It seems like yesterday I sat across from my son Nathan, frustrated. His fingers were reaching under his glasses to wipe away his tears. He hated reading and I didn’t understand why. I wanted him to love reading so his education and personal growth would be limitless, but I knew that would never happen if he continued to hate it. That day, I knew things had to change.

When I started to homeschool, I pictured myself as the traditional teacher making all the decisions and Nathan following whether he liked it or not. Well, obviously, he didn’t like reading. I needed to know why, so I asked him about it. You know what? He told me EXACTLY why: he hated the books, he thought they were boring, and he wanted to pick his own.

That totally blew me away. I had underestimated his ability to participate in the direction of his education!

Okay, so Nathan thought his books were boring. Not the end of the world, but that got me thinking. I suddenly realized that my “nationally acclaimed” reading program taught reading, but it didn’t teach reading enjoyment. And he needed to enjoy reading. So, I kept the parts of the program he liked, and I packed away those distasteful reading books.

The next thing I did was let Nathan show me his interests. We went to the bookstore, and I showed him potential books. Boy, was I shocked again! He picked books on treasure hunting, baseball stars, and space exploration. He didn’t even realize these books were harder and was ready to dive in. I had always given him fiction, but he was only interested in non-fiction. That day at the bookstore, I caught the first glimpse of excitement in Nathan. I was relieved to know that I was headed in the right direction.

After our book purchases, I knew I had the right material, but the books alone weren’t going to solve our problems. I decided to abandon the kitchen table location and make a new, fun reading place. Nathan is a comfort bug who would go to bed with 20 feather pillows and 50 blankets if I let him. So, I got him a “reading” bean-bag. From then on, he ran to his bean bag and pillows to nestle down to read.

No more tears—hallelujah!

My next inspiration came from a Japanese Proverb, “One kind word can warm three winter months,” and I began to incorporate praise. Nathan would read a word, and I would say, “Wow. Good job.” His smile lit up the room. When he read a difficult word, I immediately raved. “You got it! That one was hard!” He would stop and brag about some other difficult things, and we chatted pleasantly before continuing.