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Aesop's Fables
My earliest memory of being excited about books was when I was about 7 years old. My dad bought me a copy of Aesop's Fables. I used to sit in my bed and look through the book. I remember reading some of the words and looking through the pictures often. -
My First Encyclopedia Collection
I was the proud owner of an Encyclopedia Britannica collection. As a matter of fact, I had both the adult and kid version and I still have the adult collection to this day. I loved looking up things and researching topics. If my parents and I would talk about something, my dad would often say "let's go see if this is in the encyclopedia!" My love for research stemmed at an early age. -
Book Fairs!
Every elementary aged student looks forward to book fairs and I was no exception. I loved getting my paper order form and checking off all of the books that I wanted. I remember going to my mom and telling her the books I wanted to order. When my order would come in, it was like Christmas morning! I was much into the "Sweet Valley Twins" series and would only get to purchase these at book fairs. -
Watching Parents Read
My mom is not from this country and I rarely saw her reading books in English; however, she still loved to read her Chinese books. My dad loved mystery books! I can vividly remember him reading these huge thick books and having it on his nightstand. I always looked forward to the time when I would be hooked on a big book. -
High School English
I had the best Middle and High School English teacher. Miss Krafft taught me from 7th grade until the 12th grade. She is actually still the English teacher at Faith Lutheran, where I graduated in 1996. She loved to read with us and she grew my love for literature. This is a picture of me during by senior year of high school in Student Council. Miss Krafft was our advisor. She is in the center of the picture, and I am sitting left to her. -
College- Read to Learn
It was in College where I remember having to really learn how to read text and apply it in my work. Up until then, school came fairly easy to me. College challenged me because I had less guidance and had to work more independently. Reading text felt a bit more like a chore than for enjoyment; however, I became a much better reader during my college years. -
Reading for Enjoyement
My 20's! I loved the independence I felt in my 20's. Some of my best reading memories would be sitting inside of Barnes and Nobles or Starbucks with a good book. I could read for hours when I was in this setting. The sounds and smells created the perfect environment for me to soak into a book. When I lived in Atlanta, GA for work, I often spent my weekends at a nearby Barnes and Nobles. I also had a book club with some co-workers during this time. -
My Son was Born
In 2007, my oldest son was born. For my baby shower, I was gifted the book "It's Time for Bed". This was given to me by a very special person. I read this book religiously to all 3 of my kids when they were little. By 2 years old, they would always be able to say the words that would be coming up, even before I would turn the page. These are memories that I cherish. -
Reading with Older Kids
For each of my kids, I read "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with them. Reading the first book of the series with them always sparked their interest. 2 of my kids ended up reading the additional books in the series on their own. I enjoy talking about books with my older kids. Some conversations around around books they read, others are conversations about books that I read. Either way, the dialogue around reading has been key to keeping them wanting to read for fun and for learning. -
NV Reading Week
Teaching primary students has given me a different perspective on reading. My students connect to stories in various ways and this motivates me to expose them to all forms of text. Learning about characters and events through their eyes is very pure and enjoyable. This picture shows some of my students during NV Reading Week. We set up our stage with the theme "under the stars". My students love to read!
