Growing Habits

I know the power of habits to change a life. If I want to be physically healthy, I have to exercise on a regular basis. If I want to get good at anything, I have to do it on a regular basis. So, the logic definitely applies to reading and writing. The challenge, of course, is to help students build a habit that they embrace, that they want and that they will continue to employ for the rest of their lives. 

20/5 is not unreasonable. Even the busiest, most overs scheduled kid in the world can find five minutes a day to blog and 20 minutes to read. As I always say, if not 20, then whatever you can do, but do something. Build the habit until it feels weird and unnatural when you DON'T do it as opposed to when you do.

I will give my kids a daily schedule and help them think about when they read and write. Hopefully my reading and writing life will serve as a model, but that's not nearly enough. I need to guide, support, and push. Relentlessly. I need to involve parents, who are ordinarily completely trusting of their kids' actions and totally unaware of what my wishes, as their teacher, are. This will happen.