Of course, farm people aren't the only ones who know this. Everyday life teaches us all the importance of timing. Mother (or whoever does the cooking around your house) KNOWS: You have to wait because the cake isn't cool enough yet to ice... because the water hasn't yet come to a boil... because the pudding isn't firm enough yet to eat…. There are developments that have to take place first, until the time is right. Father (or whoever does the handiwork around your house) KNOWS: You have to wait until the glue hardens... until the paint dries... until the cement sets…. You have to wait until the time is right and then you can go to town.

We all really know, "Everything in its own good time." We know: "Strike while the iron is hot" and "Make hay while the sun shines." But we do have trouble applying this good sense to teaching children! I'm afraid even farm families do.

We are especially apt to rush the seasons when we have our hearts set on some particular behavior. For example, many people are anxious for three, four and five-year-olds to learn to read. There is no question about it: Good reading is the important goal - so important it can lure you into jumping the gun!

Some of the rush comes because people are not sure how to tell when a child is ready for formal lessons in reading. That question sounds like such a puzzler. Suppose they miss the boat? Suppose the time goes by? Suppose their child gets behind? They fret and stew and end up thinking: It's better to be safe than sorry, and so they plunge ahead.

But the worry isn't necessary. Knowing when the time is right is not as hard as it sounds. You don't have to be a genius to get the timing right.

Go back to farmers - they face the same kind of question. What is the right time to plant? One obvious way the farmer goes after the answer is to check the calendar. In many parts of the country, late April and early May have proven to be the good planting times, so: What is today's date?

Parents can check the calendar, too... as one guide. Mid-year to the end of year six has proven to be the time when most children get excited about learning to read. How old is your child?

But no farmer looks only at the calendar. There are other and more important indicators: the feel of the air, the warmth of the sun, the softness of the ground…. Sometimes the signs say: Go ahead, even though it is earlier than usual. Sometimes the sign says: Hold off, wait a little longer.

So too, parents can use the calendar as one guide but the more important approach is to watch the signals children send. When youngsters are ready for formal, technical lessons in reading, clear signs will stick out all over them.

When children are ready for formal reading lessons, all the printed materials that have always been around them now catch their eye. Children who are ready are drawn to words... everywhere!

They spot street signs and brand names and labels and road signs and house Limbers and price tags and markers…. Anything and everything that is written takes on interest. When you see this behavior in your child - not once in a while but over and over - then you know: The time is right.

When children are ready for formal reading lessons they become almost obsessed with words. They ask questions endlessly: "Where does it say 'Green'?"…. "Where does it say 'Stop'?"…. They try to write out words - their own name is a great favorite - and they pester you for help: "Show me how to write 'For Sale'"…. "Show me how to write 'Tickets'"…. They like games that involve matching words or signs or numbers or letters. They want signs and labels for their make-believe play. When you see this behavior over and over in your child, you can be sure: The time is right.

You can be glad because, when the timing is right, the lessons are welcome.

When the timing is right, the lessons seem easy.

When the timing is right, the lessons stick with a child.

When the timing is off, the very opposite happens. The lessons are a chore. Children's minds wander. They forget, and the lessons have to be drilled in over and over again.

Of course, it is never easy to wait until the signs say "Go." If you ever feel fidgety and anxious to get the show on the road, it can help you simmer down if you remember: Waiting until the time is right does not mean wasting time.

Farmers don't sit around in the winter idly twiddling their thumbs waiting until spring comes. In winter, the time is right - not for planting - for very significant jobs: repairing fences, fixing equipment, painting…. These wintertime jobs all feed into the later planting and later harvesting. You can't have one without the other.

The same holds true for teaching children to read. For most Threes, Fours and Fives, it may not yet be time for workbooks or phonics or the formal sitting-down reading lessons - they are in the future - but parents at home (and teachers at school) don't have to twiddle their thumbs. There are wonderful things children are ready for now.

This is the time for stories that you read to your youngster, so a child sees the process of reading and learns that books are a pleasure.

This is the time for trips around town with your child. And the time for talking about ideas together, so a child's vocabulary grows.

This is the time for Threes, Fours and Fives to paint and to work with clay and with wood; it is a time for puzzles; a time for children to play their make-believe games together, so attention span and concentration and planning and thinking are strengthened. No child ever read well without these strengths.

These all make the Three-Four-Five days go better and they feed into the technical lessons in reading that come later. You can't have one without the other.

The Bible makes the point beautifully: "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under Heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…."

Becoming a good reader - especially learning to like to read - is so important. I hope no one spoils it for your child by rushing the seasons.