Thursday, August 20, 2009

Reading...Where to Start?

Reading is one subject I haven't quite figured out yet. First Son has been reading for months. Once we finished our lessons, I stopped sitting next to him and listening to him read on a consistent basis. Not that we didn't listen to him read, but we didn't make a point of listening to him read. So I stopped recording his books. I know his skills have improved but I'm afraid I'm still not familiar enough with the reading levels of various good books to branch out too much, so I think we're going to start about where we left off. He'll read The Frog and Toad Treasury and then some of the other Arnold Lobel books we have. I think I'll also pull out Hot Fudge Hero for him.

I am pretty sure he could read quite a few longer chapter books already, but he's definitely not interested if it doesn't have an ample supply of illustrations. I'll be trying out some of the books on Brandy's list for E. as we go along and may ask advice of some mothers in my homeschool group for quality books that will nurture his soul as well as help develop his reading skills. (Extra points if it can nurture my soul, too.)

I know it seems like I haven't put a lot of thought into what books he'll be reading to me, but the truth is I've thought a lot about it without reaching any great conclusions. I think I need to listen to him read (and really focus on his reading) and then see where that takes us in terms of skill level. We also have a very large collection of books here in the house that he can read to me, so we will not suffer for lack of something to read.