Instilling Confidence in your Tiny Reader
I can do hard things!
Hello from the beautiful PNW!
Yesterday we visited a friend and her lovely two children in their new house. Her husband is in the process of building them a new fence, which is proving to be quite the undertaking, but it looks (of course) perfect. That got me thinking about fence building and confidence, which in turn led me to thinking about confidence in general and how important it is to have confidence in order to try something new and to figure out something you don’t exactly know how to do.
Something like six years ago we were up in the PNW building a long track of fence around my sisters corner lot, renting the jackhammer, mixing the concrete, it became quite the family affair with even the nephew popping by with his tool kit and hard hat to help. He was 2 at the time, but a very dedicated worker. My sister had flown me and my partner up because I had touted we were very good at building fences because my husband had done it a handful of times in his life. And he IS a very good fence builder. But is he a professional fence builder? No. Did he ever apprentice at a construction company? Not really. He just knows he can do it, and so he does.
I approach quilt making and baking in the same fashion. Nobody ever told me I couldn’t do it, and so I assume I can figure it, and then I do! Sure, I may make some mistakes, I may have to undo some (or a lot) of stitches sometimes, or see what the recipe tastes like with twice the cinnamon (oops, still delicious) but I don’t let my little inner doubt sneak up too much and tell me that I can’t, and so I try and then I do!
When my kid started trying to read, I tried to give him space to make mistakes and at the same time give him plenty of encouragement with a phrase that I think is key in parenting. I tell him: “You can do it.” Sometimes that is all the encouragement my kids need. My daughter is more likely to flop onto the floor and wail “I CAN’T” in true dramatic fashion, so lately with her I’ve started singing a song: “I can do hard things!” while we try to put one foot in front of the other if she “can’t” walk home, or to wiggle her foot into her sock that she just “can’t” put on. She responds really well to a song (though more often than not we end up carrying her or putting on her shoe for her. She can be quite persistent – may it serve her well). When she gets to the age or starts showing more interest in learning letters and sounds they make, I am sure we will be doing a lot of singing in that era as well.
In the car the other day my eldest announced to everyone that he is “the smartest person in my family because I learn so much from books.” That is a whole lot of confidence that I hope to continue to foster and apply to all kinds of scenarios in his life.
Wherever you are, don’t forget: You can do hard things!
LIT TIP
Build up a confident reader by letting them know they can do it! When they encounter a word they don’t know, don’t immediately jump in with the answer. Give them time to try to figure it out, sometimes skip over words they don’t quite get if it isn’t essential to the story, and let your child know it is OK to ask for help. When they do, work with them to discover the answer instead of just supplying it, which means you help them to look at the word, figure out the sounds they make, and spend some time struggling through it together. This will help build confidence because your kid will realize that he can work hard and get to the answer!
FROM THE STAX
Please note granny’s vintage linoleum. I am in love with her treasure trove house.
SUN by Sam Usher
Sam and his grandad wake up one warm summer day and decide to take a picnic. As they go looking for the perfect spot to set up, they find themselves deeper and deeper in an unexpected desert adventure and a run in with a pirate. A perfect summer book that encourages kids and adults alike to turn everyday experiences into imagination adventures. I love all the books by Sam Usher, but this one is specifically perfect for summer fun.
SPACEBOT by Mike Twohy
No dog or appliance(?!?) can sleep because something feels strange. A visitor from space drops down to play and fly about with all his appliance friends. A great beginner reader book with simple rhyming words and a silly premise that has my kid imagining a flying toaster and has me reminiscing about the classic 1987 film The Brave Little Toaster (anyone else?). My eldest says this is his favorite book right now, probably because he feels confident reading it all by himself.
PRINCESS ME by Karma Wilson
With sing-song rhythm and a magical fairy land of stuffed animals and friends having tea parties and throwing parades, this book is a win for your child who loves sparkles and song. With messages of kindness and cuteness worked into the simple song like prose, I could feel my littlest see herself in the princess in the story, and want to not only have tea parties, sparkly dresses, and parades, but also be a kind and just ruler of her little kingdom.
RAVEN by Gerald McDermott
Raven arrives, but there is no light. Raven goes to find light and sees some in the Sky Chief’s house. Outside the house, he spies the Sky Chief’s daughter and finds a trickster way to become the Sky Chief’s daughter’s baby so that he can find the source of the light. A creation myth from the Pacific Northwest, this is a fun tale to read to my kids while we are in the land of ravens, pine trees, and totems.
Gerald Mcdermott was a filmmaker and mythology historian. His books helped highlight and bring Native American stories to the general public, but they are not Native American stories told by a Native American. Lucky for us, there are more and more voices being represented in stories these days, and though this is the book we picked up from the library this week, we will be on the lookout for Native stories written by Native American people. Here and here are some great lists I found to get us going on that journey!
IMAGINE THAT: A HOOT AND OLIVE STORY by Jonathon D. Voss
Hoot is ready to play with Olive, but discovers his imagination is missing. Has it broken? Where has it gone? Olive patiently works to help hoot discover where his imagination may have gone and how to get it back. A story that helps teach child perseverance when things get tricky, and teamwork when things get frustrating, coupled with breathtakingly beautiful pictures that will encourage kids to create their own imagination lands everywhere they go.
My first and most important initiative upon arrival has been accomplished! I got my mom and my grandma (92 years old!) into the library and set them up with their new cards. I can’t wait to download the Libby app and open up their little book world. They are both avid readers, so I was shocked to find they weren’t using the resources of the local library, especially now that you don’t even have to go through the doors to reap the benefits.
They both checked out a book. My mom got Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (I will be reading this directly after she does) and my grandma got Now You See Her by James Patterson & Micheal Ledwidge. She was shocked that I had not read any James Patterson. Not my genre. Excited to make this my first so we can discuss the plot points in detail.
Hope your summer is starting off with some fun and that you find some perfect beach reads! And that you do hard things!!
Happy reading y’all!