Full Transcript for Curiosity Over Clicks: Rekindling a Love of Reading in the Digital Age

00:04:33.998 --> 00:04:46.013 They have more confidence and better concentration skills, and they know how to solve problems and more likely to seek out and develop new ideas, which is really what we want for our children. 00:04:46.063 --> 00:04:46.413 Right. 00:04:47.678 --> 00:04:54.458 They are better at utilizing technology, which seems counterintuitive since we're trying to get off the technology. 00:04:55.208 --> 00:05:04.958 But it's actually, so these are the equ defi things, but also, you know, it's important that kids become readers because. 00:05:05.378 --> 00:05:17.518 They get to see themselves in different situations and different experiences, and that's really important to find people who validate how you're feeling or what you're experiencing. 00:05:18.158 --> 00:05:23.558 So with all of these skills that they gain they're at an advantage. 00:05:23.628 --> 00:05:28.938 They're more likely to get ahead in their career and earn a higher salary. 00:05:29.718 --> 00:05:38.898 To get a promotion or a raise, and they're twice as likely to attend performing arts, visit museums, sporting, do volunteer work. 00:05:39.048 --> 00:05:52.548 So they're really, it opens them up to this whole world of the arts and culture and gets them to experience things outside of themselves, which really lends itself to. 00:05:53.778 --> 00:06:04.948 Understanding what kind of career they're interested in, and then being able to learn and exceed and excel in that career, which leads to the salary and the promotion. 00:06:05.008 --> 00:06:11.068 And so it really has a lot of important outcomes to life success, but also. 00:06:12.133 --> 00:06:18.653 Broadening your mind, wanting to absorb the art and the experiences around you. 00:06:18.653 --> 00:06:22.793 So it, it keeps us from being so insular and kind of opens up the world. 00:06:23.363 --> 00:06:29.213 Yeah, and I think, you know, critical thinking is a phrase we often hear bandied about in this realm. 00:06:29.213 --> 00:06:40.213 But that's really what we're talking about here, is the ability to really use our critical thinking skills and that makes us a more well-rounded human being in the world. 00:06:40.753 --> 00:06:55.853 Before we talk about strategies for getting and keeping kids reading, we thought we would just take a moment to talk about why reading how the value of reading versus the value or lack thereof of screen time. 00:06:55.853 --> 00:06:58.913 And I wanna be very clear and say that when we talk about screen time. 00:06:59.438 --> 00:07:08.198 We're not talking about reading eBooks or reading online, we're specifically talking about passive screen time. 00:07:08.198 --> 00:07:17.778 So, you know, staring at screens, receiving, watching videos, receiving information from screens, doom scrolling, that kind of thing. 00:07:18.238 --> 00:07:26.448 But the interesting data tells us that we actually use different parts of our brain when we read than when we look at screens and screens. 00:07:27.673 --> 00:07:40.313 Typically trigger something called the orienting response in our brain, which is a very primal instinct to be on alert for sudden movements in our peripheral vision, in case it's a predator in the bushes, right? 00:07:40.353 --> 00:07:43.833 This is the triggering the fight or flight mode essentially. 00:07:44.043 --> 00:07:53.943 So what screens are doing are they're feeding that orienting response, and that's a very instinctive response, and it doesn't have very much to do with logic or reason. 00:07:54.723 --> 00:07:56.433 Or reflective thought. 00:07:56.883 --> 00:08:05.043 Whereas the parts of the brain that are central to reasoning are actually activated by reading printed words. 00:08:05.403 --> 00:08:12.043 Reading printed words, which en engages our reasoning is all about decoding, right? 00:08:12.043 --> 00:08:15.163 So we're looking at letters and we're looking at words, and we're making. 00:08:15.658 --> 00:08:22.588 Letters and you know, strange shapes into letters and letters into words and words into sentences and sentences into meaning and context. 00:08:22.618 --> 00:08:25.498 And all of this is engaging our reasoning ability. 00:08:25.498 --> 00:08:26.218 Our ability to. 00:08:26.608 --> 00:08:36.358 To make choices and to assess whether those choices are wise or not and how those choices connect to our value system. 00:08:36.808 --> 00:08:52.498 So if we really think about it in those terms, in terms of like activating our central reasoning process versus our fight or flight mode, it becomes pretty apparent that our collective health as a society and our future. 00:08:52.848 --> 00:09:00.428 And our planet's future really depends on us being readers and continuing to use that part of our brain. 00:09:01.098 --> 00:09:05.188 So with that, and I'm pretty sure we're preaching to the converted here tonight. 00:09:05.188 --> 00:09:12.898 So, we'll move from those statistics in facts into some strategies on how to get and keep kids reading. 00:09:12.898 --> 00:09:15.508 And Susan, over to you for this next slide. 00:09:15.508 --> 00:09:16.828 We've got five points. 00:09:17.673 --> 00:09:19.173 That's always the tricky part. 00:09:19.173 --> 00:09:31.073 I think that's the part that many parents and caregivers and even teachers have difficulty with is you know, getting kids reading and then fostering that love of reading. 00:09:31.073 --> 00:09:37.878 I mean, teachers are, I. The pros, but even then with the world as it is today it's pretty challenging. 00:09:37.878 --> 00:09:46.553 And I did just wanna reflect back about reading versus screen time and when you talked about the collective health and it's also, you know. 00:09:47.308 --> 00:09:58.728 A big part of our collective, our mental health because you cannot function well if you're constantly in that orienting response in that fight or flight mode. 00:09:58.728 --> 00:10:10.973 And so the fact that

