Over the summer, Madison from the Praise Home spent her Friday mornings a little differently than most of the other children at Eagle Ranch. Having struggled with reading for many years, Madison, her teachers and her counselor looked for creative ways to help her grow. “It makes me uncomfortable to read in front of other people,” said Madison. “Sometimes I wouldn’t know what a word meant, so I would just skip over it.” Part of her personal goal over the summer was to work on reading aloud; so to increase her confidence, Madison chose to host a bi-weekly story time with the younger children on campus. Every two weeks, Madison would choose a few children’s books from the library to read aloud at the Joan Whitcomb Girls Center. It didn’t take long for the children to naturally gravitate toward Madison, who showed joy, excitement and genuine love for them. Madison showed growth this summer in her commitment to read to our kids. She showed up even when she was nervous or didn't feel like going. It was awesome seeing her commit, persevere and have fun doing it! “I really like kids—one day I want to be a pediatric nurse,” Madison said. “I liked reading to the kids over the summer. They are not as judgmental as people my age—they didn’t know if I read the word wrong or not—so I was more confident in what I was reading. I think that reading to the kids helped me as a reader and I would love to do it again.” Madison’s counselor, Sarah, saw a lot of growth in Madison over the summer not only academically, but as a young woman. “Madison showed growth this summer in her commitment to read to our kids. She showed up even when she was nervous or didn't feel like going. It was awesome seeing her commit, persevere and have fun doing it!” As Madison enters into her 10th grade year, she is now a more confident reader and is experiencing success in her classes at school.
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