Books, books, and more books. We love books around here. Except for the new-found love of Lego, books are the number one thing that I have to clean up around the house. There are books that Noah's learning to read, books that the boys have requested to have read to them, preschool books, library books, daddy's books, mommy's books... the list really goes on and on.
In some ways, it is hard to really define the line between just a love for the all things words and what is actually stuff for "school". Thankfully, we really don't have the make that distinction. We have a schedule that we try to adhere to, but it seems like more often than not, we just read the stories in whatever order we want and enjoy them when we are in the mood.
Learning to Read
For our school time, it feels like there are two different times for reading. The first is the time where Buddy (and sometimes Button too) is learning to read for themselves. In our five(!) weeks of Pre-K, this time has diverged widely. The first week, it looked like me pulling out the McGuffey Readers and having him read a lesson. Let me tell you, this was terrible. I was so excited about the McGuffey Readers, but apparently my son didn't catch the vision. He wouldn't even read the first page which I knew he had no trouble with.
The next couple of weeks, I decided that teaching Buddy to read wasn't necessary. Charlotte Mason doesn't even encourage teaching reading until a child is about 6. Buddy is not even 5. I knew it wasn't necessary before we even started, but since he's had such a passion about it in the past, I thought I'd try to do something simple. When that didn't work, I decided to leave it until Kindergarten.
The last two weeks has been a completely different scenario. I've still decided not to push it. You won't find it in my schedule or something to try to accomplish in any given week. Instead, I've both purchased and borrowed from the library a number of easy readers. This happened more by accident than anything. I found a Level 1 (Pre-K to K level) Easy Reader that featured Lightening McQueen from the movie, Cars. I bought it for Buddy, and he devoured it. Okay, so it was twaddle, but he wouldn't put it down. So, I bought some more from Costco featuring Thomas the Tank Engine. Again, he wanted to work through the books even to a Level 2. I moved all of our Easy Readers to prominent place in the living room, and he goes and grabs one and asks to read it with me. Other new favorites are Oliver the Pig, Mouse Soup and Lego City.
Now, I should mention, that Buddy has always been an early reader. He started putting words together before he was 3 1/2. I think that a lot of his success has been from the LeapFrog videos (Letter Factory, Word Factory, and Word Caper). He also really enjoys Starfall. We are starting to enjoy these again with Button. We also have the first set of BOB books that we are going to start working on with Button. Again, I know that Button is only 3, but he is extremely frustrated that his brother can read and he can't. He tries to memorize books and say the words while I do so that he feels like he's reading too. I think as long as I don't expect too much from him, it is okay to start helping Button along with beginning phonics.
Literature
The other thing we do is Read-Alouds. Everyday, we try to read something special everyday. This year, we are working our way through Winnie-the-Pooh, A Treasury of Children's Literature, The Children's Book of Virtues and the poems found on the Ambleside Online's list for each month. When appropriate for narration, we try to act out the stories or I have Buddy tell daddy about the story we read when he comes in for lunch. We aren't to the point of having him dictate to me, but I'm impressed with how much he can remember. I have fun watching the boys put on plays and sometimes video them doing it. We have a new set of the Three Little Pigs that can be found here, here, and here.
My biggest surprise is how much both boys enjoy listening to poetry. I'll often read it to them while they are having a snack (like how we used to do during tea time), and I'm always greeted with requests for more. It surprises me because many of the words they don't even know, and I'm not sure if they are even understanding what some of the poems are even referring to in their analogies, but the rhythm and rhyme really draw my boys in. (Which reminds me, I really should start our tea time ritual again!)
In some ways, it is hard to really define the line between just a love for the all things words and what is actually stuff for "school". Thankfully, we really don't have the make that distinction. We have a schedule that we try to adhere to, but it seems like more often than not, we just read the stories in whatever order we want and enjoy them when we are in the mood.
Learning to Read
For our school time, it feels like there are two different times for reading. The first is the time where Buddy (and sometimes Button too) is learning to read for themselves. In our five(!) weeks of Pre-K, this time has diverged widely. The first week, it looked like me pulling out the McGuffey Readers and having him read a lesson. Let me tell you, this was terrible. I was so excited about the McGuffey Readers, but apparently my son didn't catch the vision. He wouldn't even read the first page which I knew he had no trouble with.
The next couple of weeks, I decided that teaching Buddy to read wasn't necessary. Charlotte Mason doesn't even encourage teaching reading until a child is about 6. Buddy is not even 5. I knew it wasn't necessary before we even started, but since he's had such a passion about it in the past, I thought I'd try to do something simple. When that didn't work, I decided to leave it until Kindergarten.
Literature
My biggest surprise is how much both boys enjoy listening to poetry. I'll often read it to them while they are having a snack (like how we used to do during tea time), and I'm always greeted with requests for more. It surprises me because many of the words they don't even know, and I'm not sure if they are even understanding what some of the poems are even referring to in their analogies, but the rhythm and rhyme really draw my boys in. (Which reminds me, I really should start our tea time ritual again!)
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