As I sat here, listening to Hava (6) learn how to read, I realized how much I have changed since I first started homeschooling. When my oldest were three and four, we started playing with letters. I pulled out all the little workbooks and tried to come up with incentives to finish them when the novelty wore off. Fortunately, Tova and Kel were quick learners and that "system" worked for them.
Then came Drew, bless his darling little heart.
That child defied everything. Anxious that he wouldn't be labeled at church or by relatives, I worked through flashcards, letter games...you name it. I still remember just selecting four very recognizable letters: A, O, S and T. He must have been at least 5, if not 6 at this point. "Old enough to know letters," I was sure. I took the very excited, very enthusiastic tow-head to the couch and explained the different letters, their different shapes and names. Bobbing his head up and down, he assured me he was ready. He started bouncing up and down, shouting out random letters whenever I flashed through the cards, "Z! P! O! A! S! R!" It didn't really matter and he only hit a right one every so often. I finally internally admitted defeat, pasted on a smile for the bouncing, blue-eyed boy eagerly jumping up and down in front of me, and decided the time wasn't right.
And I am so glad I did!
We would pull out the same four flashcards periodically when he would tell me he "wanted to learn to read" or if someone at church or at family gatherings said an unkind comment. Gradually, we started adding letters, but I remember he was at least 7 and he still wasn't truly reading: recognizing words, putting them together...you name it. Each time we would do the flashcards, though, it was a game, it was fun, and it was positive.
At 8, something clicked. He was ready. He struggled through the first pathway reader, but he was determined and he was ready. By the second book, the randomly blurted out words coincided more and more with the actual words on the page and hope rose up within me. By 9, he was reading books like other kids drink koolaid...devouring them whole. He didn't necessarily understand all of the words, but he understood the books, the messages, the meanings. I still remember the first time he came to me having finished his first "Childhood of Famous American" series book.
"You finished it already?" I asked skeptically. His astonished eyes blinked, not completely understanding my implication that he might have skipped parts. I started quizzing him gently, not trying to show my doubts too obviously. After close scrutiny, I was satisfied that he had finished it. His older siblings were similarly skeptical that this non-reader had so quickly transformed to truly the fastest reader in our house. He still devours books whole.
Every child learns to read best at their own pace and in their own time.
"Leo the Late Bloomer" is a classic story about just such a thing.
Take Hava.
Her older sister Piper (8) is just feeling like she "knows how to read," and even then is barely reading the beginning of the Pathway Readers series. However, Hava has been "playing" with the alphabet for years through the occasional Leap Frog videos from the library and our erratic "preschool" classes over the years. Hava, watching her older sister read, wanted to give it a try. We opened the book last week. She recognized, comprehended and learned. She is ready and flying through the book. Crazy.
When they first express an interest in reading, I have let my kids read aloud to me off and one out of the first two books of the Pathway series. At first, I would basically start sounding out the words with them and help them gain confidence and feel simple joy while sitting in front of a book, sounding out words.
There are two approaches to teaching kids anything in my mind:
#1-you can force them into the ZPD--the zone of proximal discomfort. This is very common. The idea behind this is that if a child can do something easily, then you can just push them a little harder to the "next level" to where they feel some discomfort to "help them grow." In an article I read a long time ago by the DeMilles, they quoted an educational philosopher who spoke of the value of pushing our kids into this zone, this ZPD, when they are older...try post-puberty. To push a child into this zone at a younger age creates a feeling of frustration associated with the learning process. They begin to develop negative feelings towards the learning process. Of course, there is a difference between pushing them into this zone verses challenging them and them arising to the challenge.
#2-(my prefered choice) You do what Pudewa suggests in his presentations: "Teaching Boys & Other Children Who Would Rather Be Building Forts All Day." (This download is completely worth the $3!!) He suggests you give the child a lot of positive experience in an area, building their confidence in that subject so their approach to it is one of confidence. "If your child struggles with math, ask him every day, 'What is 10 + 10?' and when he replies every day with '20!' you cheer, 'Wow! You are amazing at math!'" Not only do they develop a positive association and confidence in that subject, it will make them want to go deeper and push themselves more. Totally works!
Reading. It's amazing. And if they are ready to read at 12 and they are confident about it, how much better to have that than a child that was pushed at 5 and 6 into something that they feel "dumb" at and in the long run reject and don't enjoy it.
Now, just because I don't force it, doesn't mean I just let it go. We play with letters and sounds from a young age. I read out loud to my children daily. I share with them cool quotes out of what I am currently reading or refer to stories I have read. We go to the library where we select quality books that change lives. Reading in our house is always the tantalizing reward and my kids cherish books from a young age...even if they don't read "at age level" at first :).
