We live in a world that assumes that anyone who deviates from the established school timeline “has something wrong” with them. Late readers are a large portion of this group.
What if I were to tell you that not all late readers have a learning disability? What if I were to tell you that MOST late readers do not have a learning disability?
It’s time to stop looking at children as inanimate science experiments and treat them as the unique individuals they are.
Let’s talk about twaddle. I know a good many homeschoolers who refuse to let it enter their homes, but does it really have to be all or nothing?
Believe it or not, there are benefits to letting your children read superficial literature from time to time.
We homeschooling parents are professional worriers sometimes, don’t you think? It’s understandable. We’re paving a route for our families in a direction we’ve likely never traveled before.
One of the most common concerns homeschoolers possess is literacy. After all, it’s foundational to functioning in society.
Unfortunately, though, we often place arbitrary schoolish timelines on our children for no other reason than that it’s all we know.
Take advantage of the flexibility afforded to us in homeschooling and break that school mold.
When it comes to homeschool stereotypes, one of the most common is the notion that all homeschoolers love to read. I’ll have to admit that sometimes even as a home educator myself, I often find myself assuming it’s true, as well.
But it isn’t. I’m here to tell you today that not all homeschooled kids enjoy reading- and that’s okay. What you do want to be careful of, though, is pushing your kids to hate reading. Continue reading “7 Surefire Ways to Make Your Kids HATE Reading”
Learning to read is one of the most exciting milestones many parents look forward to in the lives of their children. It is, without a doubt, a breathtaking moment the first time you listen to your child read a book to you.
Literacy opens so many doors to so many new opportunities. Reading a great work of fiction is a magical way of escaping from the monotony of daily life. It is a gate through which the imagination can take flight. It grants the ability to function in an extremely text-driven world.
But does it matter so much when it happens? Right now I’m in the midst of reading a book on educational reform, and so far a great deal of it deals with the problems brought on by insisting that children learn to read at younger and younger ages.
What has surprised me the most in my reading is that it is largely parents who are demanding more and more with each passing year that their 3- and 4-year olds are introduced to reading and math concepts before they’re developmentally ready for it.
Whether it’s from worrying about their children’s futures, competitiveness, or impatience depends on the person, but no matter the reason, it’s time that the parents of little ones stop, take a breather, and think about why this is so important to them.
Because, truth be told, more and more child development experts are finding that this trend can actually be harmful in the long run. Continue reading “10 Reasons All Kids Should Read at Their Own Pace”
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