My oldest daughter has taken her time when it comes to reading. She would much rather snuggle up in our big, brown reclining chair and listen to another story being read to her by her mama. For truly, mama reads much more interesting stories than she could read by herself if left to her own capability.
Her younger sister tells a different story. Just before her fifth birthday, after silently sitting on the couch through a reading session with her older sibling, she asked if she could read to me from the same book that her sister had just struggled through . Surprised, I said, "Sure", and she began to proceed through the first 19 pages with never a prior reading lesson in place.
Neither of the sisters fit into the reading educator's cookie cutter. One read too "early" and the other read too "late". But the real importance is that they both are learning to read, and they both are progressing at their own pace, and they both are lovers of wonderful stories. And so the goal remains, to capture the sisters delight in reading by finding books that are simply delightful.
Over the years we've come across a few ...
When first beginning to read, both mama and the girls found the Primer Readers set from Christian Light Publications a perfect fit for us. The girls enjoyed reading interesting stories about other children's adventures, and mama enjoyed the wholesome quality of the stories themselves. Each story includes a character building message as well as sweet pencil drawn illustrations that the girls found intriguing as they sought out the appearance of the characters of whom they read. Christian Light Publications offers readers up through the grade levels. A wonderful way to practice reading with your young ones.
Arnold Lobel's books have also been a favourite. We used these books more to help increase reading fluency, rather than to "teach" reading. Both myself and the girls enjoy the humour within these stories and they have found a cozy spot on our bookshelves. Please note: These may not be a good match for all families due to their unrealistic features {i.e. animals doing human activities}.
Finally, for the horse-loving boy or girl, Billy and Blaze books are bound to find a place into your child's heart and home. Wholesome stories about a boy and his horse that are sure to be read over and over again.
When the girls practice reading to me, I usually make a mental note of words that they are having trouble with. I write these trouble words out and hang them up on the wall. To help the girls practice reading these words, they grab a beanbag and aim at the words on the wall. The word that gets hit by the beanbag, is the word that they then need to read aloud. Makes for a rather active reading session. {smile}
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