Reading and Timing and Kids

One of the questions that I am frequently asked is “My child is struggling to read. What do you recommend?” My first response is, “Been there, done that, don’t worry, step back and breathe.” I will never forget the advice that Dr. Raymond Moore gave me years ago when I asked him the same question. He kindly explained that some kids, particularly boys, were just not ready to read at the ripe old age of 5, 6, or even 7!

I was so relieved to hear this! While my child had memorized all of the phonics charts and knew all of the individual sounds, he struggled to make sense of reading. So I went on reading to him. I read all kinds of books to him on many different topics as we homeschooled with unit studies—imagine! Eventually he did learn to read after a slow process where I would read a paragraph, then he would read a paragraph, slowly building up to reading alternate pages instead of paragraphs.

The lesson for me was to change my expectations and timetable for this young child. He WAS wired differently from our oldest, and the way he learned was new to me. I learned the importance of patience, love, and encouragement in homeschooling, a priceless lesson that has helped me through years of homeschooling and loads of adventure.

- Amanda