Storytime & Read Aloud Lists 2011-2012

This year for our storytime books I decided to correlate them to our state study.  I picked my favorites from Cantering the Country’s suggestions to create this list:

• One Morning in Maine
• Little Toot
• Adventures of Obadiah
• Ox-Cart Man
• Little Red Light House
• Bernstein Bears
• The Rag Coat
• The Grouchy Ladybug
• Billy & Blaze
• Peters Chair
• The Gift of the Tree
• Brave Irene
• Lentil
• Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel
• If You Give A Pig A Pancake
• The Journey

For our read alouds we will be using most of Winter Promise’s All American 1 suggestions & some others in-between.  Farmer Boy

• All of a Kind Family
• Last of the Mohicans
• Cabin Faced West
• Strawberry Girl
• Charlotte’s Web
• Caddie Woodlawn
• Little House on the Prairie
• Riding the Pony Express
• Sara Plain & Tall
• The Sign of the Beaver
• Ben & Me
• Riding Freedom
• The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed
• By the Great Horn Spoon
• Regina Silsby’s Secret War
• Fever 1793
• Bandit’s Moon

I really try to find our read alouds on audio as much as possible & plan to continue them even during our off times of school.  We are in the car for at least 2 hours each week during my “town day” so it is a great opportunity to fit our read alouds in during that time.  We are currently listening to Sign of the Beaver & the boys just can’t get enough of it.  Even when we run to the Post Office or Dairy for milk (5-10 min drive) the boys are begging to listen to their story. 

5th Grade Reading List

Here is a list of books for Tyler to choose from this year for his reading time (since reading is NOT his strongest subject, some of these are below level to encourage him):

 

Humor

• The Saturdays (5.4)
• Owls in the Family (4.9)
• Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (3-5)

 

Folk Tale

• In Grandma’s Attic (3.9)
• The Whipping Boy (3.9)

 

Non-Fiction

• One Small Square

 

Realistic Fiction

• All of a Kind Family
• Shiloh (9 yr +)

 

Biography

• “Who was …” series

 

Adventure

• Riding Freedom (4.5)
• A Lion To Guard Us (2.9)
• Stuart Little (5.3)
• Call it Courage (4-6)

 

Historical Fiction

• Signs of the Beavers (4.9)
• The Matchlock Gun (5.1)
• Sara Witcher’s Story (5.3)
• Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims (3.0)
• And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
• Shh! We’re writing the constitution
• Pocahontas & the Strangers (4.5)
• What’s the Big Idea Ben Franklin
• Farmer Boy (5.2)
• Almost Home (5.8)
• Guns For General Washington (6.1)
• Little House in the Big Woods (5.3)

 

Fantasy

• Charlotte’s Web (4.4)

 

Mystery

• Encyclopedia Brown (4.1)
• Footprints in the Barn (4.2)

Explode the Code Annual Plan

 

Last week I shared quite a bit of reading plans & manipulatives I will be using to add a little extra fun to our phonics journey.  Originally starting our current school year I planned to finish Explode the Code books 1-3 this year.  Once we completed the first book I realized we needed to review quite a bit (mainly due to maturity on my boys part, I my desire to ease into reading & not rush them).  So, rather than feeling behind (don’t all homeschoolers hate playing the catch up game?  - why do we do that?  We are on our own time frame!)  I got to looking at the age range of the books & here is my goal for completing these books:

K/1 – Book 1, 1.5, & 2

1/2 – Book 3 & 4 (possibly Beyond the Code Book 1)

2/3 – Book 5 & 6 (possibly Beyond the Code Book 2)

3/4 – Book 7 & 8 (possibly Beyond the Code Books 3 &4)

I realize this is long term planning, & I have seldom seen this entire series used completely.  Both my older kids stopped at book 6, but this at least gives me an attainable goal that is not overwhelming for me or them. 

I am still entertaining the idea of purchasing the online membership for a little extra help & those crazy days.

Reading K/1: Handwriting

I plan on continuing to use HWOT as our main handwriting to guide the boys in using correct letter formation & such, but I also wanted to reinforce their reading lessons with handwriting practice as well.  I used handwritingworksheets.com to create pages that contained words & sentences from their I Can Read It! books.  I tried to keep some kind of flow to my pages, make them increasingly difficult day-to-day, but they do vary slightly each week.  I’ve only made the first 4 weeks of sheets, but here is the flow I have going so far:

*Trevor is only 4 & is still needing wider lines than Tucker.  I used size 3 for Tucker which has 4 lines & size 4 for Trevor (3 lines), but occasionally I printed both using size 3 (to help easy Trevor into a narrower writing line).

