It's no secret: I want to raise a bookworm.
I'm not asking for a genius kid who always tops his classes - although that certainly wouldn't hurt, Lord! However, if I
have to choose between a child who can memorize stuff in the blink of an eye and a curious child with an insatiable appetite for reading, I would very gladly choose the latter.
Growing up, I was known as the neighborhood bookworm. I was not the typical Filipino child who grew up in the streets. To be completely honest with you, I don't even know how to play certain Filipino games like
patintero (try not to laugh and try not to cry). But I was a happy child in the company of my books.
In my childhood home, when I wasn't sleeping in my own room yet, my mom thoughtfully converted the spare room into a little library. It housed
all the books I would read
all day. Sure, I watched TV (a lot), but I remember being scolded for turning on the TV without really watching it. Yep, you guessed it. I was reading a book.
This time, I want Yuri to experience how it feels to be deeply engrossed in a story. I even dream about characters sometimes! To do that, I know I should raise him surrounded by books. It's a good thing we keep all the books and never give them away. Just take a look at these photos:
We even kept some of my childhood story books:
I admit I haven't been so vigilant about building a literature-rich environment for Yuri before he became a toddler. I did not maintain regular reading time. However, I am starting now. I think it's not too late as Yuri is still 20 months old. I spotted an old shelf we had that only housed boxed DVD sets. We got them all out and placed Yuri's books in it:
We only have a few books for now:
There are only a few books now, and most of them are hand-me-downs. Some of them are my sister's old books, and some were my old board books. Yes, my own board books survived the years, thanks to my mother.
Pero wag kayo. We have around 20 books waiting to be opened come Christmas Day. Thanks, Daddy! I'm so excited to fill the shelves with them!
I want to raise a reader, a bookworm. I hate clutter, give me this mess any day:
How do you raise your children to love books?
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