Tuesday, April 3, 2012

C is for Children

By which I mean my own children, though it can also mean the children who may someday read my YA books.

I grew up the second-oldest of six children so I had a lot of mothering experience before I became a mother myself. Still, one of the most surreal moments of my life was when I was filling out paperwork in the hospital and wrote "mother" under "relationship to patient" for the first time. It was a definite perspective shift. Even now, I'll often look around at my small brood and wonder what the powers that be were thinking by putting ME in charge of these miniature people.

Shouldn't mothers be, like, perfect or something?

For better or worse, though, they are mine.

D, C, and B climbing a tree with cousins.

KidD, my 11-year-old, loves reading zombie books and is even trying his hand at writing his own hunting story--a comedy--during his spare time.

KidC, my 8-year-old, loves reading about hunting and sports. I love listening to him read out loud: I think he's a natural.

KidB (so-named because both D and C are 2-syllable names and we decided to follow the trend when B was born, so we went looking for a 2-syllable B-name), my six-year-old struggles with reading because of his speech-delay, but still soldiers on. It's amazing how much he's improved over the last year alone.

Their father isn't a reader, but they do enjoy their bedtime mommy-reading time, so I have high hopes of making readers out of them eventually.

What about you? Do your kids enjoy reading as much as you wish they would?

14 comments:

  1. Your kids (shoes) are cute! ;)
    I hope to make readers out of my little ones as well.
    You know what's giving them confidence lately (my reluctant readers at least)? Having them read scriptures. There are a lot of little words in there that they have down PAT!

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    1. That totally works! It's helped a lot at our house, too. :)

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  2. Hi, beautiful! Great to see you joining the Challenge!
    There was a time when I yearned for my kids to read--two of them have caught the fire. They just need to find the right book! As for my youngest 2, well, one of them is getting there while the other is just learning how to!

    Lovely photo! (I'd be clasping my chest without any breath!)

    xox
    Elizabeth

    A to Z co-host

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    1. The search for the right book is so hard! They just have to be convinced that reading isn't boring and off they go. :)

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  3. I think when kids see their parents read, they learn that it's a fun activity, not the "have to" thing they often dread in school. Nice post!

    Nice to meet you, and welcome to the Challenge!

    KarenG
    A to Z Challenge Host

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    1. I read all the time, but hubby never does, and he's the stay-at-home, so.... :)

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  4. Lovely post. Reading time with our kids is priceless!

    Dors

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  5. What a great little brood you've got, Robin! I'm sure you'll make great readers out of all of them. :D

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  6. Sometimes I still don't feel like I'm together enough to be a MOM. My 4 year old will sit in his room and just browse through books. I can't wait until he discovers the huge literary world out there.

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    1. Seriously, right? SO not responsible enough to be in charge of someone else. :)

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  7. You reminded me of when the health visitor came to our house when the twins were tiny. She was filling out their book and she asked 'Mother's name?'. So I gave her my Mum's name and she said 'I thought your name was Sarah?'
    'Oh, you mean me?' That was when I realised that I was the one responsible :-)

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    1. Such a surreal moment. If life were a movie, that's be the part with the zooming close-up while the background goes all skewampy.

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