Week 1:  Phonics Focus:  short a/ –at ending

Day 1:  Capital & lower case letter review, new word(s), short sentence

Day 2:  New word(s), slightly longer sentence (1 line tracing, 1 line on their own)

Day 3:  Long sentence (1 line tracing, 1 line on their own)

Day 4:  Word reviews (tracing, then on their own, or write a sentence using a few of the words they  traced)

Week 3:  Focus is still on short a, but with different consonant endings

Day 1:  New/Review words, short sentence

Day 2:  Long sentence

Day 3:  Long sentence & short sentence

Day 4:  Long sentence

Here are samples of the pages I made:

Reading K/1: Sight Words

I will be using the sight words listed in each story from our I Can Read It! books & displaying the words using sight word cards in a pocket chart.  I purchased sight word cut & paste worksheets ($8) &  Lakeshore write & wipe sight words cards.

I love the concept of reading a word, building it, & then writing it.  I would like to have this as a regular activity for the boys, but haven’t decided on magnets.
My choices are:
Scholastics Little Red Tool Box High Frequency Word magnets or Lakeshore Sight Word Magnets
                                  
Each set has its own advantages.  I already have the Scholastic word building tiles, but I love how the Lakeshore magnets are color coded by level.  Decisions.  Decisions. 

***update***

After closely comparing the two sight word magnet sets, I decided to purchase the Scholastic's set.  I found that the Lakeshore magnets did not have near as many words.  Even after purchasing all the sets I still would not have near as many as in the Scholastic set.  Plus, I wouldn't even have all the sight words that I will be introducing.

Tomorrow:  Handwriting!

Reading K/1: Phonics “Word Families”

For Phonics (word families with short vowels):

I chose to ETC Book 1 *Focus on short vowel, constant combinations – I’m calling “word families”                 Each week they will do one lesson of ETC, plus add corresponding lessons from book 1.5 for review in between. 

I’m also going to use the following:

Lakeshore Learning Word Family House Pocket Chart Kit, Flip books, & magnets, plus Scholastics Word Family Mats.      

     

^{*pictures from Lakeshore Learning}

                   

These are a great alternative to the magnets I chose.  I may add this awesome pocket chart activity program later down the road.  It took major self-control to not purchase these or this . . . I do have a 20% off coupon . . .

My plan is to introduce new word families using the pocket chart.  They will also use Explode the Code throughout the week & will continue to make the mini books.  The flip cards & magnets will be used to build words.  The mats will also be used for word building & writing.

 

^{*picture from Sonlight}

I will be using the I Can Read It! books for their daily readers.  These correspond perfectly with the Explode the Code lesson focus & offer sight word lists for each lesson/story.  To expand on this further, I will be creating handwriting pages that also reinforce the lesson focus by using words & sentences from each story.

Tomorrow – Sight Words!

K/1 Reading with Mustangs

So, what am I going to do?  I’ve put a lot of time & research shopping into developing a lesson plan with materials & activities that I know will encourage my boys in reading.  It was important to continue the same approach as WP with different types of material that corresponded a little better & met the needs of my boys more specifically.  I wanted:

• A workbook for phonics & sight word study
• Readers that correspond to the phonics focus
• Sight words that correspond to the reading
• Handwriting that reinforces phonics & sight word concepts
• Hands-on activities & games to reinforce all the above as well as grow a love & interest for reading

Here is my scope & sequence for using both Explode the Code Books 1 & 1.5:

Week	Book:  Lesson	Focus
1	1 : 1	-at
2	1 : 2	a (-n, d, m, p, nd)
3	1 : 3	a (consonant endings)
4	1.5 : 1	review:  a
5	1 : 4	i
6	1.5 : 2	review:  i
7	1 : 5	review a, i (end in s)
8	1.5 : 3	review:  a, i
9	1 : 6	u
10	1.5 : 4	review:  u
11	1 : 7	review:  a, i, u
12	1.5 : 5	review:  a, i
13	1.5 : 6	review:  a, i, u
14	1 : 8	e
15	1.5 : 7	review e
16	1 : 9	review:  a, i, u, e
17	1.5 : 8	review:  a, i, u, e
18	1 : 10	o
19	1.5 : 9	review: o
20	1.5 : 10	review: e, o
21	1 : 11	review:  ALL
22	1.5 : 11	review:  ALL

Originally, I was hoping to just add the 11 lessons of book 1.5 for review before moving on, but after comparing the books I realized that the 1/2 books are slightly more difficult & my boys really need just as much practice of the “easy” stuff as they do the other. 

