Last week, Pam Allyn joined us for a "Back to School Night"-themed chat on the Scholastic Facebook page. Pam is a literacy expert, the founder of LitWorld, and a global ambassador for our Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life. campaign, and we absolutley love when she comes to visit.
Her energy and enthusiasm for reading is unmatched, and as I watched our Facebook page erupt with comments and questions coming in from attentive parents and teachers, I could almost see her reaching both arms through her computer screen, giving virtual hugs and high-fives out to everyone.
If you missed the chat, check out these quotes we pulled from the evening. Pam emphasized that as parents and teachers, the most important things we can do for kids is to encourage them to reading voluminously, to read outside their comfort zones in order to build their "reading muscles," and to create comfortable reading environments (or shelters) for them at home and in school.
My favorite peice of advice Pam gave was in response to a woman who posted a comment during the chat. She said that she loved to read whatever her child was reading as a way to get to know her better. Pam replied, "how wise to read along as a companion reader to your daughter. I also think we can have deeper empathy for our kids if we are IN the books with them...it's really hard to understand when they struggle and when they feel the joy if we don't jump in. So I love that you are doing this! As teachers, we can't know every book our students are reading, but we can take a look at the reviews and blogs, and websites so we can ask the kinds of questions that get our kids' thinking going in their independent reading lives."
Love!
Thanks for joining us, Pam. And thanks to all of the parents and teachers who participated!
