I've realized recently that there are many different ways to raise children, and some people are not afraid to tell you that you're doing it wrong. (Not that it's happened to me, I'm the perfect mom...as you will soon see).
One thing that Ben and I have always agreed on is that we want our kids to love books. We started reading to them when they were brand new and haven't stopped. So far it's worked, as all our kids love to be read to.
James has taken it to a whole new level in the past few weeks. He's an exceptional reader and has been reading chapter books like crazy since summer started. One day he saw a commercial for the new Lego Harry Potter game and just about died. He's mastered the Lego Indiana Jones 1 & 2 and has been looking for something new to play. I told him that I wasn't about to buy him a game when he didn't even know what the story was about, and if he read the first 4 books, then we could get the game. I was thinking this would buy me a couple months at least...but no.
He started with the first book and plowed through it, reading in the bathroom, in the car, in the middle of the night with a flashlight, etc. I would ask him questions after each chapter, to make sure he was actually grasping it and not just skipping through it and he could remember details that I couldn't! He finished it in a week. A week!
I had also told him that once he finished the book we would let him see the first movie. I wish I had videotaped his reactions while he watched it. He sat there, on the couch, clutching his book and yelling out things he remembered. When Harry first appeared on the screen he said in a hushed, awe-filled voice, "the boy who lived". At another point, he corrected the dialogue, saying, "that's not how it happened in the book." He would flip through the pages, finding the certain scene that was playing at the time and reread it, making sure they got it right. Ben and I felt like kids again, watching how excited he was to discover this new world.
So, I know that the subject matter may be a little intense for a boy James' age. But he knows it's not real and he doesn't get scared about things like this. People are probably going to think I'm crazy and irresponsible, but I don't care. As long as he's reading and loving it, I'm going to support it. He's already 30 pages into the second one and loving it just as much.
So that's me being an awesome mom!
If you think this is bad, wait until you see where I'm taking Avery this weekend :)
3 comments:
That's pretty amazing. Ada can't even read a three letter word yet. But I like to keep my kids stupid so they're not bored in school. So who's the good mom now, huh?
;-)
Nicki, I am still laughing hysterically about James and Harry Potter. I absolutely cannot believe that child!!!! He's a gold plated genius for sure.
The REAL question is: what is he going to read after Potter? The kid is going to be spoiled by reading the best stuff way too soon!
I can see the first day of school:
Teacher: Children, did you read any books over the summer?
James: (Waving his arm wildly)I did! I did!
Teacher: That's fine, James. What book did you read?
James: I read the entire seven volume Harry Potter series, all 12 thousand pages. So what books will we be reading in this class this year?
Teacher: Um... Er... Ahh.... Well, we were going to read "Dick and Jane at the Farm." But perhaps we had better speak with the 8th grade teacher about you joining their reading group. (Or maybe we should just send you straight to Harvard.)
Wow! That's really amazing that he's reading at that level! And I love that he is already aware of how movies are so different from the books. Way to go, James1
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