I want to tell you about my favorite book: Laddie, A True Blue Story. It’s not very often that you find such a warm, family-value-oriented book. It is a treasure! The best part of it was reading it out-loud to my children. I found it taught just as much as a sermon . . . with my family chuckling along the way and begging for more. And there is lots more—416 pages of it.
A Delicious Read, Indeed
by
Make-it-Yourself Beginning Readers
by
Can there be anything more exciting than having those phonics lessons finally “click” with your little one and hearing him read his first words? I doubt it! Listening to my children learn to read is a thrill for me. I enjoy teaching them to read and I delight in hearing them read aloud.
Learn Your Letter Sounds: Game
by
Louisa and Mark
Here is an interesting, easy game to help your young ones begin identifying the phonic sounds. All of my children have started their adventure of learning to read with this little game, beginning as early as they are eager to learn their letter sounds (usually 4 years old). They beg for this game over and over.
Summer Read-Aloud
by
Louisa finds a great spot to read in the cherry tree!
Oooh, summer reading! Gives me a thrill to think about it, as those free hours can be so wonderfully applied to all the lovely books we miss during the school year!
Right now, Louisa and I are reading My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Yes, Louisa is old enough to read it by herself, but then I would miss out, and I don’t want to. Plus, she wouldn’t have a good reason to sit and crochet or draw while she listens. And, most of all, we’d miss those interesting, value-transferring discussions that bind our hearts together!
Remembering Phonics
by
Question:
My 7 year old loves to read, but now that I am teaching my 5 year old to read I can see how the 7 year old struggles with reading. I taught him to read using phonics but I notice him guessing at words a lot and so I say, “say each sound”. He enjoys reading and I don’t want to change that. Do I just keep keeping on or what would you suggest? [Read more…]
Does Harry Potter, Twilight Help Reading?
by
Question:
My child does not like to read, but she will read Harry Potter, Charlie Bone, Twilight and others on a theme of wizardry and black magic. How do you feel about that? Should I just be happy that she is reading?
Answer:
I feel concerned that encouraging children to read any book which has a theme of the occult, death, or black magic may promote a fascination with the “dark side” and develop an appetite for something less than praiseworthy. There is so much excellent literature of an uplifting, inspiring nature to read that there is scarcely time enough in one childhood to enjoy it all! Has your child read Summer of the Monkeys, Call it Courage, Mr. Popper’s Penquins, The 21 Balloons? . . . there are so very many that come to mind! I think that for some children who aren’t interested in reading but get “hooked” on a series that delves into the occult—reading simply isn’t worth the price of nurturing such a taste.
Is it a “b” or a “d”?
by
Question:
My kids are having a hard time in reading and writing lower case “b” and “d” and are always mixing them up. How do you help kids keep this straight?
Answer:
I teach them “b”. Leave “d” alone—it will take care of itself once they learn “b”.
