Friday, April 15, 2011

Book Report for First Son in First Grade

I told myself I'd post First Son's list of books more often in first grade than in kindergarten, but I haven't. Keeping up with school, home, life and (mainly) Second Son took a lot more effort than I'd envisioned. Luckily, we read longer books but fewer of them, so hopefully this list won't be too overwhelming.

First Son reads very well and extensively on his own, so my main goals for our reading lessons, when I'd sit next to him, were to increase vocabulary and, most importantly, convince him to expand his reading horizons a little. I think it's reasonable for a seven year old boy to want to read all the books in a series. The characters become familiar and the vocabulary tends to be similar so he's not encountering too much of the unknown. I just like him to be aware there are a lot of other authors and characters out there.

When our reading lessons started to become a bit of a battle, I made a deal with First Son. Typically, we would alternate between a book I selected and one he selected (with approval from me). So far, he's chosen all Magic School  Bus chapter books.
I have not read a book by Clyde R. Bulla I didn't like. They're often exciting historical fiction novels appropriate for young readers. I would guess they're good for a first grade level. (First Son may be closer to third grade; I'm not sure how reliable these levels are.)

The Magic School Bus chapter books are quite good. They convey a large amount of information on their non-fiction topics with a familiar cast of characters and lots of silly puns. (First Son always says, "Ha ha." He likes them.)
    Overall, I think I could have done better selecting his books. Don't get me wrong; these are great books. Most of them, though, were much too easy for him. Ribsy was almost too hard and took a long time to read through together. Next year I hope to do a better job challenging him in his reading without overwhelming him. (I'm not sure I would have selected Ribsy; First Son received it from St. Nicholas and wanted to read it together.)

    What's the consensus among homeschooling moms? Should we continue "reading lessons" over the summer?