Habit of Reading Writers
As far as I can tell, Charlotte Mason mentions the habit of reading eighteen times in her Volumes, whereas she only mentions the love of reading one time. When I realized this, I knew we needed to make the habit of reading a topic in the magazine. I have always loved reading. I was the kid who skipped recess to shelve books as a library helper and in the second grade I turned my closet into a reading nook and have beautiful memories or reading Charlotte's Web surrounded by blankets and a hanging bulb in my own private book-nook. I just assumed I would have kids just like me. But I remember trying to read picture books to my two oldest only to discover that the books never held their attention, even though they loved hearing the stories. As the years went on, more clues like that began to show up and finally I discovered that the way my kids' brains work to interpret written language is just different than mine. Stacks of books and pages full of words do not bring them comfort. But, even still, they are as well-read as I can help them to be and they each have favorite stories, both modern and classic that they will happily rehash and critique or re-read (listen to on audible) and re-read when given the opportunity. Their love of story and familiarity with books has come from a deliberate and consistent focus on building the habit of reading into our home. I'll admit, I'm not always the most consistent about it. Sometimes I just want to go hide off in my own book and not worry about their books. But, mostly, it matters so much to me that they read and love stories and books that I keep trying, even when it is hard.
I have found Charlotte Mason's emphasis on building habits of reading vs the love of reading very encouraging and at times, it has been a life-line for me as I continue to teach inside of this method to children who are not intrinsically drawn to books. I am excited to be encouraged by all of you as this is a topic near and dear to my heart so thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and writing for CPQ!