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Reading with parents
At this young age in my life, my parents have probably already read hundreds of books to me. Or maybe dozens of books hundreds of times! -
Audiobooks are magic
I can remember listening to audiocassette recordings of picture books and learning to turn the page when you hear the beep. -
Learning to read
Around this time I started formally learning how to read in school. I can't remember exactly what I read or when, but I took to it pretty quickly. -
Got my first library card
I can still remember the excitement I felt writing my name on the back of the card. -
Why can't Grandma spell?
My grandmother had a tumultuous childhood and a difficult, unsupportive school experience. Although she graduated from high school and read voraciously, she couldn't functionally spell outside of a small set of basic words. She would ask someone to write down the message she wanted to send in letters or cards and then copy them out in her own hand. She had great difficulty filling out forms. I was stunned when I learned this and couldn't wrap my head around how someone could read but not spell. -
I only like word problems
Somewhere around late elementary school, I decided I was not good at math and resisting learning it. Thankfully, I had a thoughtful, dedicated teacher who started giving me lots of word problems and logic puzzles because she recognized that I connected with these. I thought these problems were fun and worked more diligently. I still can't say I love math, but basic math literacy was much easier to pick up with a new learning path. -
Kids can't read adult books(!)
I was a voracious, independent reader from a young age. A library employee once found me in the adult non-fiction collection and told me I should probably go to the children's room because my parents wouldn't want me "reading this stuff." I was really upset by this, but it only made me more vehement about reading what interested me no matter which section it was in. Lucky for me, my parents supported me in this. -
SSR
Throughout elementary school and middle school, my teachers required 30 minutes of reading in the classroom every day. We could read anything we wanted, including comic books. This was my favorite part of the day. -
Attending Library School
In 2008, I decided to get my Masters in Library and Information Science and went back to school. -
Presenting Library Storytime
As a library school intern, I helped prepare literacy materials to share with parents and presented storytimes for toddlers. -
Working with readers in the library
I have worked in both academic and public libraries where I see daily how different levels of literacy can hinder and help people in their daily lives and tasks. My ability to read and parse information is invaluable to me in my career.