I farking hate reading with my kids.
I am THE worst teacher in the world.
I have no patience.
“That word is ‘the’... the same ‘the’ we have seen 17 times a night for the last 2 years.”.
Faaaaaaaark.
I can’t be the only one who feels like this 😔
If you want to spread your hate... find another post.
I don’t need your bashing right now.
Already feeling like enough of a failure.
And yes, they have been tested, and yes they have learning difficulties. I’m still left here trying to ‘teach’ them with zero results.
Reading with kids- kindy/ yr1 age-ish
Reading with kids- kindy/ yr1 age-ish
Posted in:
Parenthood Guilt
16 Replies
Home readers are tedious AF, you're definitely not the first or only parent to feel this way mate!
The love of reading and stories should develop naturally and it should be enjoyable, home readers make it a chore and put pressure on parents!
My youngest is this age too, so I understand how painful the process is but it's not forever, before you know it they'll be capable readers.
My best advice, just fake it lol. Pretend you're enjoying yourself and just persist 😂
And just for a bit of a laugh, tonight our home reader was a mundane story about a petulant girl named Sally who sulked about everything.
It was published in 1987 - I wasn't even born in 1987 😂😂😂
Hang in there!
When im not in the mood we read together. I just read it really slowly. Then we can talk about it. So much better to something nice and positive and have it go well.
So glad I am over that stage....I used to read every second page sometimes, it speeds up the process and they also hear how to read with expression. Good luck, it’s not forever and even harder for you if they have reading difficulties. Anyone who says they enjoyed every second is either Mary Poppins or a liar lol.
I feel you there lady! Ha ha... I am out of the house 11 hours of the day Mon to Fri (working) so it’s definately a chore and not something fun. I’ll be watching for any replies that may he me! Hang in there...
I hear you 🙌
Our trick is page by page and sounding out the words.
After the home reader. I read a story too, at the moment we’re reading “just stupid” by Andy Griffiths. I read one chapter every evening and it just restores the “fun” in books
Try not to use sounding out as your first go to strategy. There are soooo many words in the English language that literally cannot be sounded out because they don’t sound the way they look! It’s setting the kids up for failure if they have no other strategies to draw upon. Try getting them to read ahead. Also, if reading readers is not working maybe try a different strategy. Speak to your child’s teacher about if they think a dramatic play space could engage your child more in their literacy learning. We all have strengths and weaknesses and different learning styles so speak to the teacher and try something different.
Reading is not just about sounding out words. Here are some tips for what you can do with your child, and you dont have to do them all every time. But the most important thing is that the child enjoys it and gains love for books and reading with you.
-Noticing and recognising repeated words or sounds, or rhymes.
-looking at the picture for clues.
- relating to self, experience and what they already know. Does this remind you of something?
-using those to predict what they think will happen.
- model expression and enthusiasm.
- summarise. talk about their favourite part or favourite character.
With reading instead of always sounding out here are some strategies
-look for clues in the picture
- look for a smaller word inside it
- go back and read it again
- skip it and read on then see if you can go back and read it
Above. Also - choose your own level appropriate books that you enjoy the rhymes, etc. Dr Zuess books are great for learners, makes words fun. My kids also loved the Hairy McLarey series and books that had a picture with a list of things to find in words below. My kids are now in their early 20's and I can still recite every word of many of their favourite books. "Slinky Malinky was blacker than black, a stalking and lurking adventurous cat..." :P
Lol. We all feel like that
I'm a teacher aide so I do this with all different kids. It can get frustrating but I also love it. Just make sure they are reading books at home that they are a similar level to the books they read at school. They should have a year level (not sure if all schools are the same but my daughter is level 24 in year 3) so she reads books like Billie B Brown at home. If she was, say, a level 10 well she wouldn't be reading those books but would instead be reading something more simple. Parenting is not always easy or fun so don't feel like you HAVE to enjoy everything 100% of the time. Also if it's really getting difficult, talk to your teacher as they may be able to do extra reading at school.
You can just get them to read one or two words that repeat through the book, like 'the' or 'and'. Sometimes the whole book is tedious and boring. Follow along with your finger and when they read the word do a crazy dance or a funny noise, makes it a bit more fun for everyone.
Maybe go back to the sight words. Those first 12 golden words.
Its hard but for kids to enjoy reading if you dont. U may need to be enthusiastic about it. Maybe try reading it out loud together. Perhaps go to the library and get books ur kids pick out. Its bloody hard when the schooks make it a chore aswell. My daughter is grade 1 and she reads a level 21, but she doesnt like it because those level books are longer to read so sometimes we read it sentence by sentence, i say one line and she says the next one. If i find a difficult word i try to get her to say it with me. I try to make sure i guve my daughter an hour of playtine after school and then spend no nore than 10-15 mins doing homework. Sometimes we save the reader for bedtime to.
Talk to the teacher or the therapist you are working with for some tips.
Don’t spend more than 10 minutes a day on it, but the key is repetition. And don’t move on from ‘the’ until your child knows it well.
I have found that schools do not adequately address learning difficulties like dyslexia, they will simply continue teaching all kids in the same format and move on quickly. Thus, leaving our kids to fall through the cracks. I have just ordered a teaching manual called Toe by Toe. Ask the school to purchase it and work with your child daily, if they don’t, you can still do it yourself.
You need to advocate strongly for your child NOW, to avoid the gap widening and their self esteem taking a hit. Your child will know you are frustrated with them, please upskill yourself and understand why and how your child’s mind works.
Focus on their strengths.
Read to them often. Read for enjoyment
I started with a tutor. I pull my boy out of school 2 days 1/2 a week.
He started last term of last year did all through school holidays and now 2x2hr sessions a week.
He has gone from being in Year 2 and reading at pre prep level to year 3 and almost caught up to his peers.
He has Dyslexia, he was doing my head in, plus just the effort we had to goto was stupid.
Best thing for both of us!
My son was struggling with reading too, now while I cook dinner we set up a memory game we made ourselves with a bit of cardboard and wrote words on them that are in most of his books, eg; can, and, the, it, is, my and so on, and we play memory while I’m cooking, it’s actually really great fun (sometimes we have some lollies for the winner). After doing that my son jumped 4 levels in reading in just one week because we would have to say the word every time we turned a card and it’s definitely made him more confident.
If it’s not made fun, my son won’t do it. I also read him a book after he reads his home reader every night before bed but sometimes it’s a struggle being 28 weeks pregnant with an 11 month old, but we manage.