It has been a while since I've done a Mom & Son Book Club post, but that doesn't mean we're not reading at our house. Since today is Kid Pick's Day over at 5 Minutes for Books I figured I'd give you all an update on what we've been reading and how it is going.
Reading Together ...
- We're still working on THE ARK, THE REED, AND THE FIRE CLOUD, by Jenny Cote. Kiddo is really enjoying this book and wants to read it often. However, at over 400 pages and 60-something chapters, and considering our reading rate of 1-2 chapters every day or so, you can see why this is taking a long time to get through.
We took a break from that book to read WIZARDOLOGY a few weeks ago. Now I just have to get kiddo to answer our book club questions and write up a post about it.
Reading On His Own ...
Kiddo is in 1st grade so he's been learning to read this year. Unfortunately he's struggling a bit. What I've figured out is that he is such a perfectionist that he doesn't want to risk failing. So when he looks at a new word, he'll sound it out in his head but rarely will he do it out loud, unless he is absolutely certain that he's got it right. If he isn't certain, he'll just stare at it and say "I don't know" and wait for help. When I encourage him to try, to just say the sounds of the letters, he is usually correct. But the problem is that he won't try.
Needless to say, this is very frustrating for me. I know that he needs to learn to read and that it would be very bad for him to fall behind at this point. I don't mind if he isn't at the head of the class, but I know that things will only get harder from here on out, and his reading skills have to improve in order for him to succeed.
I'm not too discouraged, as I know kiddo loves books (especially when I read to him). The plan is to get a tutor - starting next week - to work with him once a week. I'm hopeful that this will help him improve both his ability and his confidence level. And in the meantime I'm seeking out books that are interesting and also at his reading level, and encouraging him to read them to me.
Here are the two he really likes at the moment:
- SHARK IN THE PARK, by Phil Roxbee Cox - sharks are kiddo's favorite creatures, and this story has lots of repetition that makes it fun to read
NOAH'S ARK, by Linda Hayward - This is an older book, part of the Step into Reading series. It is pretty long and kiddo has been doing really well with it recently.
Earlier this week kiddo spent time with his little cousins, two boys aged 2.5 and 7 months. He helped to put the older boy to bed and read him these two books while they curled up together in the little toddler bed. I know he felt good about his reading after that!
12 comments:
How great that you are working with your son on his reading! And it sounds like you are finding lots of fun titles to excite him which is awesome!
THE ARK, THE REED, AND THE FIRE CLOUD LOOKS very intriguing.
Thanks for sharing!
My daughter is in Kindie right now but most of her class has been reading. She seems hesitant to learn her site words. She knows some, but not all and she won't sound them out either. She just flat out tells me that she doesn't know and therefore won't even try.
It's frustrating. I know she has time but when the rest of the class is reading, you sort of feel a bit rushed to get her going so I know exactly how you feel on this one.
Lord.. I spelled "site" words wrong. I meant sight words. LOL.
Your read-alouds look great! You are wise to get help for your son now. All mothers of first graders should be so smart. I hope the tutor will help and his confidence will increase. It sounds like he already has a love for books, so he is on the right track!
I'm sure that you both see him improve in reading. I think he just needs to learn that failing at sounding out the words doesn't mean he's dumb, but that he just needs to try again...He can do it...and I'm sure you are encouraging
I was going to recommend that you play dumb every once in a while on a word that you know kiddo knows and let him help you out, "forget" things like whether "cat" starts with a "c" or a "k" and ask for his advice, things like that, and maybe that would help boost his confidence, but a tutor might be a more solid plan. LOL.
THE ARK, THE REED, AND THE FIRE CLOUD looks so good, and I read somewhere that a sequel is coming out. My son is in K, and that Shark in the Park book looks perfect for him! Thank you!
My son is also in 1st grade and having similiar issues with reading, although his confidence is slowly improving! Good for him for reading to his cousins! He must have been SO proud! (Not to mention how Mom felt!)
Maybe kiddo is being a perfectionist because he knows you love books so much. Try having him read a story to a stuffed animal without you in the room. I read a story in the newspaper last year about a school that brought a dog in that was trained to listen to kids reading stories. Kids that struggled with reading did a lot better reading to the dog than to people. I guess the thought was dogs don't judge, don't correct & just listen.
I agree that your read-alouds look really good. I've slacked off in reading aloud with my oldest, but we usually pick up in the summer, when things like schoolwork aren't taking up our evenings.
I was much like your kiddo when I was young. My mom still tells stories about how, when I was 2, I *refused* to even say a word unless I could pronounce it perfectly. And that carried over into reading as well. Eventually, though, I moved past it, and I'm sure your kiddo will as well. But it is hard, as a parent, to know how to handle it in the meantime...
You're so right about the confidence thing. Those poor perfectionists just want to be right, and it can definitely slow them down. Building up his confidence will go a long way to helping him be a lifelong reader like his mommy!
Those Usborne books are great! Is there a non-fiction subject he is interested in?
Some of the suggestions above (reading aloud to a stuffed animal or pet, reading when you're out of the room) have merit.
Good luck to Kiddo with his tutor, it sounds like a little confidence will go a long way.
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