Mem Fox Reading Book Reflection

I wished I had read this book at the beginning of my parenting years, I think that it might have changed the way I read to my older boys. Never the less, it is not too late to create a stress free relationship with learning to read, my younger kids and the kids I interact with now and into the future. This book has changed the dynamics and relationship of my 11-year-old son with books. It has also changed my way of helping him with his nightly reading requirements. It has also changed the way my husband views reading to our five-year-old son. When I first started reading Mem Fox’s Reading Magic, it was Friday, my husband had taken me to the UAA bookstore and I picked it up. I started reading it right away and was reading out loud to my

He is “reading disabled”, he reads but he is not a proficient reader. At the beginning of the school year he was given a self-assessment to fill out by his teacher. One thing that stood out to me in his reading self-assessment was a statement he wrote. He wrote that he wanted to become a better reader this year. He wrote that when he is reading silently he is a great reader, but when he is reading out loud he makes mistakes. While reading Mem Fox’s Reading Magic I wondered if my “helping” style contributed to his insecurities and issues with reading out loud. Whenever we have our read aloud sessions I was always correct his mistake or telling him to read a sentence over again but I rarely tell him when he is doing something right, So on Sunday, I was still reading Mem Fox’s book and I ask my eleven year old if he had read today, he said no. So I said that is ok, come down stair and listen to me read my book. He reluctantly came; lay on the floor and started listen to me read. About five minutes into my reading aloud I notice that he was actually listening. His thirteen-year-old brother came down stair as well and he started listening. About thirty to thirty-five minutes into my read aloud, to my surprise both boys were going through the bookshelves picking out books to read! I was not surprise that the thirteen year old wanted to read. He is an avid reader and his only complaint is that I

My thirteen year old did Hooked on Phonics between the ages of three and four, he started reading before Kindergarten and now he is a great reader, is in a highly gifted program and reads every thing he gets his hands on. My eleven year old never did Hooked on Phonics because he could not sit still enough to do it; also he had speech issues and had to see a speech pathologist form the age of three until the age of ten; he is not a proficient reader. My five year old just started learning the sound of the letters and he is on his way to being a good reader. Looking back now I realize that my kids that did Hooked of phonics also loved to be read to. My thirteen year old had a dedicated library bag for books at the age of four. If I mention the Library to my five year old, he wants to go now. If I ask my eleven year old (the one with reading issues) if he wants to go to the library he asks why. So now thinking back, was it the phonics program that made them good readers or was it being read to that made them good readers? I think it is a combination of both being read to and learning phonics. Mem Fox’s book Reading Magic is a wealth of information that enriches the life of children and parents. Each new parent should be handed a copy of this book along with his or her newborn baby. Better yet, parents should be handed a copy of this book during their pregnancy. In