Importance of Classroom Libraries

Today when conferring with a student the importance of maintaining a classroom library was confirmed.  The student was reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid Hard Luck.  He talked about what he liked about the book so far.  Then he asked if I wanted to hear him read from the book.  I love to be read to, so yes, please.   The selection was about Greg telling his mom that he was bored.  I asked if he ever did the same thing and how would his mom respond.  He connected with Greg.  He then shared that his mom would tell him to read, but that was boring.  My mouth dropped.  This is a student who was very happily reading in class, laughing at what he was reading, and able to connect to what he was reading.  My response "What?  Reading is boring?"  He then explained "At home I don't have any interesting books.  I have read them all.  Your library has lots of interesting books.  I like reading at school because there are lots of books to choose from."  So I will continue to visit the used book store, shop at the library sale, use my Scholastic points, and use any other means to acquire books for my classroom library.  I also reminded the student that he had borrowing privileges from my classroom library so that he would not find himself bored at home again.

First memories of Being Read Aloud To

My first memory of being read aloud to is really a collection of memories.  I can't recall the absolute first time but memories of me being read to include my mom, aunt, and uncle reading to me as well as my sister and I listening to stories on a record player.   Memories of my mom buying me books when we were at the grocery store and me pointing to the words I recognized and calling them out on the car ride home. Upon arriving home, my mom read the newly purchased book and I would memorize the text.  Memories of my mom taking me to the library on a regular basis so I could check out the books that interested me.  The first books I remembered checking out where The Little House and Harry the Dirty Dog.  No matter how many times I checked them out my mom would read them to me like it was the first time.  Receiving an assortment of Dr.  Seuss books from my aunt and uncle at Christmas and taking turns sitting in their laps and being read to. Of having a GE Show N ' Tell, a combination film strip viewer and record player and an assortment of books with records that I played over and over again. My sister and I taking turns selecting the story.  Reflecting on these memories, makes me realize how blessed I was to have a family that made sure I had access to books.