Lost and Found in Phonics Paradise

Posted by Cassie | 0 comments

There are so many things I want my children to learn before they are grown and out from under my wing. I want them to gain an understanding of God’s Word and develop a close relationship with Him. I want them to see God’s grace and provision throughout history and explore God’s beautiful and amazing world through science. I want them to experience great books and see history through the eyes of the people who experienced it.

In order to get all this richness from their education, there is one skill they cannot do without…

READING!

There are times in the past 5 years of my homeschooling journey I have wondered why it is that we are not just born with the ability to read the written word. For some of us, it comes easily. Translating all the letters and their combinations into sounds to make words is like second nature. My oldest son learned to read rather quickly, though he did not enjoy the process as much as I hoped he would. He is now almost ten, and starting to show signs of enjoying reading.

As for my younger son, reading was an uphill battle from the beginning.

I am a reader. I always have at least one book I am reading, most of the time I am reading two or three. I read a wide variety of books and I find that I go through “seasons” in the types of books that hold my interest. The one thing I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt from the beginning of our homeschooling journey was that I wanted my kids to love to read! If you enjoy reading, there is nothing that you can’t learn or experience through another’s eyes. The world is your oyster!

Unfortunately, my initial experiences in sharing my love of reading with my boys were less than encouraging.

I had so many questions that seemed to have no answers. Why isn’t my son getting it? Why doesn’t he like for me to read to him? Why doesn’t he want to learn to read? Is there something wrong with the curriculum? Is there something wrong with my approach? Is there something wrong with my son!? I have since learned that there are many parents that have struggled with those same questions. I am not alone, and if my experience sounds familiar to you in the least, neither are you!

I decided that since no one else was able to answer these questions for me, it was time for some trial and error. I started out using the same materials with my younger son as I had used with my oldest. When I initially realized he wasn’t learning or retaining anything we had covered, my first response was to try a different curriculum. We tried at least four different phonics and reading programs in two years. He didn’t seem to “get it” with any of them. It was when we were struggling through that fourth program that I came across an article about late readers. This was the first time I had heard or read about other kids not reading until they were 6, 7, 8, or even 9 years old! And what was even more encouraging was the author was telling me these kids were not abnormal or “special-needs”, they were simply not ready to read! Even still, when these children finally did learn to read, they learned quickly and advanced to their appropriate reading levels in a very short time!

After doing a bit more research and finding more to support this “better late than early” philosophy, I decided to relax. I planned to review what he had learned up to that point, take opportunities to read to him, and wait for him to show me some sign that he was ready to try reading again. We spent our time together playing games with letters and their sounds and reading appealing books such as those by Dr. Suess and fun poems by Shel Silverstein. Looking back, the time we spent away from workbooks and phonics lessons was enjoyed by both of us.

About a year ago, around his 7th birthday, he started showing me signs that he wanted to read. He would ask his older brother to read him picture books. When we were out running errands or shopping, he started to ask what this said and that said. SO I dug out that very first curriculum (mostly because it was the most familiar and comfortable for me), ordered a new set of workbooks, and we started over again.

Photo Credit: Heidi, Mt Hope Academy

My son is now eight. We are still doing a first grade phonics and reading curriculum, but he is no longer struggling. He is reading! He likes to read.

Phonics and reading are his favorite lessons of the school day and he enjoys reading Bob Books and easy readers from the library. If he continues at the rate he is going now, he will be at level by the end of next year (this is where I breathe a huge sigh of relief). But this is not the main reason I am sharing my experience with you. There is one major nugget of wisdom I have learned through our trials and triumphs (and yes, failures too) that I really want to share with you.

I firmly believe that had I not decided to take a step back and relax, if I had not decided to stop pushing him, that he would still be that kid who didn’t care if he EVER read a book on his own.

But instead, I see him smiling when he reads a story to a sibling or his father. He is proud to be a reader. And that makes me smile, too. If you have a child that is not yet reading at five or six (or even 7, 8, or 9) do not despair. Enjoy the time you have with them. Read to them every chance you get. Let them observe their siblings (and you) enjoying books. They will get to the point of readiness in their own time. And when that happens, you will be so glad that you waited! I know I am.

Cassandra Simpson is a homeschooling wife and mother of four children, ages 1, 8, 9, and 12. She is starting her 6th year of home educating in Indiana and uses a “Classically Eclectic” teaching approach. Cassandra is the Assistant Lead Moderator for HOTM’s forum and loves talking homeschool with anyone who will listen! Her hobbies are reading, blogging, sewing, and cooking. You can check out her family’s blog at In His Image.