As I reflect on 2016 and make goals for 2017, one of the things I know about myself is that when I try to make huge lifestyle changes, my failure rate is significantly higher than when I make small changes. And making those small changes can eventually lead to bigger, more influential changes. For example, when I swear I’m going to keep my home “Open House” clean every day, there’s instantly some conspiracy my kids and husband activate to make sure that I’m working harder than Cinderella to make that happen, and so I give up rather quickly. However, once I made my cleaning goal a much more manageable one, I was much more successful, my house (a little bit) cleaner, and I was much less of a she-devil towards the rest of my family.
Making one small change can be just as effective for Raising Readers. For me, I’ve decided to do a different small change with each child. For my daughter, I’ve decided that we need to explore some non-fiction together, so my goal is to start reading informational books with her during our bedtime reads. For my son, who is younger, I would like to read some more chapter books with him. We did do one in 2016, together with my daughter, but I think we could do a couple more as our bedtime reads together.
So, as you make your own goals or resolutions for 2017, think about what small changes you could make as you continue to work towards raising readers. Could you get a library card? Maybe try to read a book that’s coming out as a movie? Let your child pick out the bedtime read each night? Try to pick one small, manageable change and see how that affects your quest to raise children who enjoy reading. Happy New Year and good luck in 2017!
Raising Readers... 