The Gift of Learning to Read

Today as I was reading some of the blogs that I follow, I read the following:

“Many people give gifts on New Year’s Day, and of course we hope that they will give books–but as we reflect on the nature of gift-giving, we realize there is an even greater gift than books. We have all received it and it illuminates our lives every day. We can all pass it on, either directly or through donations–the gift of learning to read.”

What better gift can we give a child then teaching them how to read. I am grateful for my teachers that worked endless hours helping me learn the letters and sounds, and then helped me make the connection. One of my very first books that I was given was “Heidi”. I kept it for many years. It was one of my greatest treasures. I cried the day I came home from work to find that it had accidentally been thrown in the garbage and the truck had already come by. I still remember the name of my little friend that gave it to me. Though I couldn’t read all the words in the book, this gift instilled in me a desire to learn so that I could someday read it.

This year let us all set the goal of giving a child the gift of learning how to read. Whether it is your own child or one of your grandchildren , let us give the gift that will last a lifetime- the gift of learning to read.