Ella Discovers the Joy of Reading Books

Our daughter Ella is in fifth grade, learning remotely. Every day, she logs into her Zoom classroom and takes on the day’s lessons. She is dedicated to her education and enjoys her classmates, albeit online.

When she has breaks during her studies, Ella plays on her iPad with friends and family. She’ll socialize a while, then get right back to her classroom when it’s time. She finishes her day at school and then goes back to playing with friends.

The other day, she wheeled herself out to the deck, where I was enjoying some downtime. She rolled up next to me and asked if she could order something online. I asked what she wanted, thinking it would be a toy or something for one of her apps, but she said she wanted a book.

I grabbed my phone, we searched for the book she wanted, and I placed the order. Ella asked if we could afford it, and I told her that we can always afford books. She beamed with delight and wheeled back into the house.

Now that she is back in school, Ella is reading more, which is good. She gathers her books and finds a quiet spot to enjoy each author’s words. She tells us about a book’s plot and its characters. She is practicing the skills and strategies she is learning in school, and seems self-motivated to read.

It’s been a long summer, and now that school has started we are getting into a routine. It’s nice to know that books are becoming a part of that routine. Ella’s reading level is increasing as time goes by. She takes notes while she reads and draws pictures to express the book. 

Ella has found a favorite author and has a list of books by that author that she wants to read. She cruises through books of various genres quickly and wants to read more and more.

It’s nice to know that for Ella, there are more things in life than electronic screens. Reading enriches the mind and allows us to take a step out of our world and engage in a new one. I hope that as time goes by and Ella’s life becomes more complicated, she will still find the time and the desire to read. 

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