reading kind of shuts that off and gives your nervous system a break, a pause is really, has a strong effect on your own mental wellbeing. 00:10:11.153 --> 00:10:11.303 So. 00:10:11.858 --> 00:10:13.808 I just thought I'd throw that in there. 00:10:14.468 --> 00:10:15.368 Good point. 00:10:15.458 --> 00:10:16.148 Good point. 00:10:16.148 --> 00:10:16.598 All right. 00:10:16.598 --> 00:10:18.008 Jumping into the first key. 00:10:18.008 --> 00:10:18.068 So 00:10:18.998 --> 00:10:23.348 start reading to kids as early and as often as possible. 00:10:23.348 --> 00:10:33.028 I think I know when I was always a reader and my parents read to me a lot and they had my brother read to me and they had books all around the house and so I was very fortunate in that way. 00:10:33.028 --> 00:10:37.108 And I know as a parent I wanted to have that same kind of. 00:10:38.098 --> 00:10:41.068 Atmosphere and connection to reading for my own kids. 00:10:41.068 --> 00:10:49.168 But there's always that piece of you, I think, as a parent that is like, am I doing this the right way? 00:10:49.168 --> 00:10:50.818 Am I talking to myself? 00:10:50.818 --> 00:10:52.708 Am I, is my kid gonna even care? 00:10:52.708 --> 00:10:53.038 Like what? 00:10:54.238 --> 00:10:56.158 Take all of that self-judgment away. 00:10:56.158 --> 00:10:57.808 There's no wrong way. 00:10:57.808 --> 00:10:59.038 Just start reading. 00:10:59.458 --> 00:11:03.273 Read to your kids, read with your kids, and reading is. 00:11:04.333 --> 00:11:11.983 Not just, you know, picking up and getting through an entire book reading is, I mean, when I'm aging myself. 00:11:11.983 --> 00:11:17.953 But, you know, I used to sit at the breakfast table and read the back of the cereal box and that is reading. 00:11:17.983 --> 00:11:21.283 We could, you know, I could read it with my parents, but that was reading. 00:11:21.743 --> 00:11:27.173 So starting in utero, of course your kids can. 00:11:28.193 --> 00:11:35.783 There are all kinds of studies about your kids being able to hear your voice and music and all of these things when they're still growing. 00:11:36.103 --> 00:11:43.453 And so starting to read to them when they're in utero also helps you practice kind of feeling comfortable with that. 00:11:43.913 --> 00:11:47.443 And then reading can be a fun thing to do when they first wake up. 00:11:47.623 --> 00:11:47.983 Right? 00:11:47.983 --> 00:11:58.973 And again it can be reading the cereal box or reading, directions on a recipe or whatever, engages them and makes them. 00:11:59.333 --> 00:11:59.513 It. 00:11:59.513 --> 00:12:10.383 It's almost like sneaking it in there during mealtime is a great way to get them engaged and while waiting for an appointment, so while traveling right. 00:12:10.383 --> 00:12:24.543 I remember schlepping all kinds of books for my kids and then, I felt like though they just really, it really gave them something very physical and mental to do while we were traveling or waiting for appointments. 00:12:24.853 --> 00:12:31.963 At nap time or bedtime, you can make it kind of a ritual, which is sort of setting that tone of comfort and connection. 00:12:32.653 --> 00:12:34.363 S while in the bath. 00:12:34.423 --> 00:12:40.323 I mean, they're really just endless pauses in your life or places where you can sneak in some reading. 00:12:40.893 --> 00:12:41.523 Oh yeah. 00:12:41.523 --> 00:12:45.093 And keep reading together after the kids have learned my kids. 00:12:46.138 --> 00:12:47.583 S loved being read to. 00:12:47.583 --> 00:12:57.543 And when I visit schools and I work with middle schoolers who are think they're way past picture books or even high schoolers, they love being read to. 00:12:57.753 --> 00:12:58.443 They really do. 00:12:58.443 --> 00:13:00.153 And people stop doing that. 00:13:00.153 --> 00:13:01.593 They don't have that opportunity. 00:13:01.593 --> 00:13:02.673 Even adults like. 00:13:03.003 --> 00:13:03.723 Being read too. 00:13:03.813 --> 00:13:04.143 So I 00:13:04.143 --> 00:13:04.863 think that's so true. 00:13:04.863 --> 00:13:15.753 I think so often parents think, oh, I'm not supposed to keep reading to them after they can, after they're learning to read for themselves because I, you know, I'm supposed to cultivate their own independent reading skills. 00:13:15.753 --> 00:13:25.623 But it's actually so, so important to continue to preserve those connections between reading and joy reading and love reading and pleasure reading in together time. 00:13:26.088 --> 00:13:26.438 Right. 00:13:26.608 --> 00:13:29.158 I think that's just such an important piece. 00:13:29.638 --> 00:13:30.088 Read. 00:13:30.643 --> 00:13:31.153 Yeah. 00:13:31.553 --> 00:13:33.713 Setting a good example. 00:13:33.983 --> 00:13:39.603 So this is about us letting kids see see us reading it. 00:13:39.633 --> 00:13:43.893 Just to go to back to another statistic, parents who regularly read for pleasure are actually. 00:13:44.718 --> 00:13:48.408 Six times more likely to have kids who do the same. 00:13:48.408 --> 00:13:52.098 So we really wanna let kids see us reading. 00:13:52.188 --> 00:14:00.678 And it doesn't have to be novels, it can be newspapers, it can be magazines, it can be cereal boxes, it can be recipes. 00:14:00.678 --> 00:14:02.388 You know, just let kids. 00:14:02.798 --> 00:14:09.998 See the value of reading in our own lives and key books everywhere you can think of around the house. 00:14:09.998 --> 00:14:14.728 It makes a visual statement in terms of the value or the importance that you place on books. 00:14:15.268 --> 00:14:18.268 In my house, we have books in the bathroom, we have books in the kitchen. 00:14:18.268 --> 00:14:19.348 We have books in the living room. 00:14:19.348 --> 00:14:23.128 We have books in our bedrooms and we literally have books in every room in the house. 00:14:23.248 --> 00:14:28.268 And so my kids have grown up, you know, completely

