Mrs. Johnson's School for Johnsons
Big Brother is reading! I am so proud of him. We've been working on it for a while. When he turned three, I bought a set of beginning reader books, and we have been slowly (v e r y s l o w l y) working our way through them.
I call them "Mama's Special Books" and he is only allowed to read them with me. I don't want the novelty to wear off, because I use that to maintain his interest. Also, I don't want him to become overly familiar with the stories, to the point where he has memorized them instead of reading them each time. We don't work with them every day. Usually only when he specifically asks for them. Or sometimes, if I feel like it's been a while, I will ask him if he wants to read the Special Books. He has never said no, because he thinks of it as a fun time for just the two of us.
We laugh and I praise him a lot for his efforts, and we have a great time. We start at a comfortable level for him, and during the session, we move through the books at that level quickly so that he doesn't get bored. He usually completes a whole level (four books) in each session, so we move up to the next level, even though it's usually difficult for him. He likes to move up to the next colour (level), so I let him go beyond his ability, until he starts to get frustrated. I help him finish the book, and then we move down to a level below his current reading level, so that he can read it all by himself without frustration. That way he ends the session feeling good about his ability, and about reading.
Ever since Christmas, we have been stuck at the same two levels, and I've been getting frustrated (although I haven't let him know that.) I have been wondering if I have started this too early, if he's not really ready. He just hasn't been making any progress at all, and I was ready to call it quits for a while. Except that he is asking for Mama's Special Books, and I don't want to discourage his interest. So we've kept plugging away.
And just yesterday and today, I was stunned. He's somehow just caught on all of a sudden. He's reading. He is sounding out any three-letter word I throw at him in seconds, he's finally remembering that he can't sound out words like "the" and he's recognizing them on sight, and he's reading word by word fast enough that he doesn't lose track of the beginning of the sentence by the time he gets to the end. He's even using an upward intonation for sentences that end with a question mark! We've moved up two levels and so we're onto new books that we haven't even opened before, so it's amazing to see that he's really reading, and it has nothing to do with famililarity with the books!
I am so proud of him. He's only three, and he's suddenly reading. We're going to the library tomorrow to get real books that are at a level that he'll be able to read for himself. I want him to see that it's not only Mama's Special Books that he can read, but really truly interesting books, too. (Because it is solely the novelty factor that keeps my Special Books interesting. They are DULL. They're good for a few reads, and sounding out new words, but they will not be fun all-the-time reading.)
He would be starting Junior Kindergarten when September rolls around, but I don't think I'm going to send him. I really feel that it's better to be able to work individually one-on-one. I can't imagine how a teacher can possibly maintain the child's interest and genuine love of learning when the sheer class size prohibits the ability to gear the frequency, duration, and content of the lessons to each individual child.
Big Brother loves learning -- reading, counting, learning about animals and trees and maps and anything else we expose him to. I don't want his confidence and love of learning to turn into frustration, boredom, or feelings of inadequacy.
And now I'm inspired to start the alphabet with Little Brother. He is a really different kid than -- much more physically active, with a much shorter attention span. His verbal skills are behind where Big Brother's were at this age, and he is only now developing the attention span to look at more than two pages of a book. Big Brother loved books -- that's why he learned his alphabet so early. When he knew the names of all the animals and other objects in his picture books, we moved on to letters. But Little Brother has no interest in even looking at a book for the animal pictures, never mind the letters! So I'm going to teach him his letters using the Starfall website instead.
I call them "Mama's Special Books" and he is only allowed to read them with me. I don't want the novelty to wear off, because I use that to maintain his interest. Also, I don't want him to become overly familiar with the stories, to the point where he has memorized them instead of reading them each time. We don't work with them every day. Usually only when he specifically asks for them. Or sometimes, if I feel like it's been a while, I will ask him if he wants to read the Special Books. He has never said no, because he thinks of it as a fun time for just the two of us.
We laugh and I praise him a lot for his efforts, and we have a great time. We start at a comfortable level for him, and during the session, we move through the books at that level quickly so that he doesn't get bored. He usually completes a whole level (four books) in each session, so we move up to the next level, even though it's usually difficult for him. He likes to move up to the next colour (level), so I let him go beyond his ability, until he starts to get frustrated. I help him finish the book, and then we move down to a level below his current reading level, so that he can read it all by himself without frustration. That way he ends the session feeling good about his ability, and about reading.
Ever since Christmas, we have been stuck at the same two levels, and I've been getting frustrated (although I haven't let him know that.) I have been wondering if I have started this too early, if he's not really ready. He just hasn't been making any progress at all, and I was ready to call it quits for a while. Except that he is asking for Mama's Special Books, and I don't want to discourage his interest. So we've kept plugging away.
And just yesterday and today, I was stunned. He's somehow just caught on all of a sudden. He's reading. He is sounding out any three-letter word I throw at him in seconds, he's finally remembering that he can't sound out words like "the" and he's recognizing them on sight, and he's reading word by word fast enough that he doesn't lose track of the beginning of the sentence by the time he gets to the end. He's even using an upward intonation for sentences that end with a question mark! We've moved up two levels and so we're onto new books that we haven't even opened before, so it's amazing to see that he's really reading, and it has nothing to do with famililarity with the books!
I am so proud of him. He's only three, and he's suddenly reading. We're going to the library tomorrow to get real books that are at a level that he'll be able to read for himself. I want him to see that it's not only Mama's Special Books that he can read, but really truly interesting books, too. (Because it is solely the novelty factor that keeps my Special Books interesting. They are DULL. They're good for a few reads, and sounding out new words, but they will not be fun all-the-time reading.)
He would be starting Junior Kindergarten when September rolls around, but I don't think I'm going to send him. I really feel that it's better to be able to work individually one-on-one. I can't imagine how a teacher can possibly maintain the child's interest and genuine love of learning when the sheer class size prohibits the ability to gear the frequency, duration, and content of the lessons to each individual child.
Big Brother loves learning -- reading, counting, learning about animals and trees and maps and anything else we expose him to. I don't want his confidence and love of learning to turn into frustration, boredom, or feelings of inadequacy.
And now I'm inspired to start the alphabet with Little Brother. He is a really different kid than -- much more physically active, with a much shorter attention span. His verbal skills are behind where Big Brother's were at this age, and he is only now developing the attention span to look at more than two pages of a book. Big Brother loved books -- that's why he learned his alphabet so early. When he knew the names of all the animals and other objects in his picture books, we moved on to letters. But Little Brother has no interest in even looking at a book for the animal pictures, never mind the letters! So I'm going to teach him his letters using the Starfall website instead.