Winter Promise “Just Learning To Read”

After using Winter Promise PK/K Basic Phonics last year (& LOVIN’ it!!), I decided to move on to WP “Just Learning To Read”.  I especially liked this curriculum because it incorporated Explode the Code (huge fan!) & I love the Now I’m Reading beginning readers. 

*Before I go any further in detail, I want to make it clear that I have not used this curriculum consistently, due to the way life has gone for us it has been more of a stop & go :)

I like Just Learning To Read, but for me (TYPE A) & my boys (well, 100% boys), it jumped around a little too much.  The key focus wasn’t clear throughout the program.  For example the focus may be short a, but a particular word family was not a main focus.  So using Explode the Code the focus could be –at, but the worksheets were –at, –an, & –ap, which were not explained or taught anywhere else in the program.  The readers correspond to the vowel focus, but also contained other blends & sounds that had not been covered.  Sight words were not formally introduced in any particular part of the program either.  For some kids these are not issues, for us it was just too jumpy to master any particular focus.  So that was my main issue with the program.  Here is my overall opinion:

• The guide – wonderful, informative, very easy to use.
• Handwriting pages – the lines were not wide enough for my boys.
• Explode the Code books – love.  However, after book 1 is completed I noticed the program uses book 2 & 3 out of order (a couple weeks on book 2, then a couple lessons in book 3 & back & forth).
• The Word Family Activity book – I liked parts of this, but much of it was over their head & just became busy work.  The space allowed for writing is extremely small & this was a big problem for us.
• Read & Write Mini books – this was my boys’ favorite part.  They took great pride in making their books & we will continue using these as we review.
• Readers Set – I really do like these books & my boys enjoyed reading them a great deal – I just wish they would have corresponded more to the program.

We began the K program this fall & I have seen great progression & maturity for reading, but I don’t think my mustangs are ready to continue on to Explode the Code Book 2 (which is where the program is headed).  So, I decided to take a little break from WP & do my own thang – REVIEW!  At first I thought I’d just pick up ETC Book 1 1/2 (1/2 levels are review).  But I actually think they not only need 1.5, but they also need to redo book 1.  Some of the material in WP was just too advanced for them when we started & I really haven’t pushed them, but would like to see more concepts understood before we continue.  I will be sharing over the next few days how I plan to tie things together more for them.

The Mustangs’ Reading Books

The boys are learning to read this year & as part of our Language Arts lesson plans with Winter Promise they are each to have their own personal reading dictionary.  There were a few other things I wanted to keep track of in addition to the new words they are learning, so I added a few things to it:

Here is the actual dictionary part.  Click here to download the page template I created.  I used one of the LIFE alpha’s from Weeds & Wildflowers for the letters on the side & stapled them on each page with a mini stapler.  I did the binding using my proclick.

They add each new word they learn to read to it & draw a picture of it above:

    

I also added a reading review section & sight words lists with all the words they will be responsible for.

They are so proud of their new books & are doing fabulous with learning to read. 

Games For Reading

I am soooooo excited to share my latest HOT reading find!!!  Somewhere during my hoppin’ around at the Heart of the Matter Curriculum Blog Hop I discovered a FANTASTIC book by Peggy Kaye, “Games For Reading.”  I’ve always got my eye out for any kind of reading activities – I just couldn’t help but to order it!  And I am I EVER SO GLAD I DID!!!  This book is WONDERFUL!!!  It is full of playful ways to help your child read.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to have found this book right before I begin helping my Mustangs read.  It is perfect!  I love how Peggy explains, “If you have fun with a game, your child will begin to associate reading with enjoyment.  Nothing could be more valuable.  And if some memorization takes place, too, all the better.”  This is exactly the philosophy I want to have with my Mustangs as we begin to read.  I want to make reading fun.  I want to get my boys excited about about learning to read!  And Games For Reading is going to be the tool that helps me to make this process fun.

Throughout the book Peggy suggests games to specifically strengthen possible weak areas for visual & auditory learning.  You can choose games from several different target areas:

• Games for Learning Words
• Games for Learning Sounds
• Games for Understanding
• Games for Reading Every Day

My favorite game for learning words is “Gift Words” – Think of a word that has special significance, write the word onto an index card & decorate it, then give it to your child as a gift.  Here are a couple of my “Gift Words” for my Mustangs:

 

I can’t wait to go on a word hunt the next time we are grocery shopping & you better believe we are going to have some major picture labeling going on as well!!!

