Thursday, March 27, 2014

Learning to Read. . . a Beginning

I was going to add this to the last post, however, I decided to give this it's own post.  This is a big thing for me, someone who has spend most of my adolescent and adult life consumed with analyzing and appreciating literature.  Reading is a big deal to me.  I never want reading to be something my kids are forced to do too soon and, thus, hate it.  I want to follow their lead, even if it's not on MY timetable whether I was more than ready to begin or if I wasn't ready at all.  
During schooltime, the preschool curriculum I am doing with Claire has us doing a new letter and sound everyday along with Bible stories, counting activities etc.  It's been fine for a 3-year-old, although, much of it has been a little too easy for her.  We've been practicing writing letters and she has fun with the letter activities but she has known her letters and sounds for a while now. I realized that we would need some sort of early reading program when I could hear her behind me in the with a book in her lap saying, "buh, aah, kuh, kuh. . . " etc.  Trying to sound out every letter in the book.  So I ordered a simple workbook system called Explode the Code. There is also an online system that goes with it, but I have not really delved into this.  I started her on it with the pretest and she aced it.  I'm looking further at it and I'm thinking this is exactly what she needs right now.  She loves the dorky little pictures and thinks the book is fun.  She's CONSTANTLY asking me what different words say. On signs, in books, everywhere.  So she's ready.  I'm not a "pusher" on stuff like this, but learning this will really open up a whole lot of self motivated learning for her, too.   Some homeschoolers use ETC by itself and then just supplement with early reader books from the library.  Others have a whole phonics system and then use ETC as a supplement.  I think we'll go with using the ETC book and then reading from library books.  I may also add an Usbourne book set called My Very First Reading Set and then I think that'll be enough to get her going.  I'm nervous and excited to teach her this.
I'm sure I'm being melodramatic about this but I keep thinking about how wide the world becomes when you can read.  Hope big a deal this really is.  I mean, her life won't change that significantly this year or even next but it will separate her from me one more step.  She won't NEED me to read everything to her.  Some things she will, of course, but not everything.  Comes with the territory of growing up, I guess.  Here goes. . .  

 

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