Garden of the New Year: Genevieve Freedman aged 9
My seven year old son can now read fluently, which prompted a suggestion by my husband that, instead of me reading to him every night, he start reading to me.
He did a great job on a chapter of Dean Lorey's Nightmare Academy series (these, by the way, are terrific examples of the heropic genre, with numerous exceptional monsters, a very high ratio of action to reflection, and only one or two instances of lip-to-cheek kissing; highly recommended for 6 to 12 year olds).On day 2 he began referring to "The Old Days" when I would read to him.
However, after a week the gloss wore off. It was empowering, yes, but not enjoyable.
There is a period of varying length when literary comprehension far outstrips reading ability. Consultation with my daughter confirms it - and its critical importance to development.
Key is the relationship of the fictional narrative to imagination - it is not possible to interpret the former without using the latter. Therefore, narrative that's up to the developing reader's comprehension is essential for imaginative practice and expansion.
The owner of a gallery once told me: children's art is usually very good, and the majority of people seem to lose that perspective with adulthood. 
"Friendship": Grade 1 class JM; International School Basel
Seems to me that the bedtime story might go a long way to preserving the vision responsible for images like these.
The Wobblies; Grade 4, Class GP; International School Basel
Aha! got the technical thingy figured out! Here is what I wanted to say:
ReplyDeletePicasso said "I spent four years learning to paint like Raphael. I spent the rest of my life learning how to paint like a child."
I especially like the notion of the child reading to the adult.
Well said!
Reading to one another as a family is so wonderful.... I so appreciate your input! The next step may be reading personally written stories to one another as well...
ReplyDeleteDear Miryam, Thanks so much for commenting and joining. I am writing a story for my boy (Angus McDream), for this reason. Please stop by again. Aspiring writers need to stick together!
ReplyDeleteChildren reading to adults does many good things: 1) improves self-image 2) encourages independence 3) improves reading and speaking ability 4) engages child to read more on own.
ReplyDeleteI like it!
Geezer