My favorite games for the eye are “Set the Table” – use 3-4 objects & arrange them in a design on the table.  Your child looks at this arrangement, & takes the identical objects from his own bag & duplicates the design.  My boys are going to have a blast with the “Goofy Sentences”  Peggy suggests.  I can only imagine what they are going to come up with . . .

In addition to playing lots of rhyming games, I am also going to play “Talk a Drawing” – Tell you child what to draw with clarified instructions.

I know my boys are going to LOVE the “Chickens & Whales” game!!  - You gotta buy the book to learn how to play this one!

Reading Resources

Here are a couple reading links to check out:

• Playful Learning's Reading Games 
• Student Learning Centers *This site has sooo much information I am still taking it all in in small doses; however, it has great ideas for reading in 3 different levels (K-1, 2-3, 4-5)
• Book Units

Book Reports

   After Taylor & Tyler finished reading their Magic Tree House book I had them right a book report, but I made it a little bit fun . . .  (*although, she didn’t think so):

I laid a piece of colored paper landscape & folded the edges to meet in the middle.  Then I cut a straight line from the bottom of each tab – making 4 tabs to flip up.  In the center they each wrote the title of the book.  On the front of each tab I labeled them: 

1. CHARACTERS
   • Inside they wrote the main characters then answered, “which character is most like you & why?”
2. SETTING
   • Inside they wrote where the setting is, “Antarctica” & then wrote 4 facts they learned about Antarctica from their book.
3. PLOT
   • Inside they wrote a sentence for the beginning, middle (problem),  ending (solution).
4. OPINION
   • Inside they wrote their favorite part & explained if they would recommend this book to others.

On the middle inside, they picked a picture to draw or photocopy & paste.

Then on the back they were to pick their favorite penguin they learned about, draw or photocopy a picture of it, & paste it on.  Then next to the picture they wrote facts about that particular penguin.

Tyler enjoyed this activity & it was a great way to get him started on writing book reports.  Considering he has struggled with reading, but has great comprehension orally, I have not pushed book reports.  I am slowly introducing them to him & taking small steps to get him ready to begin writing more.

Reading with Partners

Reading with Partners is a great way for young readers to build fluency.  I was very hesitant to pair my son & daughter together for reading time, but after much thought I gave it a go . . .

They have been reading Magic Treehouse’s, Eve of the Emperor Penguin, to supplement our Winter Promise, Animals & Their Worlds study of Artic animals.  (Penguins are Momma’s Boy’s favorite!!)  At first, this experiment didn’t start off well.  Daddy’s Girl tends to be just a little bit too bossy & was overly excited about being “the teacher.”  - Tyler grew frustrated with her quickly!  So I listened in & suggested that she listen more than correct.  This time was NOT for her to teach him to read, but rather to LISTEN to him read.  If he misses a word say, “try that one again.”  If he continues to miss it tell him the word & move on.  Once some ground rules were in place their partnered reading time became very successful & she would tell me, “he is doing so good!”  This encouragement from his big sister has been great & it has been a wonderful bonding time for the two.

After they read (usually 1-2 chapters) I will ask them questions like:

• Who is your favorite character?  -Describe them in 10 words.
• What is the setting like?  Would you like to visit there?  Why?
• What Godly Character Traits do you see the characters display?
• What do you like about the plot?

I also had them pick an unfamiliar word from their reading, look it up, & make silly sentences with it. 

*Winter Promise curriculum includes “Great Ideas for Narration” with over 2 dozen discussion prompts that are fantastic for creating teachable moments in a low-key way.

Reading Activity . . . with little brothers!

To help build Tyler’s confidence in reading I have been having him read to his little brothers.

Recently he read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie to his mustang brothers:

And if you read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie to mustangs . . .

Chances are you are going to have to make cookies too!

And give them a cup of milk!

While we waited on our cookies Tyler read, If You Take a Mouse To School

They sure do love it when their big brother reads to them.

And so do I!! <3

D.E.A.R.

Another homeschool mom (who is graduating her last daughter next year) recently shared a tradition she stole from the Public School system . . .

D.E.A.R.  Every day after lunch they Drop Everything And Read for 30 minutes to an hour.  It is a nice little down time for everyone to do a little reading for pleasure.  I wonder if the association with deer would help it go over any better with my crew?  I think we are going to try this out soon.  When my schoolroom is complete I may set up a few pop-up tents & let them do a little D.E.A.R. hunting – for books!!

