It was a typical day of kindergarten. ABC’s, writing your name, creating a masterpiece to be hung on the refrigerator at home, recess, milk break, and then…being called to the teacher’s desk. Not good – never a good sign to be called to her desk. But wait, I wasn’t the only one. Another girl and a boy were called out as well.
All three of us begrudgingly walked to what had to be the threshold of some unfortunate pain. We were told that part of our day would be spent down the hall in one of the first grade teacher’s rooms. We all looked at each other like we were going to be a part of some chain gang. We hesitantly walked down the hall and entered the classroom. The teacher was sitting in a small chair in what appeared to be a reading circle (I believe it is a requirement for every elementary teacher to have the proverbial carpet and one small chair for the beloved reading time). We assumed the position of criss-cross applesauce and waited to hear our doom.
The teacher explained that we showed signs that we were ready to learn how to read books and needed to be in a more dedicated space. In her hands, she had a Dr. Suess book Hop on Pop. She began reading it to us and when finished she announced it was our turn. One by one we took turns reading the pages reciting, “We like to hop. We like to hop on top of Pop. STOP!” When we reached the end of the book, the three of us looked at each other thinking ‘is that all she’s got’? We were given a book to take home to read to our parents and we would return to see her in two days.
When I got home from school, Mom asked me what I did that day. Of course, now I know that she already knew about the reading adventure because back then nothing went on in school that a parent didn’t know about. I showed her the book and told her tonight before bed I would read it to her. And, that is what I did. Oh, she quizzed me to see if I understood the meaning of the words and just wasn’t memorizing them…she was tricky like that. But, I passed with flying colors.
After a while, the content of our books advanced to actual storytelling. No more Dr. Suess rhyming – real stories of Dick and Jane with Dick telling Jane to “Look, look. Look up. Look up, up, up”. Jane replying, “Run. run. Run, Dick, run. Run and see”. Oh those two crazy kids!
My bedroom was filled with books. One of my parents would read to us before bed every night. I learned at a very young age that fire is bad and being an orphan is no fun – Thanks Bambi. I became bored with the books we were given at school and decided I would just start reading on my own. I went to my little wooden bookshelf and grabbed one of the many Little Golden Books at my disposal. Once I opened The Poky Little Puppy and learned those little scamps were not getting dessert because THEY didn’t listen to their mother – I was on a roll and never looked back.
For the rest of my childhood, if I wasn’t playing with my Barbies, or school with my sister, I was in a corner with a book in front of my face. Our little group of three kept advancing and for a few years we were always taken out of class and went to the next grade up for reading. Of course, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. We were assigned to read Swiss Family Robinson. I just didn’t get it. Something was tripping me up and it just didn’t make sense. One Saturday afternoon, I asked Mom if she could tell me what an IS land was? She looked at me as if I became an alien and I said “you know an IS land – from my book. It’s in here all the time and I just don’t understand what it is”. She laughed and said, “no not an IS land, the word is I land – the S is silent”. I looked at her as if she just gave me the key to OZ, giggled, and said, “that makes sense”!
The reading adventures continued. I was blessed to have THE BEST 3rd grade teacher who would read us a chapter every afternoon from her latest treasure. I fell in love with Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys and I believe that is why today I am content with a good mystery.
Reading is a fundamental core value that we all need to function in our daily living. Sometimes those values can grow into something more meaningful and personal. Few things bring me more joy than picking up a book and reading it cover to cover, refusing to put it down until I reach “The End”.
Reading has taken me to places I will never visit, introduced me to people who never existed, and taught me lessons I will never forget. Not bad for a little girl who was called out of kindergartens one ordinary afternoon.
I am curious – when did the reading bug bite you?
Until next time,
-Molly