My Love Of Reading

Regardless of the fact that children start in the same spot when it comes to learning, every child is different therefore, there are possibilities to developmental delays. During one’s middle childhood period, cognitive processes, among many other factors are developing. Children encounter many hardships during this time. Learning to read is a major developmental challenge for many kids. According to an article regarding struggling readers, “learning to read is a challenge for almost 40% of kids” (Reading Rockets, 2015). As life progresses, so does a child’s development and how they manage to go through life day by day. The challenge of learning to read can definitely affect the adults present in a child’s life. Teachers and parents are two of the biggest roles in a child’s life that has to deal with this obstacle in development. A teacher needs his or her students to become well-rounded educated citizens. However, this period of time is definitely one of the hardest stages for teachers to be successful educating all of their students only because this is the time in the learner’s life where they are being taught many different new concepts required in life for them to

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” -Kofi Annan. Literacy in my family tree will never be brought back to scholars or philosophers infact Many in my family have not seeked and further education and many have not even finished high school.my love for literacy has been placed into my heart by my sister.As a child my sister has always handed me book after book each one with a smile on her face.

I don’t like work—no man does—but I like what is in work—the chance to find yourself. Your own reality … —what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means.

With fifty percent of parents reporting that they do not read to their preschool child, emergent literacy, a mouthful that means the “skills and knowledge that children develop before receiving formal instruction in reading and writing”, (Duursma, Augustyn, & Suzkerman, 2010, p. 4) becomes extremely important. All the basics of reading we think of can be shared before school even starts. How to hold a book. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Words begin at the top of the page, continue to the bottom, and start again at the top of the next page. How to turn a page. That sounds rhyme or start with the same sounds. Early literacy, emergent reading, read-alouds, shared reading – all educational buzzwords that relate to reading to young children.

As a child, reading was always something I loved to do. I started reading at an early age. I went to preschool for two years, so I had an advantage when it came to reading. Once I’d gotten into elementary school, I excelled tremendously in that area. Sitting in my kindergarten class, I’d love to hear Mrs. Reed say, “Alright my shining stars get on the magic carpet for reading time.” It was the highlight of my day, every day. Who would’ve known that something as simple as reading would be so beneficial to me later in life? Reading became one of my saving graces, as I got older.

Life as a teenager today can be very stressful and sometimes intense. One must reflect to outweigh these crazy times with special moments and special people. Being a team member in many Pine Richland High School Band programs has allowed me to dive in and move forward sharing my love for music and touching the lives of others.

Being able to read before kindergarten seems to be the goal of every four to five year old. I could say that I checked that goal off the list, but that wouldn’t be the complete truth. Every night before bed, my mom would read the story of my choice.

Growing up I can remember our house always being enveloped by music. Every holiday we had music playing, during summer mornings and weekends our house was woken up the thumping of a drum or the soft string of a guitar. It engulfed our ears with its voice. I can recall a time when I was much younger where under our television was an elephant of a stereo that roared aggressively like a lion when played. I felt as though my heart was going to explode with each beat a song made, it was the best feeling I had ever had. Mother always told me about her time as a child playing the clarinet, “Oh, I loved it” she would exclaim then with a smirk she’d add, “I was very good at it too”. You could see her love of music like it was her makeup. I’d always found music to be fascinating, always wondering how it could make such a thundering, glass shattering sound, then become as gentle as a kitten's purr. Music, when it reached my ears was pure joy, the beats to each instrument meticulously planned out by the artist. The variety of music was even more interesting than the different tempos it could be played at, a genre for every quinquagenarian a new artist for every song you would hear. It was constantly changing, which is why I think I loved it so much, it reminded me of myself.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a deep love for art. Whether it was painting, drawing, dancing, music, acting, or building and designing, I was completely into it and I wanted to know everything and anything about it. As I began to grow up, I also started looking more deeply into it and doing more historical research to learn about different types of art, techniques used, the way artists think or what their creations mean, and what inspired them. It fascinates me. When I was 4, my dream was to become a painter. I would wake up early in the morning to watch Bob Ross paint and buy art kits, sketchbooks, paint, brushes, coloring utensils, craft supplies, or anything else that I could get my hands on. I was obsessed.

As the soft, smooth brush strokes of blue and green hues danced across the naked canvas to create something almost mesmeric, my life was forever changed. The oddly satisfying damp smell of watercolors on fresh paper, or the jolt of exhilaration after finishing a week long project is intoxicating like methamphetamine for an artist. Art and the inspiration from my favorite artist such as Vincent Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt, changed my life for the better and led me to find what sets my soul on fire.

Although the story of my outlook on reading initiates in preschool, it didn’t genuinely develop until the following year. Kindergarten, the year succeeding preschool; kindergarten, the year I uncovered the answer to my year long enigma; kindergarten, the year when the oscillating battle between discouragement and encouragement emerged. All seemed well throughout the beginning, though maybe excitement just blinded me, and I failed to see the underlying problem. Nevertheless, ignorance is bliss and pleasant activities lasted for a curtailed while

Ever since I was a tiny first grader, reading was something that was never my favorite thing in the world. Sure, I would sit with the rest of the class on the carpet and listen to my first grade teacher read a story, but I’d always look forward to it being over. For a while, reading was a subject that I respected, but I never had a desire for it. The journey I’ve made from sitting on that rug with my first-grade class to now is something that I’m really proud of, and that journey is remarkable to look back on.

Reading was by far my favourite form of entertainment as a child. My first memories are of my parents reading to me, and then when I could read independently I constantly had my nose in a book. I remember excitedly going with my mum to join the library in town. The overwhelming shelves of children’s books surrounding me smelled like adventures not yet discovered. My only dilemma was which adventure to choose. I thank my parents for encouraging my love of reading. It is one of the best things a parent can do for their child, as it has a wide chain reaction in so many areas.

Throughout most of my life I have had one consistent goal; to become a veterinarian. I have had a continuous and solid passion for animals in all respects. This passion and love has fueled my in striving to achieve the dreams I have for myself after high school. The beginning of this story begins long before high school though.

While I attended Black Diamond Elementary School, my mother, had asked one of the teachers, “When will you start teaching my daughter how to read”? Their response was of something that did not impress my parents. They had told her that I could just look at pictures in the books or have others read to me. Just as I begin to make good friends, I find out that I have to move to a different elementary school. Reading used to be difficult for me growing up until I received extra help.