Teaching the Boys to Read
By Mrs. Della M. Wiltse
Since early childhood I have always cherished a love of good reading, and have never found it difficult to gratify my desire. Being the oldest child in my father's family, the next child being a brother five years younger (my playmate sister having died), I naturally sought companionship somewhere, and I found the chiefest gratification of that desire in good reading. When the time came that God saw fit to give me four little boys to train for him, I felt the responsibility keenly, and my mind instinctively turned to the reading of good books and papers together with the Bible. I taught them the Sabbath-school lessons and memory verses, and most of the Sabbath afternoons were spent in reading to them, telling them stories, and talking about the things we had read. As they grew older and learned to read for themselves, I was surprised and disappointed that while they were desirous of hearing, and were good listeners, they manifested little desire to read for themselves. They told me they could not understand it as well. I thank the Lord that that time is now in the past. I do not have to insist or seek for incentives to lead them to read any longer. All except the youngest, who is ten years old, satisfy my early expectations in reading good books and papers, and he will in time. It took four or five years of effort to bring about this result. I will speak of only the best incentives used. I did not cease reading, but did a little less, and selected, at first, short stories or selections that I knew would be interesting to them, and asked that they read them. I noted the ability of each, and selected the reading accordingly. I would sometimes speak of some interesting point I had read or was reading about some person or thing; at once their curiosity was aroused to know more, and I would tell or show them where they might find the desired information. Biographies, stories of animals, descriptions of different countries with their animals, people, habits of life; in fact, anything interesting, aside from bare facts or statements, will interest children. When they were old enough to study history in school, they became especially interested in that line of reading. For several years they were each given a small garden plot, and were allowed to sell the produce and receive the proceeds. Seed catalogues were provided, whose pages they closely perused, gaining many valuable points in farming and gardening. The Little Friend and the Youth's Instructor are eagerly sought; also the REVIEW, Watchman, Life and Health, and other papers and books are read by them. I attribute their interest in the REVIEW to interesting accounts of foreign missionary work which I have given to each one to tell about in our foreign missionary meetings. These results were obtained by patient, untiring, and determined effort. "No I am sure it pays. I have written this not to boast, but that some one with a similar need may be encouraged and benefited. We must train these lambs of the flock in the way they should go.