"Read to me, Mama"

I lost my darn parent pamphlet and I'm pretty sure I'm not doing it right.

Let me start at the beginning. I started reading to my son when he was six months old. My friends and family would marvel at the basket of books in our living room that our toddler would constantly bring over to hear us read. He would sit in my lap and listen to one after another, after another. Friends would ask me how I did it, how I got him so interested. I honestly didn't do anything but offer them to him and he loved it.

I was always a good reader. I loved it from the very beginning. I get very nostalgic when I think of all the great stories I read when I was a kid. I loved it. Because of these two things, I always assumed my kids would be the same way. I'm not sure I even assumed it so much as not giving it a second thought. Sure they would read, why wouldn't they?

You can imagine my surprise when at the end of Kindergarten his teacher pulled me in to put him on a reading plan. He simply wasn't getting it. I was shocked. I didn't realize this was something I was going to have to really teach him. I just thought he'd pick it up the same as riding a bike or losing a tooth. It just happened, right?

Um... apparently not.

He's in second grade now, and while he's really doing great, he's still a little behind and he just doesn't seem to like it much. I know I put pressure on him to be a good reader. I just think it's so important. How will he ever be a good student if he's not a good reader?

Tonight, he had a little melt down. He's only in second grade and he's feeling the stress. He thinks it's all really hard. I sit here tonight feeling like a pretty crappy mom. I want so much for him, I just don't know how to help him achieve it.