The Little Engine That Could

Jason and I, and especially Jason, have always hoped that our children will enjoy reading books. It's something we even pray about! Up until recently, Jackson has never shown a big interest in books. We've read to him every night, but a lot of times he would do something else while we were reading - jump, talk to his teddy, etc. I have never forced him to sit still and listen because I don't want reading to seem like a chore and I don't want him to resent it. Plus, I don't really believe in forcing things on a child (learning things) before they are interested and ready. Often times, I have wondered if I was doing something wrong. After all, why did he seem so disinterested?

Around the middle of May, we were home on one rare afternoon for lunch and a nap. I had made smoothies and I asked him if he wanted to read books while we drank our smoothies. He nodded with joyful approval and proceeded to get every book off of the shelf. We sat and read for a long time and he paid attention and was interested in every book. The next day, he asked me to make another smoothie for lunch. (This must have been the week when they were painting the kitchen cabinets at our new house and I couldn't be over there during the day.) I made our smoothies and then he asked if we could read books while we drank them. Absolutely!

Without knowing it, my offer to read books on that first afternoon was a catalyst that opened the door to a huge love for reading. Since those first two days, any time I make smoothies, he wants to read books while we drink them. We read books, SEVERAL books, every day before his nap and every night before he goes to bed. It's fun for our whole family and Jason and I are so thrilled that he's so interested.

Before our trip to Utah back in March, I bought him The Little Engine That Could. He loves trains and I adored that book when I was younger. In fact, even into adolescence and adulthood, I have often said to myself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" when presented with an intimidating task. I thought he would love the book too. Sure enough, he did. When the requests for reading books started in May, this was the book he always picked. And to my delight, this was the first book that he read back to me!! It happened one afternoon while I was reading to him. Before I could start reading the next page, he was reading it for me. I will never forget the first time he blurted out, "Hey guys! Look! A little blue engine is coming!"

Jackson has a Bible full of 100 Bible stories. This is the book that we've always read before bedtime...even when he was still nursing. He has favorite stories and they're either the ones with cats in the pictures or the ones that allow Jason to be really animated while reading them. Towards the back of the book, there is a story about Peter, James and John. After Jesus' resurrection, they went fishing. They fished all night but didn't catch anything. The next morning, a Man called from the shore asking if they'd caught any fish. When they said that they hadn't, He told them to throw their net on the right side of the boat. Suddenly, their net was full of fish and Peter knew that the man on the shore was Jesus.

Jackson loves to read this story. We love to hear him read it. It's amazing! Here's how he tells it:

"Peter, James and John went fishing. They fished all night.

"Did you catch any fish?"

"No! We've been here all night. We haven't caught one fish."

"Well, throw your net on the right side of the boat!"

"Uh, Okay!"

So they threw their net on the right side of the boat. Suddenly, their net was full of fish.

"It's Jesus!""

I have tried so hard to capture this on video, but it hasn't worked yet!

My mom got him a bunch of books from a discount bookstore. There are two that he really enjoys, Manners Matter with Morton the Moose and Bedtime Basics with Betsy the Beaver. We've read Manners Matter several times, but not so often that I would think he could have memorized it. Last week, we were reading books before bedtime and he chose Manners Matter. He opened the book and started reading it word for word! The book is short and easy to read, but there are some pretty big words in there. Here is one page that he read to us:

"After dinner, Morton's plate fell with a clatter. He said, "I'm sorry." For he had learned that manners matter."

I had tears in my eyes after he finished the book. I couldn't believe it. It's so exciting to see your child do something so well and to be proud of himself over the accomplishment.

Once we got our household goods back, I found three Dr. Seus books that my cousin gave him at our baby shower. He loves One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and Green Eggs and Ham. He's now reciting stories from One Fish, Two Fish. It's hilarious. One of the stories is about an animal that can't hear because he fears he has something in his ear. Jackson always finishes the story with: "Say! Look! A bird was in your ear. But have no fear. Again your dear can hear you!" (It really says, "Again your ear can hear my dear.)

We are having so much fun with him. I love reading books and I'm so glad that he's enjoying them now. Library days sure are going to be lots of fun! I hope I never forget these early days of reading. I want to sear them in my memory forever.