surrounded by books wherever they are. 00:14:28.858 --> 00:14:32.968 And they're never more than an arm's reach away from a good read. 00:14:33.628 --> 00:14:39.388 Organizing books attractively and making them appealing to kids to wanna reach out to. 00:14:39.388 --> 00:14:47.258 So, this can be, you know, the, you can, this can be very personal, this can be very organic and specific to you. 00:14:47.628 --> 00:14:50.748 My daughter loves to organize her books by color. 00:14:51.148 --> 00:15:01.588 She's 22 now and she still organizes her books by color and she's got this beautiful rainbow bookshelf and it really is, it's just so aesthetically pleasing that I actually ended up. 00:15:01.793 --> 00:15:08.273 Organizing my bookshelves in the same way because I thought it was so soothing and so beautiful to look at. 00:15:08.663 --> 00:15:13.643 But also, you know, i'm sure we have some teachers and librarians with us this evening. 00:15:13.643 --> 00:15:21.623 You know, the way in which books are sometimes arranged to face out instead of just the spines so that we can see, you know, the cover. 00:15:21.893 --> 00:15:30.473 You can see behind Aaron how some of the books that are facing out popped and, you know, makes for an interesting and attractive visual statement. 00:15:31.283 --> 00:15:34.703 Taking care of books and valuing them, you know, really. 00:15:35.113 --> 00:15:37.603 Making sure that we protect them. 00:15:37.603 --> 00:15:50.153 We don't, they don't get torn or too beaten up or, I mean, it's okay when your kids are really small to let them chew on the corners or, you know, handle the books in whatever way they, as. 00:15:50.153 --> 00:15:52.403 It's better to be handling them than not at all. 00:15:52.763 --> 00:15:55.643 But we also wanna preserve, you know, books. 00:15:56.208 --> 00:15:57.678 Because they are cherished. 00:15:57.678 --> 00:16:06.588 And so, to the extent that we can continue to protect them and take care of them and teach kids to do the same, it shows that they have value. 00:16:06.678 --> 00:16:11.478 And then we can also advocate for literacy activities at schools. 00:16:11.528 --> 00:16:18.128 You know, be on parents' committees that organize book fairs or volunteer for the book fairs and. 00:16:18.438 --> 00:16:20.118 Advocate for author visits. 00:16:20.118 --> 00:16:32.748 This is such an important piece, you know, for kids to see people who write books and illustrate books to come into their classrooms and talk to them about the process of writing and to read with them and to show them how books are made. 00:16:33.118 --> 00:16:35.608 This, it's just such a valuable thing. 00:16:35.608 --> 00:16:41.238 And these days with budget cuts and post COVID and all of that, not every school is. 00:16:41.673 --> 00:16:45.423 Really advocating or doing much in the way of author visits anymore. 00:16:45.423 --> 00:16:53.423 And I think it sometimes really is incumbent upon parents to fight the good fight and advocate for that in schools. 00:16:54.153 --> 00:16:55.413 Back to you, Susan. 00:16:55.968 --> 00:16:58.788 we've sort of been talking about that this whole time. 00:16:58.838 --> 00:17:04.128 How things can be aesthetically pleasing, how they can reading can be connected to all the. 00:17:04.718 --> 00:17:18.818 Fun things you're doing in your life when you're on your way to doing, going to a birthday party or going some, you know, books in the car, reading, reading during joyful things, making that connection. 00:17:19.038 --> 00:17:27.143 Teachers may teach kids how to read, right, but parents can teach child to love reading, just that they have more opportunity. 00:17:28.373 --> 00:17:32.153 To connect books to joyful experiences, right? 00:17:32.333 --> 00:17:45.203 So you're looking for ways to kind of subliminally reinforce the connection between reading and pleasure, which again comes back to the sort of modeling that you show about how reading makes you feel joyful. 00:17:45.503 --> 00:17:45.833 And. 00:17:46.418 --> 00:17:49.958 That, you know, the kids attuned to that snuggle together. 00:17:49.958 --> 00:17:56.168 So reading is associated with that together time, which is really nice and really important. 00:17:56.448 --> 00:18:00.798 Visit libraries and bookstores together, which also is super fun. 00:18:01.458 --> 00:18:04.248 And giving books is gifts that's showing them. 00:18:05.133 --> 00:18:13.913 That you think books are important enough that, that they should be shared, that somebody else should have that joy as reading. 00:18:14.463 --> 00:18:16.173 And then choosing books. 00:18:16.173 --> 00:18:20.043 This is a big one for me also, choosing books connected to a passion. 00:18:20.283 --> 00:18:31.433 I think sometimes as kids gets, get older, they they lose the ability in certain circumstances, maybe in classrooms or. 00:18:32.453 --> 00:18:47.143 Wherever they may be to choose their books to sort of decide that they're passionate about something and then find a book about it because they have a book that they, you know, have to read for homework or something else that gets in the way. 00:18:47.143 --> 00:18:55.903 But really making sure that you take that time to ch to let them choose books and have some autonomy, but connected to something that they're interested in. 00:18:56.709 --> 00:18:59.199 Connect books to support activities, right? 00:18:59.199 --> 00:19:03.009 So anything that your kid may be doing or something you went and saw. 00:19:03.009 --> 00:19:06.939 There's always a book about that thing, which is so fantastic about books. 00:19:06.939 --> 00:19:09.609 I mean, there are books for everything. 00:19:09.639 --> 00:19:14.189 And so, connecting that thing to a book, you can find a story about whatever it is. 00:19:14.189 --> 00:19:24.539 You went to a. Well you went to a movie, there's usually a book before that, but you know, you went and saw a baseball game or

you went for a walk in the woods. 00:19:24.539 --> 00:19:39.709 There are books about those things and those feelings that you get participating in or watching those things, and it's a really wonderful way to continue and the activity and the joy and bring it into a book experience. 00:19:40.369 --> 00:19:47.679 I like to think of this one as like using stealth mode to to reinforce the connection between reading and pleasure. 00:19:47.679 --> 00:19:54.159 And conversely, we wanna avoid withholding books for any reason, right? 00:19:54.159 --> 00:19:54.939 Because just as. 00:19:55.004 --> 00:20:07.144 As we wanna reinforce the connection between reading and joy, we don't wanna say, you know, if you do that, you can't stay up and read before bedtime tonight, or something like that, because then you're reinforcing the connection between books and punishment, right? 00:20:07.594 --> 00:20:21.164 So the whole idea is to ask, always be asking, is this something that is gonna underscore the relationship between books and Joy For, for my child or for my students, or whomever it may be. 00:20:21.704 --> 00:20:23.714 Connecting reading to life skills. 00:20:23.714 --> 00:20:36.104 So again, this is demonstrating, setting an example, demonstrating how important reading is in adulthood and in terms of coping and functioning in the world. 