Reading to the Children

Apparently there is a guy named "Lakeside Dave" who asked my wholesome daughter back to his cabin last night at the camp where they work.  As odd as it may seem, I think I like Lakeside Dave.

You see, his invitation was for her to come back to his place and read to his bunch of exuberant 4th graders before they crashed for the night.  This morning she sent me a quick text: "I read Tom Sawyer to a room full of 10-year-old boys last night.  I can die happy."

She can't help it. We come from a long line of people who believe that books were meant to be shared, reading is best as a communal activity, and the best written words deserve to be given VOICE.

In my twelve years teaching writing and English, I've become more and more convinced of the value of reading aloud.  As Andrew Pudewa, the founder of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, points out: before we can get excellent written language out of a child's brain, first we must put it in!