How Are You Feeling?

 

Last night I got to meet the mothers of my shelter reading kids.  Once again it was obvious that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  The one thing we all had in common was that we were moms and that gave us a lot to talk about.

My goal was to get them excited about reading to their kids.  I was pleased to hear that 4 out of the 7 already were reading on a regular basis.  One claimed to have started the day her 3-year-old daughter was born (in the hospital).

After a round of introductions, which allowed me to connect them to their kids, we started with a book I read to them.  The theme for our session was “feelings.”  I chose “Yesterday I Had the Blues,” a beautifully written story of an African American boy who talks about the moods of all his family members.  I had them hooked from the first line (the title of the book), as they all said, “Do I ever know what that feels like?!”

We talked about how having fun with books and being read aloud to are such important factors in children becoming good readers.  We talked about the value of children sitting down with an adult to read, including the chance to unload whatever happened in their day that might be triggered by something in the book.

Then I handed out a copy of “How Are You Peeling?” to each mom and we took turns reading.  It’s a very unique book that uses fruits and vegetables with faces to portray the gamut of emotions.  One mom commented how they experience many of those emotions with each other at the shelter.  They have learned a lot about group living.

I was delighted to find that all the mothers could read, some better than others, but all quite well enough to read children’s books.  I was happy to hear one mom mention that she and her son enjoy role playing.  Another said her daughter liked it when she made funny sounds.  But one mom, who looked to be about 23 and had 3 children, was obviously struggling just to stay on top of life at all.  I somehow couldn’t imagine her reading bedtime stories.  Her children are the quiet ones when we read to them.

I then passed around a big bag of books so that each mom could take home 3 books along with the “How Are You Peeling?” book.  While they were choosing their books, some commented about books they remembered from their childhood. 

I placed an order on Amazon today for “Freckle Juice,” one of those books mentioned.  Hopefully this mom can enjoy it with her 6-year-old daughter, who delights in playing school with her shelter companions and challenges all of them to read as well as she does.

It was a rewarding evening for me, as I added new understanding to the personalities and behavior of the children I see on a regular basis when I go to read to them.  I feel I know them just a little bit better because I now know their moms.