00:20:36.464 --> 00:20:46.564 Things like reading recipes out loud while you cook together, or reading instructions together when you're building equipment or when you're assembling a game or a toy. 00:20:46.874 --> 00:20:50.054 Reading shopping lists or package ingredients together. 00:20:51.104 --> 00:20:53.294 Offering books as problem solvers. 00:20:53.294 --> 00:20:55.334 We call this bibliotherapy, right? 00:20:55.674 --> 00:21:02.404 If they need to find a way to solve a problem, there's gotta be a book about that we can turn to for the solution. 00:21:03.094 --> 00:21:05.344 Promoting journaling and scrapbooking. 00:21:05.344 --> 00:21:11.724 So, this can be, you know, during a family trip or a vacation, but it actually can be sort of any time at all. 00:21:12.064 --> 00:21:23.644 It just, you know, showing again how reading and writing are ways to document and ways to capture memories and maybe creating a year end family newsletter together. 00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:26.569 Taking children with us when we vote. 00:21:26.569 --> 00:21:29.689 I did, I started doing this when my kids were really small. 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:40.619 You know, they could barely see over the voting table, but it was just such an important thing to demonstrate how being able to read, you know, a ballot is such an important life skill. 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:49.909 So, making sure that kids see how important reading is when it comes to just the daily functioning elements of life. 00:21:51.109 --> 00:21:53.719 And over to you, Susan, for our last point. 00:21:54.139 --> 00:21:56.359 Oh, well, number five. 00:21:56.439 --> 00:22:00.459 So connect reading to curiosity and wonder, right? 00:22:00.459 --> 00:22:10.339 Like that's how we learn, we extend what we're reading, we extend our activities we become curious about the world or about anything thing. 00:22:10.369 --> 00:22:18.289 That's why we were talking about sort of reading things, help, letting a child choose something they're passionate about to read about. 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:19.409 And that. 00:22:20.459 --> 00:22:34.669 That asking, that wondering, that curiosity really leads to a desire for more learning, for not more books, more learning, finding out what your passion is, right? 00:22:35.009 --> 00:22:37.199 Finding out what you don't like, finding out what you do like. 00:22:37.199 --> 00:22:42.719 So you can do this in a multitude of ways, but you can pair reading with discovery activities. 00:22:42.719 --> 00:22:44.099 So if you're. 00:22:44.849 --> 00:22:48.689 Reading something about the natural wonders in the world, right? 00:22:48.689 --> 00:22:55.559 You have a book and you also have, a real life experience or you see photographs or things like that. 00:22:55.559 --> 00:23:01.719 So you're connecting the reading with discovering you can explore other cultures through reading. 00:23:01.719 --> 00:23:11.449 It really opens you up to the world and to the idea that there's so much out there for you to explore and learn about and get to know. 00:23:11.818 --> 00:23:16.278 So we've been very fortunate to connect with reading as fundamental. 00:23:16.548 --> 00:23:37.598 Enlightened Generation is a brand that I have been a part of since its inception and I've written these books, but really this is a way to connect reading to Joy, connect reading to curiosity, and sort of reinforce the learning experience that you've had in a kind of. 00:23:37.718 --> 00:23:39.818 Stealth and wonderful way. 00:23:39.968 --> 00:23:44.408 So Enlightened Generation is a new clothing brand for kids. 00:23:44.838 --> 00:23:47.658 But it's really clothing with a purpose. 00:23:47.658 --> 00:23:58.318 So we have six collections of clothing and each collection is a world wonder or a, an amazing animal or. 00:23:58.623 --> 00:24:00.243 Learning about language, right. 00:24:00.243 --> 00:24:01.203 Things like that. 00:24:01.293 --> 00:24:19.053 And so we have a beautiful book that's written about that particular wonder and topic, and it's filled with facts, but it's also filled with questions to inspire curiosity and activities to kind of continue the learning and activate the book and the reading. 00:24:19.443 --> 00:24:21.233 And then the clothes. 00:24:21.653 --> 00:24:26.663 Are all a reflection of whatever you learned about in that book. 00:24:26.663 --> 00:24:35.853 So if you were reading about the Moai of Rappa Newi or Easter Island as some people know it then you have this amazing t-shirt that has. 00:24:36.373 --> 00:24:39.203 Rapanui I mean, moi statues on it. 00:24:39.653 -->

00:24:43.553 And so you kind of, if someone comes up to you and says, what is that? 00:24:43.553 --> 00:24:44.273 What are you wearing? 00:24:44.453 --> 00:24:49.913 It activates your brain to remember some of the things you've learned while reading. 00:24:49.973 --> 00:24:50.333 Right? 00:24:50.483 --> 00:24:56.063 And so it's a way of reinforcing in a sort of cool, fun design way. 00:24:56.493 --> 00:25:02.043 And also this whole experience gives you a chance to. 00:25:02.613 --> 00:25:04.023 Learn something together. 00:25:04.083 --> 00:25:10.793 So as a family, you read, you unbox, you talk, you ask each other questions. 00:25:10.793 --> 00:25:15.983 There are some questions in the backs of all of these books that kids can ask their grownup. 00:25:16.283 --> 00:25:25.233 So you're really getting the full experience of connecting, reading to joy, curiosity doing things together, right? 00:25:25.263 --> 00:25:29.463 Having that moment together, activating that part of your brain, giving your. 00:25:30.588 --> 00:25:41.418 Nervous system arrest and also feeling connected not only to the person who you are reading with and experiencing this with, but also to what's out there in the world. 00:25:41.958 --> 00:25:44.418 And that's really key to. 00:25:45.123 --> 00:25:49.553 Reading, literacy connection, all of those things. 00:25:49.583 --> 00:25:58.243 And I'm just gonna say one really wonderful thing about this whole brand is that each collection is connected to. 00:25:58.928 --> 00:26:16.728 An a nonprofit organization that is doing their part in that community, in that culture in that area of learning to reinforce literacy, to help with kids and education, to help our environment to do all kinds of wonderful things. 