Learning to Read

Ballet girl started with the Bob Books. She has been getting valuable instruction at school as well. From the summer of 2013 when we started reading more seriously (one Bob book per week) until now she has advanced considerably.

When I read with her, this is what it looks like: She reads aloud and I am sitting with her; I still run my fingers under the words and if I do not, she does; she attempts to read, phonetically, longer, less familiar words. For instance today we came across action and emotion and I told her that the combination of letters tion is read [shn]. She understood it. This is the first encounter with this combination of letters, we will have to encounter it another 5-6 times before the understanding turns into solid knowledge. Another thing I have worked on with her that the rules that she is told about at school are not exclusive rules: as exemplified by book and door; read and head; same and some. Today when reading together the If you take a mouse to school book we encountered a sentence like this: "I went to the museum, saw a picture and filmed it"-which the museum or the picture? It is not clear. Well, Ballet girl, realized that the it was ambiguous so we had a discussion about this. We will encounter this many times and eventually she will understand to look for this. What this event showed me is that when reading she thinks about the meaning of the content. This is very comforting because most of the content she attempts to read is content that she is already familiar with from our read-aloud sessions (which is another reason I find read alouds so valuable).

At home, from the Bob Books we moved to the Piggie and Elephant books (which she herself discovered). Now, we are tackling the If you take a mouse to the movies series books. The first non-series book she tackled with success is Belinda and the glass slipper.

I have learnt a lot in the last few weeks about reading. For instance, as much as parents want their kids to be geniuses, for reading and everything else, it is important to take it slow so that not to miss the basics. Short, enjoyable, picture books are not be neglected but to be used especially in the learning phase. Chapter books tend to be very shallow in content and should only be used for the reader learning to silent-read. The novels have to wait at least until the beginning of 4th grade. The early reading novels  are also fairly shallow in content which is disappointing.


UPDATE 4/24/2014: The easy P.D.Eastman books are great. Big Dog,Little Dog; My nest is best; Flap your wings; Go Dog Go.

February Books

In January we read The Adventures of Pinnocchio by Carlo Colodi, all 256 pages. 

Before moving to a new chapter, we reviewed what has happened thus far in the story. We would comment on who is good, who is bad, what would be an alternative, more desirable behavior. Then we will dive into the new chapter. 

For Sunlight boy this was the first big read-aloud. He was thrilled and enchanted by the unlikely adventures which are simply so fascinating. He kept on talking about Pinnocchio and anticipating the evening readings.

The book is lovely and offers plenty of ideas to explore. We read about Whales; we made paper boats and paper ships; and we made a Pinnocchio doll from craft sticks and colored paper.

We also watched the Disney movie in Portuguese. Thank you, YouTube!

In February we read A Mouse Called Wolf. Ballerina girl and I read this book during the summer. 

One evening, as we were approaching the end of The Adventures of Pinnocchio we brainstormed which book to read next. One option was 'School Days According to Humphrey' by Betty Birney. This was the book, the school which my children attend read together this month. (last year the selection was 'The Mouse and the Motorcycle' ). However, when I pre-read the story, I did not like it. I told Ballerina girl: 'You can read it when you are older. I simply did not like it enough and I don't think I will do a good job reading it aloud.' This was accepted well and we continued brainstorming. Since by the cover it was clear that the story is about a mouse, Ballerina girl recalled The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I agreed that this is a fantastic option, and I will go in the basement bookshelves to find it.  Before I went anywhere, Ballerina girl thought of this lovely little book. She remembered it and she liked it. She was also thrilled that it is about a mouse and a lady who plays the piano, because Ms. Ballerina plays the piano too. 

'A Mouse called Wolf' is a very simple book. Simple and yet very touching. There is a lot to remark and to notice-the loneliness of the lady, the gift of music which fills her days (something I relate to deeply), the friendships music creates, the friendship with the least likely characters, acceptance, values, abilities and hidden talents, hard work and persistence. In our daily piano practice Wolf comes up a lot (we do not offer chocolates though).

Ballerina girl liked Flat Stanley. We discussed at length the pros and cons of being flat. It's a fantastic book to get a child to think about 'what if' and 'if I were'. Let them imagine. What would they find in a manhole? Where else would they want to go unnoticed? Sunlight boy did not like this book. He was burned by the back-to-back lengthier read-alouds.







Ballet books loved by both children:

Three read-aloud tips:
1. Pre-read the book. Make sure you like it. If you don't, it will show.
2. Read slowly and discuss plenty. Guide the discussions so they don't roam the world.
3. Space the read-alouds. There is not rush. There is no gold medal. Reading and listening should be enjoyable, not a duty.

Happy Reading:)

Update 2/28/2014:

The books I have been listing are not an exhaustive list of all we read. Every evening I read one book that I pick (recently, these have been the chapter books I have listed), one book that Sunlight boy picks and one book that Ballerina girl picks. We read Lego books, we read princess books, we read fairy tales, I make sure we read Bulgarian poems too.