Reading EVERY Word

Kalisha loves to read. She currently has at least 15 books checked out from the library.

 The stack on the table are the ones she is currently reading. I have written in the past how she reads 5-6 books at a time; one chapter in each one and then she starts with the first one again when it is her next 'reading time.'
She has certain times during the day when she has to read.
She also likes to read aloud. That is ok with me, most of the time. If we are watching TV together, she reads aloud during commercials, then she closes the book until the next commercial. If it is a program she doesn't care about watching, she reads to herself between commercials so I can watch it. I don't watch many programs, but as we watched the Colts game yesterday, she would read during every commercial. It is a bit annoying but probably better than the commercials anyway.

 

The ones she hasn't started yet are in her bookbag. They are there because her mother gets tired of seeing 15 books on the floor by the chair or couch.

If you are regular readers of this blog, you already know those facts. However, last week, she amazed me. She really does like words and perhaps the sound of the words swirling in her head.
I purchased a paperback for me to read this Christmas season. It is 4 stories, loosely connected from one generation to the next. It has no pictures, very small print and 397 pages. Kalisha asked if she could read it. I said, "Of course, but it might be boring for you." (I had not read it yet so I was hoping there weren't any steamy love scenes in it)

I really didn't think she would finish it and I wasn't sure if she would 'get it.'

When she used to read books I had read, such as Little House on the Prairie and Boxcar Children, I would occasionally quiz her to see if she had retained any of it. She could nearly always, give me a fairly accurate, Cliff Notes version.

She stuck with this book. She read every word, probably 50,000 at least. I was impressed. I read it one afternoon (when I start, I finish, if it holds my interest) and later asked her a few questions about some of the events. She didn't know the answers. That's when I realized part of her reading is just to see and hear the words in her head, even if the sentence structure may be difficult. This novella would have been difficult for her because due to the time periods, there were words she has probably never seen or heard. I praised her for finishing it. I don't think I would read that many chapters of something I didn't understand. It would be similar to reading a medical journal for most of us. She is my daughter for sure; she loves words. YAY