Each of my kids is different, so sometimes raising the third baby is like starting all over again. It's not this way for most things, but it has been for teaching Benjamin to read! For Jonathan and Grace, I gave them the tools to learn to read, and when they were ready, they unlocked the code and became fluent with very little persuasion - if any - from me. With Benjamin, I did my best to give him the tools, also. For whatever reason - whether because he has less hours of one-on-one reading with me over his lifetime, or has lacked my attention, or is less motivated, or just wasn't developmentally ready, I don't know - but he wasn't unlocking the code. And it probably goes without saying, but teaching my kids to read and to love reading is one of the most important things I will do for them in my life - or theirs. So, we decided to give something else a try: This book.
For some reason, I remember a friend talking about this, and she had taught her four children to read this way, so I figured it was worth a try. With potty training, with all three kids, they never would have caught on with the child-led method. I had to push the issue and decide that it was time to train. So, I thought that maybe Benjamin was the same way, and we got started, just a little bit each day. This book's approach was really different than what I had done with Jonathan and Grace. And, let's face it: I am not trained in Early Childhood Education, or am I a reading specialist. All I know is what worked with my older two kids. So I was totally willing to try something new with Benjamin.
We had to be diligent with our daily lessons - he called this our "word lesson book-" and there were a lot of days that one of us was not in the mood, but we kept at it.
It turned out to be a really special daily routine with him, even on the days that I just about fell asleep during the reading session.
And I think it helped him make great strides in his journey to becoming a fluent, independent reader.
No comments:
Post a Comment