00:26:16.728 --> 00:26:17.778 So every time you. 00:26:18.518 --> 00:26:24.158 Buy one of these beautiful pieces of clothing and this book and have this experience. 00:26:24.378 --> 00:26:32.968 You're giving back to one of these places that's helping everybody grow and keep the culture alive and and helping each other. 00:26:32.968 --> 00:26:34.318 So you're making a big difference. 00:26:34.318 --> 00:26:40.048 And one of our partners is of course, riff reading is fundamental. 00:26:40.048 --> 00:26:42.128 So, they are also. 00:26:42.563 --> 00:26:46.223 A big part of one of our collections on language and communication. 00:26:47.633 --> 00:26:52.043 Alright, so I'm gonna stop sharing now. 00:26:52.478 --> 00:26:58.448 So that we can chat amongst ourselves and our, and with our attendees. 00:26:59.078 --> 00:27:00.818 Thank you both so much. 00:27:00.868 --> 00:27:11.188 Emma and Susan, that was wonderful and also tangible, like as I was following along as a parent, there was nothing in your presentation that felt. 00:27:11.853 --> 00:27:17.313 Outside of something that I could do and adopt into my everyday practices. 00:27:17.313 --> 00:27:22.503 So I really appreciate how accessible you made everything for the families that are joining us. 00:27:22.503 --> 00:27:27.633 And you might have seen that I was giggling a little bit and I shared in the chat about reading in the bath. 00:27:27.663 --> 00:27:30.513 It's not something we do often, but actually last night my daughter asked. 00:27:31.658 --> 00:27:32.168 Will you? 00:27:32.218 --> 00:27:36.118 We got a magazine with stories in it, in the mail, and she said, will you read it to me? 00:27:36.368 --> 00:27:36.938 In the bath. 00:27:36.938 --> 00:27:40.898 So there we were last night reading the Prince and the Popper in the bath. 00:27:40.898 --> 00:27:50.018 And because she has great negotiation skills, that meant that she had more than her typical two books before, before bed because the bath book didn't count. 00:27:50.888 --> 00:27:51.188 Yeah, excellent. 00:27:51.743 --> 00:27:52.493 I love that. 00:27:52.493 --> 00:27:58.993 And you know, I remember my kids had you know, spec books that were specifically made for the bath books that were made of plastic. 00:27:58.993 --> 00:27:59.113 Mm-hmm. 00:27:59.383 --> 00:28:02.383 Whatever they were, you know, that were waterproof and you could read in the bath. 00:28:02.383 --> 00:28:07.003 But also we, you know, I so many hours sitting by the bath. 00:28:07.283 --> 00:28:10.013 Reading to both my kids while they were in the bath. 00:28:10.013 --> 00:28:11.573 Such a lovely thing to do, you know? 00:28:11.623 --> 00:28:17.763 And you can get one of those lovely little trays that goes across the bath with a stand to lean the book up against mm-hmm. 00:28:18.003 --> 00:28:19.593 A whole sensory experience. 00:28:19.593 --> 00:28:20.643 You know, what a great, yeah. 00:28:20.643 --> 00:28:21.873 Connect reading with pleasure. 00:28:22.293 --> 00:28:39.783 I went to visit my daughter at college a couple of weeks ago and she's in Providence and I had a. A book with me, but we found this really cool independent bookstore and we went there together and she got a book and I got another book. 00:28:40.123 --> 00:28:48.073 And then we kind of put them aside and then when we were getting into bed, getting ready to sleep, she pulled out her book and I pulled out my book. 00:28:48.103 --> 00:28:58.153 We didn't say anything to each other, we just were, and I just, that feeling of looking over and seeing her reading and I'm reading and it was just such a nice. 00:28:59.023 --> 00:29:02.053 Experience, you know, I'm like, wow, she's reading. 00:29:02.713 --> 00:29:03.403 This is great. 00:29:03.673 --> 00:29:04.183 It worked. 00:29:04.633 --> 00:29:04.933 You know. 00:29:05.776 --> 00:29:06.196 Yes. 00:29:06.226 --> 00:29:10.606 And I appreciate the way you connected it to the greater world too. 00:29:10.656 --> 00:29:19.686 That reading isn't just important for our individual sense of self and sense of joy, but it actually contributes to our ecosystem. 00:29:19.736 --> 00:29:23.296 I thought that was great and I will

probably use that in the future too. 00:29:23.606 --> 00:29:25.226 We do have some questions here. 00:29:25.506 --> 00:29:30.726 So in general, what role does curiosity play in a child's reading development? 00:29:30.846 --> 00:29:31.206 You know. 00:29:31.381 --> 00:29:37.661 We hear so much about the specific skills that children need and the chronology of them. 00:29:37.661 --> 00:29:42.281 So just wondering where does curiosity fit into that reading development? 00:29:42.341 --> 00:29:47.871 And then are there actions, educators and families can take to spark this curiosity for children? 00:29:49.251 --> 00:29:59.796 I mean, I'll just say that, you know, curiosity, is it is, it plays a key role in, in reading development and all those steps and things you need to learn. 00:29:59.856 --> 00:30:09.096 It's not, it takes away the idea that this is just memorization and something, you know, rote and that you have to, it's something you have to do. 00:30:09.096 --> 00:30:19.006 It gives you a chance to wonder why and where it came from, and it just makes it more you feel more connected to the process of reading when. 00:30:19.411 --> 00:30:20.851 You're curious. 00:30:21.691 --> 00:30:41.221 Yeah, and I think that, you know, going back to this notion of connecting reading to books, to passions, you know, connecting books to cur curiosity is key as well in terms of if a child asks a question like, you know, what, where does, how do bees make honey? 00:30:41.221 --> 00:30:45.651 Or, you know, what, whatever the curious question might be, you know? 00:30:46.388 --> 00:30:50.198 To try to say, well, I wonder if we can find a book about that. 00:30:50.228 --> 00:30:54.458 You know, let's see if we can find a book about that and do it, and really learn something about that. 00:30:54.818 --> 00:30:56.048 So easy, right. 00:30:56.048 --> 00:30:58.928 In this day and age to just say, I don't know, let's Google it. 00:30:59.348 --> 00:30:59.678 Right. 00:30:59.858 --> 00:31:03.128 But there are some absolutely gorgeous books out there. 