Reading Is Fun?

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."
 ~ Jacqueline Kennedy ~

Jacob, my 5-year-old, is very smart. He learns quickly, remembers everything, and loves to figure things out. He claims that he is already an inventor, and truly believes he can fix anything. He has a large vocabulary and  uses it. 

There's just one problem. He hates reading. Oh, don't get me wrong. He will sit all day and listen to me read. We often read an entire chapter book cover-to-cover in one or two sittings. But when it comes to him doing the reading, it's a different story (no pun intended.)

His disinterest in reading has always upset me. I read constantly as a child (Yep, I was the kid reading a book while walking through the mall.) It also hurt the teacher part of me. How could my child not like reading??? How could I teach him to love it? I taught other people's children to read, but I could not teach my own?

It's not that he can't read, because he can. He just does not like it. At all. He likes reading signs out the car window, certain things in magazines, or words on the T.V.. But a book? No, thank you.

Until now.

I bought this Diego phonics reading book at Salvation Army last week . . . for 20¢. Jacob doesn't watch Diego, but I figured I'd try it. He was very excited to receive a new book, like always, but this time was a little different. He asked right then if he could read it! Of course!

We sat together on the couch and I heard a beautiful sound. My son was reading. But more than that, he was reading well . . . and enjoying it! A few pages in and he said, "Reading is fun!" That's the first time he has ever said that! Even now it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. He read the first story with no complaints, no asking me to read a page, no struggling. I am so proud of him. 

He came to me a few times this week, asking if he could read more and has since finished the whole book! I cannot even express how happy that makes me! Jacob is finally enjoying reading. The more he reads, the better he does. The better he reads, the more he wants to do it. My boy is finally starting to love reading!

And to think, all it cost was 20¢.