Teach a child to read

Anita has been in reading camp for at least three years. She is a bright, sweet little girl who loves to wear dresses and to giggle. This year, she was in my class of novice readers. The few years I have known her, she has always been a smiler and an enthusiastic participant in reading camp however, she was not able to actually read aside from a few easy words like "it, is, in, they etc".

This year, her enthusiasm seemed to have doubled. Each time I asked the class to pull out their poetry books, she did so with glee and gusto. Each time the students were asked to sing a song or to draw a picture or to write a sentence, Anita joyfully took o the task and completed it successfully.

I asked her to read for the class one day and for a moment, she froze and the smile faded. I looked at her and said softly, "C'mon…..I know you can do this." and she smiled and shyly read for the class. When she had finished, she looked at me with uncertainty in her eyes until, with a huge smile on my face, I said, "Wow! Anita, that was beautiful!!". Her eyes lit up, her smiled reignited and she giggled. For four days, during our library time, this little girl, grabbed a book, grabbed my hand, and demanded that she read stories to me for an hour. I was and am blessed beyond belief. Zach Neumann