Most parents understand the importance of learning to read.  You wouldn’t be reading this if that weren’t true—sometime during your early years the mystery of the printed word unfolded and you became a reader.  Reading is critical to nearly every function of our adult lives.  For children, daily reading practice is essential to developing reading skills and building a solid reading foundation.  The only way children will become readers or improve their reading skills is by reading—pretty simple, right?  Those whose children are natural readers are fortunate.  But, sometimes we face the challenge of getting our children to sit down and read.  Some of us seek the elusive “hook” or magic bullet—something to engage our children and make them want to read; to discover the pleasure of reading and all the wonders that books hold.  So, what do we do?  One of the most wonderfully simple ideas I’ve seen is the Milwaukee Public Library’s Read to Rover program.  In collaboration with the Wisconsin Humane Society, certified therapy dogs are brought into the library so children can read to them.         

Why read to a dog?  Because, a dog won’t embarrass you if you make a mistake.  A dog won’t interrupt you.  A dog won’t start to fidget and roll its eyes as you work on deciphering a passage.   True, the dog can’t correct you, either, but just think about the benefits a child gains by reading for a solid 25-30 minutes.  Children need models for fluent reading so they know what good reading sounds like, but they also need opportunities to build their fluency by reading and re-reading until the words are automatic.  Rover won’t mind listening to the same story until it flows off your child’s tongue like butter. 

If you can’t participate in the Milwaukee Public Library’s “Read to Rover” program, this is an idea that is easy to implement at home—with your own pet be it a dog, cat, chinchilla or gecko.  Children might even enjoy reading to a favorite teddy bear.  Any loving and accepting audience will do!   What is important is the motivation to read.   

I do want to offer one word of caution.  After we participated in “Read to Rover”, a four-year “please can we get a dog” campaign was launched in our household.    I think you can guess the outcome.  Yup, we now have a dog; in part because of our “Read to Rover” experience.  And our little pup faithfully supervises homework each night and is eager to cuddle when either child stretches out to read.  Now, if I could just launch a “Rover Takes out the Trash” program…  

To learn more about the Milwaukee Public Library’s “Read to Rover” program, visit www.mpl.org 

As parents we want to do what is best for our children to help give them the best start in life.  Most of us understand the importance of reading to our children and are accustomed to nightly bedtime stories and all of the good that comes from shared reading experiences.  We also talk with our children, we sing, and we even pop the latest “Wiggles” CD in while we tool around in the car to help entertain and engage them.  There is one more thing that we can do to help build young children’s literacy skills: play—play with them and encourage them to play in ways that are constructive and meaningful.  It is often said that play is the work of children and that statement is genuinely true.  It is during play that children explore their world, practice new words and create and retell stories of their own making.  Children tend to play with whatever is at hand. Tangible “props” help them to explore and expand their vocabulary and their world.  When we play with our children—even for just an hour (and let’s face it, after an hour of good, focused play we’re ready for a break) we are doing an enormous amount of good.  We can help to plant the seeds of language that are associated with certain situations or scenarios; words that children might not otherwise be able to play with and try out.  If we create a make-shift grocery store with our children, think about all words we can teach them from turnip to sushi.   

The Milwaukee Public Library understands the importance of play in the lives of young children.  One of our many literacy programs is called Saturday Morning Family Play Date.  During these sessions, families with children ages 5 and younger are invited to enter into a world of make-believe and imagination.  What better way to start your weekend than with some good, old fashioned play time?  This week our play session will be hosted at the Center Street Library.  The theme is Construction Site.  Children and their grown-ups will create plans for a building, put on a hard hat, grab a hammer and build away!  Children will have a great time because it is such pure fun, but adults will know that we are building essential vocabulary and narration skills as we spend what is truly quality time together.  Please join us for some serious play. 

Center Street Library

2727 W. Fond du Lac Avenue

Saturday, March 14 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Visit www.mpl.org for more information    

One of my favorite people is having a birthday this week and we at the Milwaukee Public Library are celebrating in style. 

This week we remember the lovable Dr. Seuss, born Theodore Geisel on March 2, 1904, by honoring his life and his work.  Dr. Seuss is an institution in children’s literature, with parents remembering him from their own childhood and often enjoying crossing the generational divide by sharing the timeless good Doctor with their own children.  There is something comforting and familiar about Seuss’ characters and the whimsy of his work.  A fun fact about Dr. Seuss is that he wrote The Cat in the Hat as a challenge to what he thought were the tedious easy readers of his time.  If you read The Cat in the Hat closely, you’ll discover that it contains nearly all of the “high frequency” words that children encounter when they are first learning to read.  Pretty impressive!  I say read it for fun and don’t worry about the word count.    

I thought I had moved on from Dr. Seuss with my children being older now, but it seems I can’t escape him.  Last year their school staged “Seussical” as their spring musical.  It was uplifting to be reacquainted with Horton and Gertrude McFuzz.  This year, one of my sons is taking a class titled “Dr. Seuss and WWII”—all about Seuss’ works that are allegories for bigger issues. I’m learning so much!  Selfishly, I’m delighted that I still get an occasional dose of Seuss.   

Join us at the Milwaukee Public Library on Saturday, March 7 at Central Library from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. when we celebrate Seuss and reading and childhood!  If you can’t join us, why not build an enthusiasm for reading by staging your own “Read Across America” event?  Why not have a “Read Across our Block Day” or even on a smaller scale—“Our Family Reads Day”.  If Seuss isn’t your thing, go ahead and read something else!  I’m sure Dr. Seuss wouldn’t mind.  What a wonderful excuse to celebrate reading and one of the “good guys” who inspired so many.    

For more information about the Milwaukee Public Library’s Dr. Seuss celebrations at Central and all 12 neighborhood libraries, visit: www.mpl.org