What about you . . . do you have any traditions you’ve created over the years?  Is there something you’ve done since the beginning that you’d like to share?  Or do you have a reading tip you’d like to share? 

If so leave me a comment, I’d love to hear/read about it!

Momma’s Boy Reading Update

I am super-dee-dooper proud of my reluctant reader!!

After doing my homework on reading, I discovered the main area my “reluctant” reader was struggling with was fluency.  Since my discovery, we have diligently focused on building fluency skills.  One of the ways we have done this is by reviewing common phrases.  We started with the first 100 phrases on March 15 & have been pretty good about practicing every Monday (or at least once a week).  Here is what our records show:

Date:	1st Attempt (Time)	1st Attempt (Errors)	2nd Attempt (Time)	2nd Attempt (Errors)
3/15	4.12 min	10
3/22	3.18 min	8	3.14 min	6
3/30	3.23 min	4	3.8   min	7
4/19	2.5   min	3	2.59 min	0
4/26	2.58 min	0	2.32 min	0

WAY TO GO TYLER!!! 

Now we are moving on to the 2nd 100 Phrases . . .  WHEW-WHOOO!!!

Now I’m Reading: Pre-readers

I chose Nora Gaydos’, “Now I’m Reading” ,beginning readers over the Bob Books.  This series is wonderful & offers great suggestions for developing necessary pre-reading skills for ages 3-6 years old.  They are a collection of soft-covered mini-readers that come together as a set in a hard covered binder.  A parents guide & stickers are also included. 

Inside the parents guide you will find an explanation of the format of the included books, suggestions for using the books, & ideas to help your child learn the alphabet.

My Mustangs are currently enjoying the My World Pre-Reader books.  I am truly pleased with the format of these readers.  Each book has a different theme & includes a couple sight words:

1. Opposites
2. Number Sequence (First, Second, Third, etc.)
3. Places
4. Things that go
5. Rhyming
6. Animals
7. Actions
8. Farm
9. Household
10. Baby Animals

We also have the Look Around!  Pre-Readers, which include the following themes:

1. Colors
2. Numbers
3. Emotions
4. Food
5. Pets
6. Jobs
7. Shapes
8. Body Parts
9. Family
10. Clothes

I’ve found these books to be great read-along books with cute little pictures that the boys enjoy.  They have gained initial confidence with the predictable text format & are so excited to add a sticker after “reading” their books. 

At the end of each book is a page with words to know: sight words & picture words.  There is also a “Stretch Your Mind” page which lists simple activities to reinforce the concepts focused on in the book. 

Check out Montessori For Everyone for a very helpful comparison of beginning phonics readers.

Focus On Reading

I have been so busy this week working with Nicki preparing for a Curriculum Show & Tell for homeschooling families in our area – I didn’t have time to work on my Phonics reading post for this week.  So, next week!  Hopefully!!

While you are waiting on me to get it together :)  Check out Heart of the Matter’s March Edition: Focus On Reading. 

It is fantastic! 

The authors are very honest about the struggles & emotions involved with struggling readers – for children & moms!!  You will find wonderful suggestions for early reading games, as well as other tools for teaching reading.  Including audio books, book recommendations, assessment tests, links to websites, & numerous ideas for getting your child to love reading.  I cannot tell you enough how much I enjoyed & learned from this magazine.  And it’s FREE!  ENJOY!

Reading - Fluency

Fluency is one of the areas to strengthen while helping a struggling reader.

What is reading fluency?  Fluency consists of 3 components:

1. rate
2. accuracy
3. prosody (intonation, stress, & pauses)

The main goal in fluency is to read accurately & quickly.  This is important because once fluency is strengthened the reader is able to focus on comprehension than decoding.

How do you strengthen a struggling readers fluency? 

First, you read & re-read!  Boring, right?  Not so much.  This is the main problem area for Momma’s Boy, so we have spent a lot of time working on his reading fluency & we have been having a lot of fun doing it.  Here are some suggestions for developing reading fluency:

*These are all activities suggested by The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Center for Reading & Language Arts in their guide, Essential Reading Strategies for the Struggling Reader:  Activities for an Accelerated Reading Program

• Audio Books
  • Allow your child to follow along in a book while listening to it on audio.  In addition to this, I talk about the readers prosody with my son & then have him read the same story into an audio recorder.  Next, we listen to his recording allowing him to hear himself & recognize his own mistakes.

