Miss K got caught!

Oh my, just having to pick one picture of Miss K reading a book is too hard. I guess it is because books are such a part of her life. We started reading to her while she was still in NICU. The one book she is reading is called You are Special, Little One which is so true "'. . .you are so special, and we will love you forever and ever and always.'"

I also included a more recent Miss K photo. English is her mother tongue but Chinese is the language that she hears when we are out of the house. In the first weeks of her life she heard more Chinese than English. Here she is practicing her Chinese reading. To her it doesn't matter if the book is English or Chinese she will read it.

Beth

Wow, what a great opportunity for Miss K. Because she is most likely to be a whole word reader, she should have an easier time understanding the Chinese charaters, as they are like "pictures" with an associated meaning. Thanks for sending your pictures!

Avid readers become....writers!

Since we are celebrating readers who have Down syndrome we can get excited about Kellie Greenwald, author and illustrator of KELLIE'S BOOK-A Celebration of the Possible.

Kellie has DS and shares with the reader the joy she embraces in her busy life. As an artist, her book reflects life experiences with richly coloured pieces she has produced. Through the book, she reveals her happiness and satisfaction in her own words and illustrations. She dispells myths and rebuilds old impressions with her accomplishments and the many fulfilling aspects of her life.

For people wondering if a life with Down syndrome is a life of emptiness, misery and unhappiness, here is a chance to get a real, first hand perspective. Kellie does more here than paint a picture of her own joy in this book, she has illustrated that DS is not a barrier to a happy, fulfilling life. Prejudices and ignorance are responsible for old assumptions and Kellie has done a great service to society by showing us that any life that is celebrated is one worth sharing.

Clair got caught!

Dear Kelly,

I read about your contest through WozaBooks newsletter. Attached is a
photo of me with our god-daughter, Claire Jensen Rose.

She was really excited about the idea and loves reading.

Peace,
Craig

"She... loves reading" A-ha! That's what we want to hear! Our kids can learn how to read, AND they can love it. For families that celebrate the wonder and the value of books this is such a reassurance. Thank you for sending in this great picture.

Ella got caught, with big brother Hunter!

Ella Grace got caught reading, or being read to by her big brother Hunter.

http://www.theamazingellagrace.blogspot.com/

Isn't it amazing how even really little kids can get drawn into a book? I think even babies can pick up on the wonder of what is between the covers.

Joe got caught!

Kelly,
Hi! I finally caught Joe (4 years) reading "I Know an Old Woman."
Thanks for doing this,
Amy

I'm glad you could join in! I remember that book from way back in my kindergarten days. It's a classic that really makes kids wonder how far they can stretch horizontally. I remember wondering that and my kids have asked me the same question.

Emma got caught!

Here is one of our little girlie reading in her favorite spot. Emma loves to read. You can almost always catch her with a book, and sometimes she'll even "read" it to you. She loves Pooh books and Goodnight Moon. It was hard to pick just one, but this one will do. Thanks for doing this!!

Dawn

Favorite toys can be books, can't they? I usually make sure that books are part of every gift giving time (Birthday, Christmas and Easter etc.) so the kids get the message that books are fun and important personal possesions too. I like Emma's reading spot, it's very welcoming.

Trevor got caught!

Here's Trevor with one of his all-time favorite books: one of his
children's Bibles. Somehow he knows the difference between a regular
book and any one of his many little Bibles. He loves to flip, flip,
flip through them and point out the "baa baas" and the "boats" etc.
Jessica
P.S. Trevor is 3.

Kids need inspiration too! Kids bible stories are wonderful stories to share together, to not only teach kids about God's unconditional love...but remind mom and dad too!

Robert got caught!

I have been reading your blog for a few weeks and just wanted to introduce myself.
I'm Linda Mam to Hannah Kate and Robert. Hannah is nine and Robert is three. Robert has an extra chromosome. We live in Dublin, Ireland.
We are all big readers. I have attached a picture of Robert taken over the summer.This was the first time he showed much interest in 'reading' and I happened to have the camera close at hand.
He started pre-school in September and now signs book at bed time.
I'm so delighted he's at this stage.... I love reading time with Hannah and its now starting with Robert....yippie!

Hannah is a big read too. Right now she is reading the third book in the Harry Potter series.

