real in her own way! (I know how you feel though, as I love to read and my boys loathe to pick up a book most days)
Take heart! None of my four children particularly liked reading until their teens. …and then it was touch and go for a while. I still read to my 10 and 13 year olds, while they do map-work, fold laundry or unload the dishwasher (any mindless activity) My 10 year old is still not thrilled with reading BY HERSELF. She would tell you that it’s just more fun when mom reads with her! She likes to read OUT-LOUD because then we are enjoying the book together. My 13 year old JUST NOW likes reading. My two older kids took longer! The book that got my 13 year old hooked is called SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT by Derek Landy. I take the girls to the library and tell them, “You have to read SOMETHING, chose four or five books that look promising.” LOL A tactic that worked with my son was reading a few chapters in a book, and just when it got exciting, I refused to read further. He picked it up and the rest was history! (That was THE MAGICIAN’s NEPHEW, by C.S. Lewis) After that, the first book he enjoyed on his own was ERAGON, by by Christopher Paolini. Kei looks like she is impersonating a marshmallow. 😉
Thank you so much to everyone who commented.
Karisma: I have bought her plays to read, graphic comics, you name it. The thing is, I truly believe there are 3 kinds of people in the world: people who read, people who hate to read and READERS. I am a READER. I must have a book at all times. I so wanted Kei to be a reader, not just someone who would read if made to.
Ami: I love your take on it. She does love to learn and I know it doesn’t mean she isn’t intelligent.
Helena: Please email me any books you think she may like. I constantly search for books that others have read and loved but our goofy library never has anything! I wish you could come to her play too! What a wonderful time we would have!! You know if you go to http://www.antipodemap.com/ and pick Australia and Northern Alabama…we are not that far apart. Maybe the kids should get to work on digging their way through!
Not everyone loves to read.
And it’s NOT tied to intelligence, either.
It’s obvious that she’s learning all kinds of things and having a blast with it.
I know it’s not easy to let go of this one, but I think it’s fine that she doesn’t love to read.
Because she loves to learn. And loves life.
Ah, Kei looks so completely in her element on that stage! Wow. I especially love the one where she’s gesturing to Cruella. I so so wish I could see her in the show! What’s up with Alabama and Australia being so far apart, anyway?? Who’s idea was that?! 🙂
I’ve been thinking a lot about Kei not loving to read books. It sounds like she loves words, loves being read to, loves audio books, loves plays, loves learning, loves discovering, loves writing her ideas downÖ Which makes her a reader in her own way, and a learner/absorber/life-embracer/seize-the-day-er! That’s awesome. Perhaps one day, a book will pop out and surprise her and love will appear. Or it won’t. But she’ll still have words, all around, sifting in, filling her with ideas and dreams. Which makes me feel so glad for her, and for you both!
That being said, I have so many ideas for books she might like! And I wish she was here, right now, so we could talk about words, the universe, and everything together and I wish she could come to writers workshop and I wish she and my boy could talk ideas and books and I wish she and my girl could talk about Webkinz and more, and I wish you and I could hang out and chatÖand I have to say, AGAIN, what’s up with Alabama and Australia being so far apart???
My son hates reading as well. He’ll listen to audio books all day long, but when I tell him to read them, he freaks. We LOVE Hank the cowdog CDs, but to read them, is a chore. (sigh) These kids are the reason we’re getting gray hairs. 🙂
A fairy floss snowgirl? hehe! Very cute. I love those cat drawings! As for the reading, my husband does not read anything that is not technical or “work” related. He never has. I love reading fiction! One of my girls was not much of a reader when she was young but reads now. I guess it depends on interest. The one who read the most was the one who took the longest to learn to read. Odd. Have you tried just letting her read books she is interested in? Like History books or even plays instead of stories? If she loves plays she might enjoy them more. My 13 year old does not like reading novels. He refuses to read Harry Potter as the book is too thick! Go figure. He will read short chapter books or comic books only. Anywho, reading aside, she looks like she is learning plenty and having a lot of fun to boot! Keep smiling lovely! Hugs and smoochies xoxox
Phyllis, Thank you for saying that. I am hoping she will grow into it!
Theresa: you are absolutely right. I know different people have different interests and talents but I did so want her to love to read. I think it is because I can not imagine my life without it. Thanks for the words I need to hear.
I love your weeks. If it makes you feel any better I have a couple myself. None of my kids really like to read. Not like my husband and I. It is sad, but I keep plugging away and filling up their lives with as much of a literary life as I can.
My girls may love to read, but they are NOT athletic. I beg them to go to soccer. I used to literally carry Allie out to the car for gymnastics or dance, she would be kicking and screaming. Finally, I just said, Why am I doing this? She is not this kind of kid. Even if I want her to have memories of being on a team, even if I think being part of a team is important. She won’t do it. Same with performances. They ultimately DID get on stage, but it was not easy. Even at co-op, it took me persuading them to get them to perform in front of an audience. They would be very happy to never leave the house. You would think they would JUMP at the opportunity to go to homeschool swim or skate…not really, they drag their feet, ask if we have to…they would rather stay home and read or make a video or write a story or play dolls or draw or create with clay or make jewelry. I make them go to choir and co-op and homeschool swim and field trips because socialization is important. And I need to socialize with other moms. They are fine in a social setting, they even seem to enjoy it, but they would be just as happy at home.
I wish my girls would/could perform the way Kei does. (I am always afraid they will look back and wish they had done something differently). She is growing and having experiences that are just right for her. Like you’ve said, homeschooling allows her to be the best Kei there is!