*I found several popular short stories for $1 on iTunes!! (Where the Wild Things Are, Blueberries for Sal, The Hungry Caterpillar, etc.)

• “Cloze It”
  • Begin reading a book/passage & stop at target words or phrases in the text, allowing your child to complete the reading, continuing to take turns “clozing” the text.  My son LOVES this game.
• Page Races
  • Tell your child they will be timed while reading a page (or passage) from a book.  Time them as they read & record the time.  Review any words read inaccurately.  Then have your child to read it two more times in an effort to increase his/her speed & accuracy in reading the text.  You can increasingly build the content of what is being read to more than one page & you can also add one second to the total reading time for every word read incorrectly, omitted, substituted, or added.

• Reading & Rereading – How Speedy Are You?
  • Explain to your child that he/she will be reading the same book or selection each day for a week & graphing their speed results.  *Using the same error rule as above.

Graph Reading Speed  

• Word Phrase Cards
  • We review these once a week.  I time my son & record his time & errors on a note card with the date.  He reads through the words twice, trying to beat his first attempt, as well as previous times.  At first he was not excited about this, but as he began to see his progress his confidence built & he became excited.
• Sight Words
• Reading words in isolation will help your child transfer those words to reading of connected text later.

 

• Word Wall File Folder
  • Create a word wall using a file folder with the letters of the alphabet written on the inside in rows & columns.  Add misread words to the file folder (under the first letter it begins with) as well as to a index card.  Each time your child reads through his set of word cards place a checkmark on the back of all words that are read correctly without your help.  When a card has five checkmarks, allow your child to place a small stamp or sticker next to the word on his word wall.

 

• Word Pattern/Sight Word Road Race
  • Using a file folder & a game board write words on each space (*you can laminate it & write words with a dry-erase maker).  Write the same words on a small index card.  Use plastic animal, colored candy, etc as a game piece.  Play like you would play Candyland.  You can also add two words to one card, or special spots, etc to make the game more fun.
• Pick-Up Word Game
• Bingo 

I’m hesitant to offer a range of timed reading by level, so please use this lightly as a goal to a measure of your child’s reading speed:

• 2nd grade:  85 wpm (w/ a range of 50-80 words)
• 3rd grade:  110 wpm
• 4th grade:  120 wpm
• 5th grade:  130 wpm

More so, a better measure for setting goals would be to see your child’s reading speed increase with 2 wpm per week.

Read, read, read.
~ William Faulkner ~

What is a struggling reader?

How do you determine between reading readiness, a struggling reader, or a disability?  (*you can read my recent post on reading readiness HERE) 

There are four critical components of reading success:

1. Fluency
2. Phonological Awareness
3. Instructional Reading with Comprehension
4. Word Analysis and Spelling

Categorizing reading into these areas not only made it easier for me to monitor Tyler’s reading progress, but it also helped me identify areas we need to focus on & strengthen for better reading success.  In fact, I also found it quite relieving to discover that the problem wasn’t as big as I initially perceived it being. 

I do want to stress that I am not a professional.  I don’t hold any reading specialty degree.  I am just a mom working with a child that has some weak areas in reading.  There is much controversy in the topic of reading – when to start, what to use, reading levels, reading speed, blah blah blah!  I am only sharing what I have learned & what is working in our homeschool.  Take what you’d like & run with it, but first PRAY.  Pray for your child & pray for your own wisdom.  What works for my child may not work the same for your child.  More so, what may be successful for one of your children may not work for the other.  Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, try something new or seek professional advice.  I truly believe motherly instinct is a gift from God.  If your instincts tell you there is a disability & you are lead to have your child tested for such, please do not ignore those instincts.  I have had a great experience with Cook Children’s Mental & Behavioral Health.  Yes, the name scared me, but do not be intimidated – my child was NOT sent to a mental institution nor was I told how much I’ve messed my kid up.  I gained a greater understanding for how my child learns & was equipped with ideas to improve weak areas.  I found professional testing & opinion to be very beneficial. 

Over the next few weeks I will continue blogging on my reading discoveries & offer suggestions & activities for the 4 reading components listed above.  You can look for these posts each Friday.

The successful Accelerated Reader is able to read larger than
normal "blocks" or "bites" of the printed page with each eye stop.
He has accepted, without reservation, the philosophy that
the most important benefit of reading is the gaining
of information, ideas, mental "picture" and entertainment-
not the fretting over words. He has come to the realization that words
in and of themselves are for the most part insignificant.
~ Wade E. Cutler ~