Book of the Week GIVEAWAY:
- I Like Bugs by Margaret Wise Brown
- The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg
- If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
- A Book About Your Skeleton by Ruth Belov Gross
Why we love these books:
In observance of Valentine’s Day, the holiday of L-O-V-E, we are celebrating our love affair with books. Joyce is once again sharing her fabulous book find with all of you! Just a way for us to share our L-O-V-E for books with you.
One of the first questions I get asked when people find out I homeschool is about what curriculum I use. This is a bit tricky as I tend to develop most of my own curriculum. My background includes a BS degree with a specialization in reading and a certification as a Reading Recovery Teacher. When it comes to teaching reading in the classroom and homeschool, I am all about balance! Our reading program is flexible and evolves as the children grow and change. However, there are 5 basic components that are consistent. I’m sure this post will be way too long, but I’ll attempt to keep it concise and come back to each component over the next few weeks.
A Balanced Reading Program
1. Books, Books, Books!
- Yes, I could purchase an expensive reading curriculum, but my most valuable tool is my library card! Our home is overflowing with books.
- Learning to read without books is like learning to swim without ever getting in the water!
2. Reading Aloud
- That means ME reading aloud to my children (not my children reading aloud)
- The first goal of reading aloud to children is reading for enjoyment! Learning to read should be fun not a chore.
- The second goal is to model what a good reader sounds like, fluent and expressive.
- Third, reading aloud introduces children to new vocabulary and concepts that they could not read independently.
- In the classroom, I read to my students throughout the day. I read aloud story books, math books, science books, history books, easy pattern books, chapter books . . . the list goes on . . .
- At home, I began reading to my little babies when they were about 6 weeks old. They’ve been read to every single day of their lives. I read to them throughout the day and Daddy reads to them each and every night.
- 10 Favorite Read Alouds for Children
- And yes we also need to read to our older children!
3. Guided Reading
- This is exactly what is sounds like. A reader is guided through the process of reading a new book.
- In preschool, kindergarten and first grade these books will be simple pattern books that build a core of familiar words.
- Children learn early reading skills such as left to right, top to bottom, one to one pointing and beginning decoding strategies.
- You can print FREE guided reading books here at waddleeahchaa.com
- You can print guided reading books at Reading A to Z; however, there is a subscription fee
4. Independent Reading
- As with reading aloud, this should be an opportunity for children to read for enjoyment.
- In general, these should be books that lean more towards the easy than the challenging. Reading for meaning and enjoyment is quite difficult if a child is reading word by word, struggling to sound out the majority of the words.
- In preschool, kindergarten and first grade these books should be easy, familiar books first introduced during guided reading.
- In preschool and kindergarten this may also simply be a quiet time to “look” at books independently.
5. Phonics or Word Work
- Reading and writing go hand in hand. One cannot really be taught without the other.
- At the preschool, kindergarten and first grade level the focus is developing a core of familiar words.
- Young children learn the connection between letters, sounds and words.
- ”If you can write the word cat, you can read the word cat. If you know the word cat, you know the words bat, fat, mat, sat . . .”
- After reviewing many phonics programs, I decided Alpha-phonics was the right fit for us. It is a concise, organized, step by step approach to phonics. Each lesson is short and narrowly focused. Not a lot of skill and drill, not a lot of flashcards, not a lot of junk I have to make! My favorite approach, “low-maintenance.”
- I was shocked to read reviews about other programs that stated, “Yes, this works but my kids hate it!” The last thing I want to do is make my children hate reading. I suggest you skip those programs, even if they are recommended.
We do a little bit of this and that just about every day. I guess when you put it all together we spend about an hour a day on reading. Some days a little more, some days a little less. But once again the focus is on a balanced program. Within each of these components an abundance of instruction and learning is occurring. And each of these components, looks very different for each child at each level of development. My goal is to spend some time on each of these components at a variety of levels in the upcoming weeks.
In the mean time start collecting books and I’ll see you back here! You’ll need easy, just right and challenging books for your children.
Life with Jeannine
We’re GIVING AWAY
- I Like Bugs by Margaret Wise Brown
- The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg
- If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
- A Book About Your Skeleton by Ruth Belov Gross
To enter this contest, just answer the following question in the comments section of this post.
Did you enjoy learning to read when you were a child? I know for both Joyce and me, it was a terribly miserable and scary experience. (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)
The Rules:
One entry per person, please.
No entries after 8:00 pm Central Time, Thursday, February 16, 2012
The winner must be a resident of The United States.
The winner will be selected at random and announced Friday, February 17, 2012. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!
Sharing this week at:
{ 17 comments }