00:31:03.128 --> 00:31:05.168 You know, I'm just thinking about bees and honey. 00:31:05.168 --> 00:31:08.978 I mean, there are some beautiful picture books that are, you know. 00:31:09.263 --> 00:31:16.223 Deep dives into the life cycle of a bee and how bees pollinate and how their importance in our ecosystem. 00:31:16.273 --> 00:31:20.698 And I'm thinking about, there's even one book about the bees who live in, at the top of Notre Dame. 00:31:21.088 --> 00:31:37.258 You know, like you can, one little question can lead you down a road through books that, that lead to other questions and other curiosities in a way that I think just Googling the answer, you know, doesn't necessarily always do. 00:31:38.158 --> 00:31:42.178 And then it gives you know, it gives a child. 00:31:42.898 --> 00:31:46.078 Permission to ask questions, to be curious. 00:31:46.078 --> 00:31:53.638 Right, because, and if you don't know the answer, that's even better because then it's something you can learn together. 00:31:53.638 --> 00:31:53.998 You can, yeah. 00:31:54.448 --> 00:31:58.588 And so they learn to say, I'm not sure, let's do this. 00:31:58.588 --> 00:31:59.698 Let's go get a book. 00:31:59.728 --> 00:32:07.168 And it becomes an experience that they then remember and they have that sort of confidence to ask questions. 00:32:07.168 --> 00:32:08.068 And also. 00:32:08.578 --> 00:32:17.668 Understand that finding out the answer can actually be a really joyful experience versus just typing it in and Right. 00:32:17.968 --> 00:32:18.298 Getting something. 00:32:19.192 --> 00:32:19.852 I love that. 00:32:19.852 --> 00:32:23.902 Using books to ask questions and then further questions really. 00:32:23.902 --> 00:32:32.392 I remember once I, I taught preschool, so three and 4-year-old students and a little girl asked me do whales have ears? 00:32:32.692 --> 00:32:35.092 And to your point, Susan, about, you might not know the answer. 00:32:35.092 --> 00:32:36.022 I actually had no clue. 00:32:36.032 --> 00:32:44.972 I knew nothing about the anatomy of whales, but I was able to find a book about whales and we read the book as a class together, and that inspired so many. 00:32:45.182 --> 00:32:46.022 More questions. 00:32:46.022 --> 00:32:50.982 We were able to actually do a full unit on ocean animals and whales as a result of that. 00:32:50.982 --> 00:32:55.282 So you can really follow those paths of curiosity in different directions. 00:32:55.282 --> 00:32:55.402 That's 00:32:55.402 --> 00:32:55.552 a great 00:32:55.942 --> 00:32:56.482 example. 00:32:57.355 --> 00:32:58.165 do they have ears? 00:32:58.345 --> 00:32:58.945 They do. 00:32:59.125 --> 00:33:00.595 They have exceptional hearing. 00:33:00.595 --> 00:33:07.375 They have basically hidden ear, not ears that we would think of, but they have hidden ears underneath their skin. 00:33:07.915 --> 00:33:08.035 Yeah. 00:33:09.535 --> 00:33:10.585 So you can't see them. 00:33:10.585 --> 00:33:12.275 That was, that's the challenging part. 00:33:13.055 --> 00:33:21.185 So my next question for y'all is why do more traditional models of reading discourage independent reading? 00:33:21.185 --> 00:33:24.155 We know we see less independent reading as children get older. 00:33:24.155 --> 00:33:24.425 What? 00:33:24.425 --> 00:33:25.445 Why is that? 00:33:26.975 --> 00:33:30.115 I think that so often, reading. 00:33:30.175 --> 00:33:47.155 You know, we touched on this earlier in terms of when kids start to read independently, we back off as parents from reading with them or from continuing to connect reading with pleasure because we think we're doing the right thing by, you know, empowering our kids to read independently. 00:33:47.155 --> 00:33:49.975 But sometimes it's challenging to learn how to read. 00:33:50.035 --> 00:33:55.855 You know, it takes time and not every kid, it doesn't

necessarily come easy to every kid and. 00:33:56.855 --> 00:34:10.365 If it's associated with homework or you know, some obligatory lesson or chore, then all of a sudden it becomes, you know, something you have to do rather than something you're choosing to do. 00:34:10.365 --> 00:34:17.115 And that whole kind of connecting, reading with pleasure things suddenly isn't, is destabilized a little bit. 00:34:17.565 --> 00:34:20.445 It's also, you know, the type of books sometimes that. 00:34:20.870 --> 00:34:25.220 In curricula, you know, kids have to read for. 00:34:25.310 --> 00:34:32.380 I remember when my son was in seventh grade the school that Susan and I, our kids went to the same school. 00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:38.390 And there was a very specific curriculum that tracked through the evolution of the planet, basically. 00:34:38.610 --> 00:34:40.590 And history, cultural history. 00:34:40.995 --> 00:34:46.805 And by the time we got to seventh grade it was, there was, it was Greeks and Romans and there was a lot of war. 00:34:47.285 --> 00:34:52.985 And the book that was assigned to my son's class was a book called My Brother Sam is Dead. 00:34:54.035 --> 00:34:54.335 Oh God. 00:34:54.335 --> 00:34:55.715 And it's a famous book. 00:34:55.715 --> 00:35:00.305 It's a classic, you know, middle grade novel, but it's set in wartime. 00:35:00.305 --> 00:35:02.615 It's very sad. 00:35:03.065 --> 00:35:04.655 And my son's name is Sam. 00:35:04.955 --> 00:35:05.045 Mm-hmm. 00:35:05.045 --> 00:35:07.535 And he, at the time, he was a new brother. 00:35:07.535 --> 00:35:14.855 He had a little, my, my daughter had just been born and it really was like a gut punch for him having to read this book. 00:35:14.885 --> 00:35:18.275 And I remember his his teacher. 00:35:19.070 --> 00:35:22.490 Said to the class, you know, okay, everybody, what did you think of the book this week? 00:35:22.490 --> 00:35:23.690 Who has feedback? 00:35:23.690 --> 00:35:25.730 Is there anything you can share about what we're reading? 00:35:25.730 --> 00:35:36.010 And he s he said to his credit, he said I thought it was beautifully bound and you know, nicely printed and illustrated. 00:35:36.430 --> 00:35:43.190 But ever the diplomat, my son, he said, but but I have to say, I had, I found it really hard to read, and it's. 00:35:43.795 --> 00:35:51.055 The, these books that we've been reading recently in class are kind of turning me off reading altogether 'cause they're all so sad. 00:35:51.925 --> 00:35:57.025 And his teacher, thank goodness heard it and. 00:35:57.580 --> 00:36:02.800 Caught it in the moment and said, okay, your next read Sam, is a free read. 