Reading and memorizing in the summer

“But I don’t like to read,” my granddaughter whined when I handed her a Nancy Drew mystery book.
“Read three chapters of it anyway,” I said. It was after all not the first book I had suggested.
She reluctantly sat down and began reading.
“What does this word mean?” she pointed to ‘glints’.
“Shiny, sparkles in the sun,” I said.
“Oh,” she returned to reading, finished the three chapters, verbally summarized the adventures and assured me she had enjoyed the book — but thought I had asked her to read too much.
Later that day I picked up the book and skimmed over the pages. The cliff hangers at the end of each chapter kept me reading just a little bit more in the next chapters, reminding me why I had once eagerly read any Drew book I could find.
The next day she read another three chapters, then a fourth and fifth because, “It’s getting pretty exciting.”
“I bet it is,” I agreed.
That evening we added another literary endeavor to her visit and printed out copies of the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm for her to memorize. I chose them because recently I realized that many children and teens simply do not know these traditional Biblical passages rich with blessings and promises.
“Read it out loud five times,” I mandated. “You don’t have to memorize it today, just read it out loud every day and eventually you will remember it.”
As we took an afternoon walk around the block another day, she and I talked our way through the 23rd Psalm insuring she understood what the ancient writing meant to her in this century.
We had to run off more copies of each passage a couple day days later when her sisters arrived.
I introduced them to the summer reading and memorization program. Again, I heard the inevitable whine, “I don’t want to read.”
When I insisted, they went to my bookshelf filled with books written for children and teenagers and grabbed picture books. “No, I believe you are old enough to read a Nancy Drew book or one of the other chapter books,” I motioned to the shelves of books. Reluctantly, the oldest picked up a Nancy Drew book and began reading. A while later she asked, “What does ‘apt’ mean?”
“Capable, skilled. They are able to do something.” I defined off the top of my head.
While I defined the word, the first member of my summer reading program had disappeared into the bedroom with her Nancy Drew book.
Calls for her to come and join the others outside went unanswered until she emerged, a satisfied glow on her face, “I read the whole book. It’s a good book. I’m going to start the next book tomorrow.” And she did. I no longer closely monitor that she has read her three chapters a day. Her oldest sister reported she had read an extra chapter to find out what happened next.
The third granddaughter resisted my suggestion the longest. I pointed out several other short chapter books which I thought she might enjoy. After a false start or two, she picked up one of the Nancy Drew books. Two days later, as she sat reading across the room from me, she looked up and asked, “What does this word mean?” She spelled out ‘prowler’ and I pronounced the word and said, “sneaking around like a burglar.” She nodded and bent over her book again.
Between supper and bedtime, we added John 14:1- 6 for daily reading with the goal of memorizing the passage. It takes about a few minutes a day to read through the verses. We hope over time that the concepts will saturate into the depths of their beings — and meanwhile we promise treats and rewards if they complete the tasks.
Last week when I talked over my granddaughter’s activities someone said, “Welcome to ‘Granny’s Boot Camp’.” An apt expression since only the ceiling light glints off the silent television sitting silently in the corner and all electronics have been relegated to the back of the closet out of view of any prowlers. They can enjoy all those things elsewhere. For this month, I’m hoping they discover the wonder of a reading a good book, maybe learn a few new words and catch a glimpse of their spiritual heritage.
(Joan Hershberger is a reporter at the News-Times. E-mail her at joanh@everybody.org.)