How I’m making reading fun for my reluctant 7 year old.
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Read alouds have always been a staple in our home. Time spent together with babes in our laps and books on our hands is how we’ve spent a lot of the last seven years. Our kids love to read, and they love books, so when our oldest was so resistant in the last year and half of earning how to read it was a bit discouraging. Homeschool moms post the classic “ who are we behind anyways” post and I get it, and agree, but that doesn’t change the fact that sometimes our kids learning journey comes with struggles. Part of the beauty of homeschooling our babes, who we know and love, is that we get to study them, and learn what they need and how to serve them best. One of my highest goals with our home education is for reading to be a delight. Reading was a chore for me growing up. I was slightly advanced at reading early in elementary school, but I never loved it. I did it when I had to, but I was a tv all day as much as I could get it (which was a lot) kind of kid. I see the value that reading is now, especially in the adults I know who have a love for it, so I long to enrich this part of our journey.
Over the last few months our oldest has made a lot of really great strides, but it hasn’t come without trial and error. Below I’ll share some of my favorite things that seem to be working in our busy family, where we love to laugh, and gameschool, and structure is not our strong suit.
1: find the right tools, and teach a proven and evidence based way.
I’m a sucker for beautiful things. I think most humans are, it’s part of our design, but sometimes I let the beautiful things be the end all, but they aren’t always the best choice. I got these beautiful books form dash into learning, I know they are pretty popular, and they are so cute! There’s nothing wrong with them, but they weren’t an effective tool for us. I found myself confused by them, and didn’t love the instructional part of them. I opted for 100% decodable readers instead, that stood the test of time. We’ve used bob books a bit in the past, but I passed them over saying they were too simple or not nice enough, but guess what, they are the BEST! They follow the science of reading best I’ve seen (from what I’ve tried,) they are straightforward and have a reasonable progression for us to follow. I think the complete 5 set is well worth the investment, and Costco usually sells them around summer/ fall! We are using lots of other things (explode the code also getting an honorable mention, though I don’t always love it) but my aim is t necessarily to just overload you with products in this post so I’ll save most of those for another time.
2: make it fun.
Like I mentioned earlier we are big fans of gameschooling in our family. I’ve found printables from creators on Etsy, as well as Board games that help us practice the skills we are working on. My favorite printable shop of all time is missy Montessori. Marissa knows her stuff, her printables are cute, engaging and quite frankly they just work. We love using bingo games, like beginning sound bingo etc. we also love the game Zingo sight words— which I love but we waited to introduce until we had some practice orthographic mapping, as many of the words are actually decodable. I highly recommend sunnyseed co. Blog for more info on this. Her knowledge and resources when it comes to literacy are a treasure trove for home educators.
3: Meet them where they are at.
I’m not one to commit to a specific learning philosophy, mainly because I think most of them have something valuable to bring to the table. That being said when our twins were born I went down the Montessori rabbit hole and began to work on pre reading skills with our then three year old, and i really love a lot of their method. There’s so much Montessori content out there, so I’ll spare you, but what I will tell you is I really love their language and math materials, as well as their progression (for the most part). When it comes to learning to read and write I love that their materials facilitate a way to start with the most concrete, and then move on from there. It’s a lot easier for our kids to write out a sentence using a moveable alphabet, where they can focus on their phonics skills, and really put their thoughts down, as opposed to adding writing on top of that, which is a whole new skill, and can be frustrating. That’s not to say we don’t practice and grow in this skill, but the scaffolding process of new skills and mastering old ones takes time, and I appreciate how Montessori materials are really tools for the child to be in empowered where they are, not to overwhelm or push them to be further along. Because they are also mostly manipulatives they also feel more fun and like a game as well. So instead of requiring writing work our son isn’t quite ready for, we pull out the movable alphabet and work with his phonemic awareness skills. Sometimes words are spelled incorrectly, but they sound right and I know what he’s trying to write, it makes sense based on what he knows, and when we acknowledge without correcting it builds confidence. Where there’s confidence there’s more joy in the process, and less reluctance to do the hard work of learning these new skills.
4: Consistent practice
Like I said we aren’t the most structured family. We want to be more, and I can say we are making strides, but we still are who we are. Reading is our priority when it comes to school work, and it’s something we make sure to get in each school day. I take out our visual timer — which has really changed how our days go and I highly recommend, and even if it’s just 15 minutes, we will do a little each day. We are doing the Pizza Hut book it program, because there’s nothing wrong with a good ole incentive, and did you know homeschoolers are eligible?! We remind ace that the hard work he’s putting in is going to make him able to read the books he wants to read on his own, and play some of the games he can’t quite play without our help.
5: Follow their interests and find an opportunity to read wherever you are.
Since we do a lot of read alouds in our family, we use that to our advantage. We let our kids pick out books they love, books they know, books that interest them. We spend lots of time pouring into this area they enjoy, and make space for learning moments at the same time. I’ll ask if ace can point out what words he knows on a page, or if He even wants to try and read it. Sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn’t, and that’s ok! We get audio books that we know he will love, and after listening to them, he usually wants to read them as well. Reading directions on a package of something, food labels, street signs in the car, signs in the grocery store. These are all an opportunity and the more we point them out, and the more Ace realizes how much he already knows, it helps our sweet learner become more confident and eager.
6: as your child is learning, so are you!
I love homeschooling, and I love that it empowers parents to take charge of their children’s education, with a message of ,”you can do it!” And “You don’t need a teaching degree”. That being said I do think it’s important that we ourselves are learning as our kids learn. I think it’s important to treat it as a job, an important task you’ve been given by the Lord to steward. We don’t have to be the smartest most perfect moms, but we need to be committed, humble, all in — willing to learn, especially in areas we know we are weak. So read the books, listen to the podcasts, watch the videos, do your own schooling, and model for your child what growth is, in home education and beyond.
I hope this encourages you, and whether you have a natural reader, like our almost 6 year old who is currently at the same reading progress as our oldest, or one who has struggled a bit, I hope some of these tips help you on your learning journey. Over the last few years I’ve learned a lot about what works for us, and what doesn’t. Above any review of a particular product, you know your child best, and you’ll know what’s working, and what isn’t. Enjoy this journey in reading with your child, as you get to experience the magic that unfolds watching them discover books and language alongside you.
What are some of your favorite ways you’ve helped your child with reading? What were some flops you’ve learned along the way? Let me know in the comments ☺️
💕💕 Toni