Comments on Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read: Every Mom Is a Superwoman

Your mom is really amazing and inspirational! Than...

2009-05-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Your mom is really amazing and inspirational! Thanks for sharing that story.

I have always been the family bookworm; my mom said I learned to read when I was two, and I have childhood memories of sitting outside on a spring day under my favorite tree reading, staying up late at night with my light turned down as low as possible to sneak in one more chapter, and taking a book along to every Baltimore Orioles game my family went to see.

My daughter has taken to reading at a more gradual pace, but she's always loved being read to, so I have never been too worried about it. She's just finishing up first grade, and her reading has really taken off! It's such a joy to see her picking up a book on her own and reading every chance that she gets now.

Hooray for reading! And hooray for parents who instill a love of books in their children.

Before I knew how, I would "read" aloud to my moth...

2009-05-14T02:29:00.000-07:00

Before I knew how, I would "read" aloud to my mother from books with pictures, (or novels without) and make up stories. Then, when she actually taught me to read...it was like magic...the pretending became real and reading became like unlocking a secret code! My mother was teacher and I remember wanting to be such a good reader to impress her. But if I ever got frustrated (my first big vocabulary word), she always knew how to have fun. She'd put me in front of her typewriter and just let me plug away randomly, typing all sorts of nonsense. Then, my mother, the TEACHER, would try to read it out loud to me! Making all sorts of crazy sounds and silly inflections, she often left us both in stitches and tears from laughing so hard. I thank my supermom for teaching me the superpower of reading and ALL the different ways it can be fun! - Thanks for reminding me TJ! - lee

I don't remember the moment of learning to read - ...

2009-05-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

I don't remember the moment of learning to read - but I do remember great letter books with scratch and sniff stickers inside... and then in first grade on the first day of school one of the boys in class new how to read the word "grandmother." And THAT was impressive. Between that word and those scratch and sniff stickers - I was hooked! Happy Mother's Day SuperMom!!

I remember reading Anne of Green Gables and how I ...

2009-05-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

I remember reading Anne of Green Gables and how I could smell the honeysuckle and having to squint at the brightness of the sun. I love thinking about those days and how simple it was to be a child. I hope my daughter feels that way too! That was a great article. Thanks for recreating some valuable memories.

It's so much fun to think about learning to read! ...

2009-05-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

It's so much fun to think about learning to read! I remember how hard it seemed to learn to read long words, until someone pointed out that I could break them in to many smaller words, such as "re-mem-ber" or "mac-a-ro-ni." This made all words and all books seem within reach.

Wow, this is really moving, TJ. Nicely done!

2009-05-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is really moving, TJ. Nicely done!

The article was well done. It brought back fond me...

2009-05-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

The article was well done. It brought back fond memories of my mother and father and the little moments I shared with them when I was young. It is so important for parents to spend time with their kids. My first reading experience was Green Eggs and Ham.

Inspirational! If your mom could do it, in additio...

2009-05-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Inspirational! If your mom could do it, in addition to everything else (working full-time? flying a plane?), then I can certainly find the time to devote to things I deem important.

Thanks for sharing this, tj. I'm going to call my Superwoman of a mother!

What a nice post! Definitely makes me think of be...

2009-05-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

What a nice post! Definitely makes me think of being tiny and discovering reading for the first time.

This is a great and lovely article, TJ. I remember...

2009-05-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is a great and lovely article, TJ. I remember in grade school checking a book out of the library for the first time. I was a biography on Thomas Jefferson, and I just loved it. I've been hooked on reading every since.

I don't remember learning to read, but I do rememb...

2009-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

I don't remember learning to read, but I do remember all my mother's favorite books to read aloud. As a toddler she read "I am a Bunny" about a million times...and as a child she read Charlotte's Web, Anne of Green Gables, Ramona Quimby...no wonder I still love to read!

The most joyful moments of my day are when my baby (12 mo) stops playing with toys, grabs a book and crawls over to me. She tumbles into my lap and starts kicking with excitement when I begin reading aloud to her. None of our other activities involve so much laughing and snuggling. I hope she continues to fall into my lap for many years of reading to come!

When I think about first learning to read, I to ha...

2009-05-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

When I think about first learning to read, I to hark back to the worn out Dick and Jane that passed through my older brothers and sister. But what I remember most vividly before letters became words, then sentences that emanated from my mouth, was being read to. My father read me the Black Stallion series, Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, and there was Dr Seuss (one of my favorites is still If I Ran the Circus).
I think about how valuable that experience was, and how luck I was to have it, especially since I now teach children whose parents do not have the resources or time to be able to read to them. Reading is a privilege that all children should have. It begins with being read to, by our fathers, mothers and any of the other superheros that enter our lives.

Very insightful! I really enjoyed reading this art...

2009-05-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

Very insightful! I really enjoyed reading this article.