Parenting Win: My new reader

Much to my dismay, my little girls had trouble learning to read when they were little. They were in reading groups at school, did extra reading with teachers and assistants. It has been a long 3 years for all of us trying to get them to where they are now. I now have a 2nd and 3rd grader that are improving everyday.

Every night my girls and I read. They read to me and then I read to them. Sometimes it's Shel Silverstein, sometimes it's the new monthly book for our book shelves. We have books about Albert Einstein, President Lincoln, Rosie the Riveter and dragons. I am not picky about what we read, as long as we can all get lost in the book.

My girls love our hour we do at night, however they never seemed to get the bug and do it on their own much. Then it happened, I had gotten done with chapter one of "Smile".

I told the girls that we would read more the next night, when I looked up into my 8 year old daughters eyes, they finally showed the look I've had my whole life. They were hungry for more. She wanted to read until she fell asleep, then wake up and read more. I told her No at first, then decided it couldn't hurt anything. Gave her a flashlight and her book and let her read for another half hour on her own.

That is what starts the addiction, the need for the quiet time and a good book. To me,this is when a kid is never alone, a good book, a light and someone to urge them on.

I have a reader!!

Feeling like this is my best parenting win for the month!! :)

How to sneak in reading development - Like sneaking in veggies for the brain

School has sped up a ton since my day. I remember in kindergarten during the 70’s we learned social skills. Many of us went to the same schools our whole life, so we all learned on the same level. First grade was where we picked up reading, writing and skills that they are learning now in kindergarten.

I’ve gotten my teens in high school, and have turned my concentration on the toddlers in my household. I started them early with simple things from a young age; we read every night together, draw on the chalkboard in their room with letters and numbers as well as find silly ways to learn the alphabet with water/dirt or food.

There is a sense of calm that comes over the house around 7:30, Clean the room, set out pajamas, turn off the overhead light and turn on the lamp, get them into the bath and then we sit on the floor of their room together and read four books a night. Sometimes they are learning from a simple preschool workbook or a silly board book we got from the library. Either way it is a time to quiet their minds and for me to sneak in some child reading development. Shhhh… don’t tell them that I’m teaching them during that time, they don’t need to know that just yet.

One way I’ve found to work on my children’s reading development is for them to tell me a story in a picture book. No words for me to read just an open dialogue about what they are seeing. Toddlers come up with the funniest stories on their own, teach them to name the character so they learn pronouns and places names, letting them tell you hair color and emotions will allow them to see a world outside of themselves and that people have the same emotions as they do, even if they are just a photo.

During this age and time in their lives I am always searching for fun ways to get them to fall in love with learning and if they can read it will help take the stress of learning away, because they aren’t fighting to read and comprehend they just have to focus on the newest lesson plan. The more chance we give them, the better off they will be.
 

~I was compensated for this post, all words are my own~