I enjoy your blogs.
Bye for now
Linda

I envy the kids who can read while driving. I get car sick when I try. It is always exciting when younger kids start up with the family passion of reading. Thanks for sending the picture!

Maxford got caught!

Here is my son Maxford who is now 3 1/2 reading a Thomas the Train Book.

By the way I really liked your post on clothes, my wife feels the exact same way and she is forever making sure Maxford looks cool when he goes out. Absolutely no sweats in our house!

Jeff

Well Jeff, I think Maxford is an excellent name for an author. It has a certain literary quality to it. I like Maxford's reading chair. I wonder why kids like scaled down chairs for reading time. They could easily plop down on the broadloom with their book, but prefer little chairs as a perch for story time.

Michael got caught...

...reading to others.
This is hands down my favorite reading moment of my son, Michael-age 15. He read a story about Fall to a Jr.Preschool class at a neighborhood preschool just today. He had the children captivated as he read each page then holding the book up to show them each picture. It was so much fun. I could see Michael's confidence and enthusiasm for reading grow right in front of my eyes.
I have enjoyed seeing the other pictures. Really cool stuff! Thank you!
Cathy

Thank you Cathy! Michael must be doing a great job, because those kids would not look so engaged. I am happy to see this type of exchange, it benefits Michael and his audience both. Books provide such an excellent medium for bringing people together, don't you think?

William got caught!

William (DS and age 2 in this photo) gets caught reading just like his twin sister Paige. Somehow in the Whited household reading begins upside down!!

Julie http://www.mythreeminions.blogspot.com/

William must have keen deciphering skills, learning to read right-side-up should be a snap for him! Great name by the way :)

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Liam got caught!

Dr. Seuss has always been one of Liam’s favorites. I love these pictures because he looks so into the book. The last pic I took of him he just started cracking up. Dr. Seuss can do that, you know.

Mindyhttp://sharppointysticks.typepad.com/

That is a quality laugh there. Yes, that Dr. Seuss is hilarious. I love watching little kids deal with big books, using thier whole body to manouver the covers and pages. You know they are enjoying a book when they are going to that much effort to look through it.

Raphael got caught!

Hello, this is my son Raphael from the Philippines. He's 10 months old and that is his favorite book, Happy Baby.

I love when little babies and children get books to play with. The fact that they learn that simply turning a page leads to new surpises. Not many toys can compete with that kind of visual stimulation.

I have to ask, is Raphael in a biligual situation? Is he exposed to both english and Philippino? I had read early on that other languages are stimulating to young children with DS. One girl I know with DS understands some french even though she is english speaking. I found that out when I was discussing the fact that we were going to be transferred to Paris (instead of here) and I had had some serious reservations about what services would be like for Will.

By the way, you sure have a cutie there!

P.S. I apologize to those sending me high resolution pictures. When I resize them to be Blogger friendly they end up with some distortion. I'm sure there is a way around it, but after spending more than a little time trying to find it, I still haven't come acrooss it.

Kellen got caught!

Kellen reading the Pike's Place Market newspaper in Seattle.

Thanks for the picture! It's very inspiring for me to see a teen/young adult with DS reading for his own enjoyment and recreation. Sorry for the delay in posting...I should have checked the spam folder!

Avery got caught with big brother Carter!

Hello!

Here's a picture of Avery (4) and big brother Carter (8). I'll do a little blog post about it too, about the contest. What a wonderful idea!!!

JenniferGG (pinwheels)

Sorry for the delay on posting this great picture, it ended up in my spam box after arriving there a week ago! Finally, here are two brothers enjoying some reading time together. I'm sure Avery is learning the appeal of books through his big brother :)

Victoria got caught!

This young lady totally plays into my "dress code" post. Check out those groovin' glasses! Yes, a large number of kids with DS need to wear glasses....rockin' glasses! Obviously very stylin' glasses are out there! Although these specs are cutting edge fashion, they still have the librarian effect. That might be Victoria's expression though, as she is seriously, studiously, enjoys her book.

Who's been caught?

Here are all the readers, in one spot :)

Miss K

>

Clair

Ella

Joe

Emma

Trevor

Robert

Maxford

Michael

William

Liam

Raphael

Kellen

Avery

Victoria

Georgia

Nina

Matthew

Vince

Tucker

Ryan

Livia

Libby

Evan

Katherine

John

Gabe

Delphine