"One Thing" for Tues. Feb. 4

I picked this up from the "Twitterverse" today while I scan my phone for recent educational commentary and watch my son at basketball practice on Tuesdays as a part of "TwitterTuesdays" here in this space:

5 tips on How to Raise a Reader: http://delightfulchildrensbooks.com/2014/02/03/raise-a-reader/

 I've seen lots of these types of articles, but this one is really good, in my opinion.

Especially, #2 and #3:

2.  Do not bribe your kid to read. No pizza. No toys. No extra TV time.
3.  Create spaces where kids have books available and nothing else to do. 
(I love the picture of the kids with the books in the car. Why not?)

My son, like the author's son, is a bit of an anomaly in that he is a boy that really likes to read. I am lucky that he is this way, but it's not by coincidence. Mrs. Rollins spent many (in fact most) nights fostering a love for reading with both of our children. It paid off. I'm not sure how good his comprehension is, but I'm pretty sure that he reads more quickly than I do. I sometimes can't believe when he has finished the book he's on.
One thing that we like to do after the kids get their report cards is head (sometimes with a gift card) to Chapters and pick away. One day, he wanted the Origami Yoda series (above) and I got it for him, read it myself (as I'm a Star Wars fan) and ended up enjoying it so much I read it to my grade 6/7 class (and they loved it too)! Go figure.

My next goal is to lend him my favourite book of all time (a fantasy Epic titled "Wizard's First Rule" and see how he does with it. I just have to wait to get it back from my overseas teaching partner, Mr. Out...