Note on the Pathway Readers series: published by the Amish, full of values and simple repetition with engaging story lines. None of my children have "finished" the Pathway readers series...so I guess it is a good thing I only bought through grade 3 and then their "Our Heritage" book that my oldest enjoyed. However, each o
Then came Drew, bless his darling little heart.
That child defied everything. Anxious that he wouldn't be labeled at church or by relatives, I worked through flashcards, letter games...you name it. I still remember just selecting four very recognizable letters: A, O, S and T. He must have been at least 5, if not 6 at this point. "Old enough to know letters," I was sure. I took the very excited, very enthusiastic tow-head to the couch and explained the different letters, their different shapes and names. Bobbing his head up and down, he assured me he was ready. He started bouncing up and down, shouting out random letters whenever I flashed through the cards, "Z! P! O! A! S! R!" It didn't really matter and he only hit a right one every so often. I finally internally admitted defeat, pasted on a smile for the bouncing, blue-eyed boy eagerly jumping up and down in front of me, and decided the time wasn't right.
And I am so glad I did!
At 8, something clicked. He was ready. He struggled through the first pathway reader, but he was determined and he was ready. By the second book, the randomly blurted out words coincided more and more with the actual words on the page and hope rose up within me. By 9, he was reading books like other kids drink koolaid...devouring them whole. He didn't necessarily understand all of the words, but he understood the books, the messages, the meanings. I still remember the first time he came to me having finished his first "Childhood of Famous American" series book.
"You finished it already?" I asked skeptically. His astonished eyes blinked, not completely understanding my implication that he might have skipped parts. I started quizzing him gently, not trying to show my doubts too obviously. After close scrutiny, I was satisfied that he had finished it. His older siblings were similarly skeptical that this non-reader had so quickly transformed to truly the fastest reader in our house. He still devours books whole.
Every child learns to read best at their own pace and in their own time."Leo the Late Bloomer" is a classic story about just such a thing.
Take Hava.
Her older sister Piper (8) is just feeling like she "knows how to read," and even then is barely reading the beginning of the Pathway Readers series. However, Hava has been "playing" with the alphabet for years through the occasional Leap Frog videos from the library and our erratic "preschool" classes over the years. Hava, watching her older sister read, wanted to give it a try. We opened the book last week. She recognized, comprehended and learned. She is ready and flying through the book. Crazy.
When they first express an interest in reading, I have let my kids read aloud to me off and one out of the first two books of the Pathway series. At first, I would basically start sounding out the words with them and help them gain confidence and feel simple joy while sitting in front of a book, sounding out words.
There are two approaches to teaching kids anything in my mind:
#1-you can force them into the ZPD--the zone of proximal discomfort. This is very common. The idea behind this is that if a child can do something easily, then you can just push them a little harder to the "next level" to where they feel some discomfort to "help them grow." In an article I read a long time ago by the DeMilles, they quoted an educational philosopher who spoke of the value of pushing our kids into this zone, this ZPD, when they are older...try post-puberty. To push a child into this zone at a younger age creates a feeling of frustration associated with the learning process. They begin to develop negative feelings towards the learning process. Of course, there is a difference between pushing them into this zone verses challenging them and them arising to the challenge.
#2-(my prefered choice) You do what Pudewa suggests in his presentations: "Teaching Boys & Other Children Who Would Rather Be Building Forts All Day." (This download is completely worth the $3!!) He suggests you give the child a lot of positive experience in an area, building their confidence in that subject so their approach to it is one of confidence. "If your child struggles with math, ask him every day, 'What is 10 + 10?' and when he replies every day with '20!' you cheer, 'Wow! You are amazing at math!'" Not only do they develop a positive association and confidence in that subject, it will make them want to go deeper and push themselves more. Totally works!
Reading. It's amazing. And if they are ready to read at 12 and they are confident about it, how much better to have that than a child that was pushed at 5 and 6 into something that they feel "dumb" at and in the long run reject and don't enjoy it.
Now, just because I don't force it, doesn't mean I just let it go. We play with letters and sounds from a young age. I read out loud to my children daily. I share with them cool quotes out of what I am currently reading or refer to stories I have read. We go to the library where we select quality books that change lives. Reading in our house is always the tantalizing reward and my kids cherish books from a young age...even if they don't read "at age level" at first :).
Note on the Pathway Readers series: published by the Amish, full of values and simple repetition with engaging story lines. None of my children have "finished" the Pathway readers series...so I guess it is a good thing I only bought through grade 3 and then their "Our Heritage" book that my oldest enjoyed. However, each o
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