So most people know that Brianna is a reader. I have friends that say..Oh my kid reads ALL THE TIME TO! Well I am not quite sure that they read as much as Brianna and it is starting to bother me. She is reading ENTIRE books in one day. I am sure some are reading this thinking "Your complaining why" Well this would be why...
1. She is no longer practicing her cello.
2. On the weekends she wakes up and grabs her book. I will think she is sleeping but she is just sitting in her bed reading.
3. I go upstairs in the evening and she is in her chair...reading.
4. Calling her for something is like screaming for help and never being heard. She gets inside the books and its hard to get her attention.
5. Family conversations are only about the books she is reading.
These are just a few of the current problems. I know its not a big problem per say but I feel like she needs to see the outside world not just her dream world inside a book. So last night at dinner she informs us that she has 230some AR points. AR is short for Accelerated Reader. When the kids read a book they have a chance to test on what they read. Each book is worth a certain amount of points Most being 10 points but the classics like Little Women are 30 or more. Which by the way Brianna will not read. She says its really terrible and slow LOL. She is all into these Warrior cats books right now she read book 3 in one day. She checked it out at the school library and by bed time last night she was done with it.
I called the school today and spoke to the Media teacher about this. She pulled Brianna up in the computer and she informed me that Brianna is currently the HIGHEST student in the school for AR points and that she currently has 248 with the closet kid being at 208. I began to tell her of my concern of her reading all the time and she told me that Brianna has stuck out since 3rd grade and is definitely a HONORS child. This makes me very proud! But I fear when she goes to high school and has to read the Old man in the Sea, Beowulf, Tale of Two Cities, or GOD FORBID Paradise Lost she may not do so hot because Brianna only reads what Brianna wants to read. The Media teacher then informed me that based off of Briannas test she recently had done for reading Brianna along with most of the honors kids at Appeal are reading at 12th grade levels!!! Can you believe that 12th grade?!?!?!?! Just goes to show how awesome the teachers are.
Although most people believe that reading is the best but playing video games are unhealthy here is my question..What is the difference between laying in your bed getting smarter and smarter with your nose in a book or laying in your bed playing video games for hours? Obesity can happen either way but one is stimulating your ability to learn and comprehend and the other is a mindless tool to preoccupy your time. But both are not good for your body. Grrrrrrr this is so frustrating. Its not that I want to stop her from reading I just need to find that happy medium can anyone who reads this blog give me any advice? This is really tough!
My cousin is the same way. My aunt & uncle would ground her by saying you can't read. Isn't that sad!? But, she is an excellent person, very smart.
ReplyDeleteI used to hide from my sister to read. I cannot remember when I couldn't read. I still read like your daughter. At first, I only read what I wanted, but as she gets older, she will changer her tastes. Mandatory reading in school will broaden her horizon.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could get with her teacher and come up with a summer reading list that has some other types of books on them. I would talk with her about her cello. Music is important also.
She needs to know that she has other obligations that cannot be ignored because she is so engrossed in a book. My mom used to take my book from me until I finished homework, chores, etc. It didn't take me long to learn to get that stuff done FIRST lol.
She also used to make me go outside if the weather was permitting. Otherwise I would have stayed in and read. I know that it can be a tough thing because we all want our children to enjoy reading and it is important. But, learning priorities is also important and this is a good way to teach her that.
Hope this helps!
I was like Bri as a kid too. I think there are a couple of things you can do. One is that you can tell her she needs to balance her "pleasure" reading with classic children's literature - Little Women, the Secret Garden, James and the Giant Peach, A Wrinkle in Time. One fun book, one piece of literature, so her reading is more well rounded.
ReplyDeleteObviously you don't want to discourage her reading, but I think it is fine to set up limits. Sure, she can read as much as she wants, but not until she done all of her chores; practiced X hours on her cello; played outside with her siblings for X hours.
Old Man and the Sea is boring. Tale of Two Cities is boring. She is going to think they (and lots of the crap they read in high school) are boring no matter what, but as long as she has a good teacher, she'll learn to appreciate them and still enjoy reading.