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:05.080 You get to pick the book for the next read. 00:36:05.110 --> 00:36:08.900 And that was just such a precious moment, right? 00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:14.990 And of course then it was, then the pressure was on, okay, what book is it gonna be that re captivates his interest in reading? 00:36:14.990 --> 00:36:19.850 And so he said to him, you know, what do you wanna, what kind of book do you wanna read, Sam? 00:36:19.850 --> 00:36:20.450 And he said. 00:36:20.930 --> 00:36:26.960 Something realistic, something funny, and about animals. 00:36:27.873 --> 00:36:34.323 So then it would be, you know, the onus was on us to find something that fit that bill and captivated his imagination. 00:36:34.323 --> 00:36:35.913 We, I took him to the library. 00:36:36.333 --> 00:36:42.643 We went to the to our local library and to the library, and we were like, okay, Sam needs a book that is realistic, funny, and about animals. 00:36:43.263 --> 00:36:46.713 And she gave him Gerald Durrell, my family, and other animals. 00:36:46.713 --> 00:36:47.853 And that did the trick. 00:36:47.853 --> 00:36:48.573 He loved it. 00:36:48.573 --> 00:36:53.013 He laughed out loud and he was right back into to loving reading again. 00:36:53.013 --> 00:36:53.343 So, I mean, 00:36:53.553 --> 00:37:04.418 thank goodness she heard him and also, yes, advocate for himself because I think one of my kids who has dyslexia had a lot of difficulty reading. 00:37:04.573 --> 00:37:07.753 And in 11th grade, he was given. 00:37:08.813 --> 00:37:21.033 The classics that are not written the way kids speak and communicate, and it was very hard for him and it just really turned him off from reading altogether. 00:37:21.033 --> 00:37:27.133 He's just now beginning to see that there are things that he can choose and read for joy, but it 00:37:27.133 --> 00:37:27.943 definitely. 00:37:28.888 --> 00:37:35.098 It's tough and you know, I think sometimes, like there are different ways to read, right? 00:37:35.098 --> 00:37:39.028 We, it's not just look, holding a book in your hands and looking at words on the page. 00:37:39.058 --> 00:37:44.838 I remember when my son was a certain age my son had strabismus, which is a lazy eye. 00:37:45.338 --> 00:37:48.608 And what it meant was that his eyes didn't team. 00:37:48.668 --> 00:37:51.863 He eventually had a surgery and now they do team. 00:37:51.863 --> 00:38:01.133 But for most of his childhood, he was always looking through either one eye or the other and not both at the same time, which was extremely fatiguing for his brain. 00:38:01.133 --> 00:38:03.713 And reading was really challenging. 00:38:03.713 --> 00:38:13.783 And I remember after we discovered this, I remember the school psychologist saying to us, he's more of an auditory learner than a visual learner. 00:38:14.053 --> 00:38:21.523 So give him audio books because that's gonna be a great way for him to engage with reading. 00:38:21.523 --> 00:38:22.933 And it really helped. 00:38:22.933 --> 00:38:30.583 You know, he would listen to the book at the same time as looking at the book, but mostly absorbing it through the narration that he was hearing. 00:38:30.583 --> 00:38:32.413 And that's reading, right? 00:38:32.413 --> 00:38:36.028 That's no

less reading than actually scanning the page with your eyes. 00:38:37.033 --> 00:38:38.413 Read comic books. 00:38:38.413 --> 00:38:39.583 That's reading too. 00:38:39.613 --> 00:38:55.643 You know, it, it, as long as you're reading with joy, something that speaks to you, that sparks a passion and in a way that feels comfortable and, you know, speaks to you. 00:38:56.313 --> 00:39:00.603 It's reading and it's gonna have all the benefits and all the positive effects. 00:39:00.923 --> 00:39:13.373 Of course we have to, you know, we kids have to go to school and sometimes they have to read boring stuff and they do have to learn how to read and to decode, and they have to learn fluency and all of the, you know, those reading terms. 00:39:14.063 --> 00:39:21.473 But I think it's really important to balance that with the joy, you know, to keep the joy of reading alive through. 00:39:22.463 --> 00:39:27.383 Giving them opportunities to find stories in ways that speak to them. 00:39:27.803 --> 00:39:28.073 Right. 00:39:28.073 --> 00:39:33.563 For every book they have to read, give them a, let them choose a book that they want to read. 00:39:34.013 --> 00:39:34.373 Yes. 00:39:34.433 --> 00:39:35.063 Perfect 00:39:35.063 --> 00:39:37.043 Topic, novels, whatever it is. 00:39:37.433 --> 00:39:37.763 Love that. 00:39:37.913 --> 00:39:38.903 Audio books. 00:39:39.053 --> 00:39:39.293 Yeah. 00:39:40.573 --> 00:39:41.353 It's a balance. 00:39:41.623 --> 00:39:45.283 And if I can just pull on a thread of something you said, Emma. 00:39:45.463 --> 00:39:50.113 There's not, there's more than one way to read a book. 00:39:50.143 --> 00:39:53.323 And so you have designed a book, a series of books. 00:39:53.323 --> 00:39:55.733 Susan, you're the author and Emma you're the editor. 00:39:55.733 --> 00:39:58.073 So I wanna ask you, I've looked at the books. 00:39:58.073 --> 00:40:04.393 I have my own answer that I could give for this, but how were you able to write a book that is. 00:40:04.688 --> 00:40:09.428 Captivating curio and inspiring curiosity for ages three through 12. 00:40:09.458 --> 00:40:17.768 Because I'm sure many parents when they hear that are thinking, there's no way my 3-year-old, my 9-year-old, and my 12-year-old can read the same book. 00:40:18.608 --> 00:40:20.888 I, you know, it was it's a very good question. 00:40:20.948 --> 00:40:29.778 And we thought long and hard about that because, you know, we were deciding for enlightened generation whether to make these books one for each. 00:40:30.338 --> 00:40:38.018 Grade level or growth period, or period of development or just one that could be for everyone. 00:40:38.018 --> 00:40:39.098 And how would we do that? 00:40:39.098 --> 00:40:53.258 And I, so we, obviously, we chose the one, but the way that these books are written are, they're, they give you a lot of opportunity as the adult to share. 