Reading on schedule            01/26/2010 06:25 PM

 

When we started homeschooling, I thought it would be easier for the kids to pick up a book and read or practice reading whenever they felt like it. I mean, after all, the kids weren't on a set schedule to read unlike at school where reading is 'on demand' and for homework. As I quickly found out, I was wrong. That's when I knew something needed to change.

My suspicions were only confirmed at a mom's night out event here in Corpus Christi with other homeschooling mom's. I remember asking about it and many of them said that their children are always reading something. Now, grant you, some of them have older children that read a lot and I think that is awesome. Others were probably referring to their younger children who love to practice reading with their parents or maybe on down time they might reach for a book. I remember myself saying, 'it seems like they read less now at home and that worries me.'

Don't get me wrong, my kids love books, they love reading, and they love us to read to them before bedtime. It's something we've done since they were in the womb and it's something we'll probably continue doing for a while. We want them to develop a love for books and as we read, we try to mix it up. Some nights we read to them. Other nights, they read to us and yet still, on rare occasions, we listen to a story instead of actually saying it ourselves. Yet, even with this love of reading and story telling, I felt it was something that was lacking from our homeschooling schedule. 

Before you ask, the answers are:

•   yes, they have to read directions when they do their schoolwork

•  yes, they have to read chapters in their subject books and the like

• yes, I direct them to read a book when the opportunity arises

Still, I couldn't get past feeling like if their reading practice was non-existent. I mean especially with two dyslexics who need to practice. So, I instituted a change in our homeschooling schedule this January and for the most part, I think it might be just the thing to keep them practicing their reading. The funny thing is that, it is so simple, I'm wondering why I didn't do it before!

What's the simple solution? Easy, I just added it to their daily schedules!  See, each week I give them a schedule of the work I'd like them to complete. Yes, it is structured, but it is also very flexible. I don't tell them do this at this time, or do this subject before everything else. They get their daily schedules or should I say assignments, and they pick and choose what to do first, second, third, etc. it works for us for several reasons which I won't go into right now. The important thing is to stay on track. 

In reading, we now stay on track by seeing what the schedule calls for. Some days it is reading on the kindle, something else I won't go into right now. Some days it's reading online, reading chapter books, reading their choice books from the library, reading supplemental material for their subject lessons, reading classics, or reading to us. In doing it this way, we accomplish so much more. Here's why:

• They are reading every day without me actually mouthing it each day.
• They are reading using different mediums (electronic, paper, audio, their own voices, etc., thus they are exposed to different ways of enjoying the written art.
• They are getting supplemental work to what they are already doing in their subjects (i.e. History, they might also read a book about a character from history).
• They are exposed to the classics.
• They are exposed to different types of books than they normally would have chosen for themselves.
• They are using their imaginations.
• Many times, these books don't have a multitude of pictures, so they are practicing to read with out pictures telling them what is happening in the story and thus, they are able to comprehend what they themselves are reading! (big plus)

So, there you have it. It's not rocket science, and it's not anything new, but for us it's important and if you feel like you could add more reading to your kids day, then you may want to implement it too. The beauty of including it in the schedule is that it is not necessarily forced. They don't say, 'oh man, I have to read now', they say 'I want to do my reading next' and they do. The bonus of it all is when they are reading and giggling at what they read, or when they come back from reading and say it was a great book, that's when you know, it's a good thing to implement!