Years ago, teachers read to children every day. They did not read to teach them to read, nor to teach them grammar or history or anything else. They read to them for the sake of the story. I still read to groups of children who come to the library.
One of the best times of day for reading is just after lunch, when the children have been playing and are tired and fed. This is when they are at their sleepiest and most irascible. This is when story time is most valuable. Choose a book of many chapters, one a tiny bit beyond their years, and read for twenty minutes after lunch every day. Those who are exhausted will sleep, those who are alert will listen, those who are naughty, as always, will be asked to leave the room.
As the story unfolds, the children will become entranced. As they become accustomed to stories, they will want more. As they hear and remember the stories, their lives will be richer.
Wonderful stories about nature include:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Rikki Tikki Tavi, and other Jungle Book Stories by Rudyard Kipling
©2009 Anne Morddel
Seasons South and North
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