00:40:53.798 --> 00:40:57.218 What connects and then leave out what doesn't. 00:40:57.218 --> 00:41:01.808 And then the books you can kind of revisit and grow with these books. 00:41:01.808 --> 00:41:05.618 They're meant to keep, they're meant to go back to learn more about. 00:41:05.618 --> 00:41:12.668 And things are written in sort of chunks, you know, in the way that, that kids really take information these days. 00:41:12.858 --> 00:41:14.088 So very. 00:41:14.688 --> 00:41:21.708 Very short and beautiful chunks that are supported by photographs that are, you know, pictures. 00:41:21.948 --> 00:41:35.028 So there are a lot of ways you can engage all the different ages, and this is again, a place where the grownup needs to know that there's no wrong or right way, like you know your kid better than anyone else. 00:41:35.028 --> 00:41:37.878 So if you're sitting down with this book and you get through. 00:41:39.063 --> 00:41:48.243 Two pages, three facts, whatever it is, that's still something you can skip right to the curiosity pages or right to the you. 00:41:48.243 --> 00:41:48.783 You can. 00:41:49.878 --> 00:41:52.728 You, there are no hard and fast rules. 00:41:52.728 --> 00:41:59.718 You can kind of pick what works or, you know, go as far as your child can go in that moment. 00:42:00.058 --> 00:42:02.158 And then you have all this stuff to come back to. 00:42:02.158 --> 00:42:06.638 So I think don't try to overload them with everything. 00:42:06.668 --> 00:42:13.958 Go with their reactions, responses, questions, and then, you know, someone who's 10 or whatever, if they can. 00:42:14.303 --> 00:42:15.503 Read independently. 00:42:15.503 --> 00:42:19.493 You still are sharing that time together and maybe they'll read something to you. 00:42:19.493 --> 00:42:20.543 You read something to them. 00:42:20.543 --> 00:42:23.303 So there are many ways you can keep them engaged. 00:42:23.768 --> 00:42:25.538 Regardless of the age. 00:42:25.958 --> 00:42:44.108 There's also the use of questions, which I really I really resonated with throughout the book and our, I remember there was a moment when our the Enlightened Generation's founder, Robin's daughter, who is herself a parent of small children came up with the idea to include a page. 00:42:44.158 --> 00:42:51.538 In the middle of the book that says, wait, don't stop, you know, let's, what questions do you have right now? 00:42:51.538 --> 00:42:52.078 About where? 00:42:52.108 --> 00:42:56.998 About what we've just talked about and are you curious about this or are you curious about that? 00:42:56.998 --> 00:42:59.008 Or maybe you wondering this? 00:42:59.008 --> 00:43:01.798 Well, read on to find out the answers. 00:43:01.798 --> 00:43:09.718 And it keeps, I think it keeps the readers, the kids of all ages kind of engaged in real time because you're. 00:43:10.298 --> 00:43:16.048 Stimulating their curiosity and inviting them to think about their questions as you continue reading. 00:43:16.048 --> 00:43:22.078 And the photographs in these books

are really very beautiful and very evocative. 00:43:22.078 --> 00:43:32.068 And I think so much the beauty of these books is that the child, no matter how young they are, can piece together. 00:43:32.983 --> 00:43:52.513 Enough of the story from a combination of hearing the information but also absorbing these gl glorious visuals, which, you know, so really there's opportunities for older kids to get deeper into the weeds with some of the facts and the information, but younger kids to engage with the artwork and the illustrations and the photographs and kids of all ages. 00:43:53.203 --> 00:43:58.653 Curiosity is to be sparked by the questions that the book asks from one section to the next. 00:43:58.773 --> 00:43:58.983 Yeah. 00:43:58.983 --> 00:44:11.853 I mean, and that's one of the other sort of wonderful pieces is that yes, it's a book that gives you information and tells you things that are facts about whatever it is that you're looking at, but it also. 00:44:13.203 --> 00:44:17.283 Tells you what we don't know yet, and that everyone and says, 00:44:17.493 --> 00:44:20.223 maybe one day you'll be the person who finds out the answer. 00:44:20.223 --> 00:44:20.403 Right? 00:44:20.463 --> 00:44:21.153 That out, right? 00:44:21.153 --> 00:44:24.873 So it's like not everybody has the answer to everything. 00:44:25.183 --> 00:44:30.853 There are even these mysteries or these things or these wonders that have been studied by scientists and this, that and the other. 00:44:31.093 --> 00:44:37.453 There are still unknowns and there's still opportunity for you to be the one to figure it out. 00:44:38.353 --> 00:44:55.693 So it's really sort of, there are many parts of it that are very inviting, you know, that sort of break that fourth wall or whatever you might say, you know, that kind of talk directly to you and let you know that this could be your experience too, or this could be your discovery too. 00:44:56.841 --> 00:45:00.961 if there was one takeaway you would like for our listeners to have. 00:45:01.688 --> 00:45:06.186 For me it would be preserve the connection between reading and pleasure. 00:45:06.666 --> 00:45:12.566 You know, just continually ask, is this gonna reinforce the connection between reading and pleasure? 00:45:12.566 --> 00:45:20.346 Every, every activity, every opportunity to read just keep looking for ways to underscore the joy in reading. 00:45:21.306 --> 00:45:33.415 And I would say, well, the same, but also, don't stress about it, how you're reading or how long your child is sitting still or what the rules are supposed to, what it's supposed to look like. 00:45:33.415 --> 00:45:33.775 Right. 00:45:33.985 --> 00:45:37.240 We know that reading can look different and we talked about that. 00:45:37.240 --> 00:45:44.830 It can and so if you can let go of those sort of restraints and judgements and whatever, you can make the experience. 00:45:45.190 --> 00:45:46.690 Joyful for both of you. 00:45:47.210 --> 00:45:49.850 And that is, is a really important connection. 00:45:50.558 --> 00:45:52.238 Thank you Emma and Susan. 00:45:52.238 --> 00:45:58.448 It was so wonderful to have you and we will be in touch and thank you everyone for joining us. 00:45:58.898 --> 00:46:00.368 Thank you so much for having us. 00:46:00.368 --> 00:46:01.688 It was a pleasure to be here. 00:46:02.233 --> 00:46:02.603 Thank you all.