Monday, September 5, 2011

How to Make Learning to Read Easy and Enjoyable!

The process of teaching our children to read can be a wonderful and rewarding experience. As a mother of seven children, one of the most important things I have come to understand is that every child has their own timetable for when they are ready to learn to read. The key to making the experience of learning to read productive, easy and enjoyable, is to discern for each child the optimal time to begin.



Pushing our children to read before they are developmentally ready is one of the biggest mistakes that we can make. Instead of being a cherished bonding experience, it will likely become an exercise full of frustration for both the mother and the child. Instead of creating a love of reading, it will produce an atmosphere that results in negative thoughts and feelings towards reading, which will be very hard to undo in subsequent years. Instead of learning efficiently in the least amount of time, our efforts will be very unproductive, and we will waste valuable time that would be better spent elsewhere.


If we will only wait for the right time, our children will make great strides each day as they learn to read in an accelerated manner that generates enthusiasm, confidence, and a well deserved sense of accomplishment.

I have successfully taught our six eldest children to read and I am here to tell you, dear mother, that there is absolutely no advantage to starting your child early, or to push reading in the preschool years. What would take you hours and hours of work and frustration for both you and your child, could be accomplished in a fraction of the time, and much more pleasantly, a few years later. Much of reading is based on readiness, which is developmental, and reached by children at different ages. Pushing when the child is not ready will only cause tears and damage to your relationship.



If a child enjoys reading lessons, and wants to do them, by all means go ahead! But always keep them short and enjoyable, with lots of hugs and laughter. If you begin, and find that after several lessons, it is only causing frustration for you both, then please put the curriculum away and try again later. For several children I had to do this. I put the book away for a good 6 months, then got it out again. You may even have to put it away for an additional 6 months or more, if they are still not ready. I never regretted doing this; once ready, they learned in much less time, and with much more enjoyment!


Only two of our six current readers were ready to learn to read prior to age five. Even for the two who were early readers, there was still a clear point in time around age six or seven where it suddenly became easier, and their ability to read grew in an accelerated fashion.

Studies have shown that by age 11, late readers have caught up, and perform at the same level as, early readers. So relax, and enjoy time with your dear children! Talk to them, laugh with them, sing with them, and smile at them! Take a walk in the park, and enjoy God's marvelous creation together! Bring a nature notebook , and have your child draw what he sees. Get lots of interesting books from the library and read, read, read to him! That will develop a love for books and reading in your child, and cause him to be motivated to learn how to read. It also teaches him about the world, and gives him a good vocabulary, so that he will know what he is reading when he does start reading.

The preschool years are for establishing your parent-child bond, growing in love and respect for each other, and for showing your child God's love, so that when the formal lessons start, you have a great foundation to build upon.


All parents must honestly ask themselves, "Why am I in such a hurry to get my child to read?" You may be susceptible to the admiration or criticism of family and friends. You may feel a need to prove that your choice to homeschool was a wise one. This is an understandable temptation, however, you need to remember that you are working for the glory of God alone, and not your own.

Two great books I highly recommend are The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Raymond and Dorothy Moore, great homeschool pioneers, and A Charlotte Mason Companion, by Karen Andreola. Oh, and I mustn't forget my favorite book on teaching reading: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. This one book is all you need to teach your child how to read, and can be done in only 10-20 minutes a day. And the best part is that it is best done while cuddling on the couch together, or on the porch swing, or while lying on a blanket in the yard. :)



So read, talk, laugh, smile, and enjoy your precious gifts from God!








14 comments:

  1. This is soo true Paula! I have experienced it at all levels with our 9!! I have used many different tools and keep coming back to 100 Easy Lessons! I have 4 in it right now!! Thanks for sharing! God truly designs our children differently and what a blessing to walk alongside each one on their journey of learning.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Joeann! It's good to hear confirmation from someone with even more kids than me! 100 Easy Lessons really shows that short and simple is best!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom on reading! Much needed to hear! :} your blog is beautiful..new follower! I am going to look for these books too!

    Sarah beth~

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Sarah Beth! I also really appreciate the follow!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What great thoughts, Paula! I have also found this to be true. It's so much better to wait until children are ready than to try to rush them. We have always taken the "Better Late Than Early" approach, and it works well.

    I have taught our oldest three children (ages 12, 10, and 8) to read using 100 Easy Lessons, and I'm now using it with our fourth child. It's so easy and stress-free. Our older three were 6 to 6 1/2, and our fourth is almost 6. They just pick it up so easily when you wait, and they are all good readers.

    I've also found this to be true with potty training. I never try to push mine at an early age, and I've been able to train the older four using the "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" method. It really has worked well, they love it, and it really takes less than a day! I'm planning to use this method with our fifth when he's ready, too.

    Thanks so much for visiting my blog--following you back! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a wonderful post. And, so very true. I enjoyed reading it! I came from the link up. Thanks for letting me peak into your little blog home today!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great post! I have 1 early reader and 1 who is just getting interested now. I had to learn the hard way with the 2nd one :D Thanks for sharing! (visiting from ifellowship)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Joy, I love hearing about others who've used 100 Easy Lessons successfully as well. I'm pretty casual about potty training, too, though I've never tried the one-day method! That sounds very intriguing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beloved's Bride, thanks for visiting! You have gorgeous hair...it is very similar to my daughter's!

    ReplyDelete
  10. MomLaur, so nice to have you for a visit! I hope you're on the mend soon and have many smooth-running homeschool days! (I read your last blog post!)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Paula, thank you for the great advice and for linking up with us! Your children and the pictures are beautiful. Congratulations on teaching your children to read...that is a great accomplishment that shouldn't be taken lightly! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Raising Mighty Arrows, thanks so much for visiting! You have a very lovely blog!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Enjoying every moment with my lil' treasures. we are passionate about reading also and countless times I cannot find our little learners as they are snuggled somewhere with a book.

    Delighted to meet you tonight. I hope you don't mind if I splash around a bit to get to know you. This looks like a refreshing place to dip into all of God's goodness.

    Splashin'.
    Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sarah, what an encouragement to hear about your snuggling little readers!

    I absolutely love the theme of your blog about jumping, splashing, and getting drenched in God's goodness! It reminds me of this verse:

    "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:38

    ReplyDelete