learning to read

When you talk to people about home educating, they first worry about socialisation, and then they ask how you will teach your child to read.  (Generally, although not always.)

My eldest learnt to read in school.  It was phonics, repetition and reward for memorisation and it worked.  She was an early reader and still enjoys reading.  So, for her I really can't knock the school system - it did what it set out to do.

With Eb it failed.  There was a lack of interest on his four year old part, and all the things that Od thrived on (the stickers, the stars and the standing up in assembly) meant nothing to him.  His teacher was flummoxed.  Then we took him out of school.

For his Birthday he got a comic subscription and started to come and ask me what the words meant.  It was mostly "Kapow!" and "Thwack!" It was a start.

Now he is nine and can read pretty much every thing.  A lot of Roman, Greek and Viking history.  A great deal of prehistory.  A smattering of Dennis the Menace, Beano and just recently, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

He read the first Wimpy Kid book in one night.  Started it at 6pm and finished it at 11:30pm.  Now I realise that it is the reading itself that motivates him, not the whoopy-whoo that went with learning a new letter sound that he met in the classroom.  He reads more now than all the others put together. 

Then we have Mb.

My left handed and dyslexic, possibly dyspraxic and a mirror writer.

I have documented our learning to read adventure elsewhere on my blog here.  Probably there are other posts but I can't find them as I'm hopeless at labelling.

Knowing how Eb "got it" when he wanted to, I didn't push Mb.  I did sometimes feel the pressure to see him progress in some way, no matter how small. 

He got frustrated quite often with not being able to read, and we compromised on stories with him dictating to me.  Turns out he has an amazing imagination with truly fabulous characters and plots locked away in his head.  We've already filled one book and are on to another.  I'm thinking of asking his permission to post some on here.  I just don't know if you're all ready for the awesome!

He can read now.  He moved one day from spelling on the fridge, playing a bit on Reading Eggs and our Melissa & Doug toy onto reading a book by himself.  He loves to read now, and from this love, his writing is improving too.  I am already starting to miss his funny and unique spellings.


Lb is surprising us all.  He can recognise most letters and spell a few simple words ("Ass" and "Bum" being his favourites!)  Out of all of them he is the one I have not focused on, I mean he is only three years old and I don't expect him to read at this age.

There it is. 

The lesson that I would go back and give my new-to-HE self:  Leave them alone.  Give them games, activities, books, options but don't push, cajole or manipulate.  Unless you like meltdowns.  No one likes meltdowns do they?

I don't have any expectations of Lb when it comes to reading.  He is free to explore without me peering over his shoulder to see what he is doing.  He can play on Skype when Mr Wah is away, sending nonsensicle messages.  Then, one day he will ask what his message says.  Then he asks me to type "hello" and then he copies it, and there we are....on the reading road without any one realising it.

See?  He can do it blindfolded.

linking to OLM unschooling tools.