Hi guys!
I’m in this cozy corner of my house on my couch.
This is one of my favourite places to read when I want to get into a really good book
and I thought this would be the perfect place to chat about my first time reading because
there are all these ‘first time’ kind of experiences or memories that we have.
Some we’d rather forget.
Some you forget for real and reading is something that I have remembered so clearly.
I don’t remember how old I was when this happened and I've asked both my parents and neither
of them seem to remember this experience but I wanted to share it with you because I know
so many of you LOVE reading as much as I do and it’s an experience that kind of stuck with me.
So basically I went to a Montessori school growing up so I was in Casa when this happened.
So those kids are normally between ages, like, two and four or five, I think.
Maybe six. I don’t really remember.
And I remember reading this book about a cat - big surprise - it was a learn to read book.
I don’t remember anything else about it except that it had a laminated cover.
It wasn’t long or anything but I have this memory of sitting with one of my teachers
and reading to her from the book out loud from start to finish and feeling so incredibly
proud that I had done that and I don’t know if it was the first time that I actually read
a book but it was the first kind of ‘academic’ moment where I was called upon to read for
the teacher and I did it.
And I think the teacher must have told my parents because both of them came from work
together which was a huge deal.
In fact, I can’t remember any other time in my life that both my parents came to pick
me up from school because they ran their own business and it just usually wasn’t possible.
So that was huge.
I was getting picked up from school by myself.
My little brother, Matthew, who was also at Montessori at the time wasn’t picked up
with me which is also really strange because we were always picked up together as a unit: brother, sister.
And he wasn’t in this memory for some reason so that also makes it stand out in my mind.
So both my parents come, which makes it really special already, I have my little laminated
cat book with me, and they were so proud and decided to take me out for a treat.
And I guess this must have been my choice because we went to McDonald’s and I remember
the car ride there looking at all the signs and my parents were like, ‘What does that say?
What does that say?’ and me, like, proudly reading things out to them.
Just, you know, having the attention of both my parents at the same time was really exciting
and I remember my Dad saying to me that now that I could read a whole new world was open to me.
I almost feel a little bit emotional saying it actually because I remember it so clearly
and it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t remember or that my Mom doesn’t remember
but clearly this made such an impression on me - this idea of a whole new world being
accessible to me because of being able to read.
And now I feel so passionately about literacy and about reading to children because my parents
read to me when I was growing up.
Even if they were really tired after work.
I appreciate it so much.
We had this ‘story time chair’ that both my brother and I used to sit in.
Sometimes my sister read to us and it’s just this amazing memory of being read to
and then having this other memory of being able to read a book by myself for the first
time and also I read the book to them again at McDonald’s like I had for my teacher.
And anyway it’s just stood out in my head and I wanted to share it with you.
So I don’t know if you remember your first time reading and what that experience was
like but I would love if you would share it in a comment below or send me an email.
It’s just something that I feel like we don’t talk about a lot.
Maybe it’s not one of those ‘first time’ experiences that is something that’s commonly
talked about but I think it’s really nice and exciting because it does open up this
whole wonderful world that I still feel…still feel so lucky to inhabit which is, of course,
the world of books all around me and I have quite a few, as you can see.
So anyway I hope that you enjoyed this little story, this video, and I’ll be back next week.
Please subscribe if you haven’t already and give this a thumbs up if you enjoyed this
and I’ll see you in my next video.