Here are my notes:
So your child is nearly kindergarten age…isn’t it time to teach them to read?
What’s best? Waiting until child is six or seven and then applying rules and study with “vigor” for three hours each day for six or seven weeks? Or should the child unconsciously acquire the state of learning from the time they are born?
No matter which way you go, CM says that it should come with ease and joy. If there are tears about reading, the fault lies with the teacher and not the child. We must always keep in mind the first principle of a CM education. CHILDREN ARE BORN PERSONS.
How did your child learn to walk? Was it all in one day? Or was it incremental over 10-12 months? Reading takes much effort for a child and is best taught over a long period.
Charlotte shared a story of a child (in Volume 1) that learned all of his letters within 7 weeks and began to read well within another month or so. But his mother had waited until he showed interest and was over 6 years old. Is this the best way? Perhaps for some? Other children learn slowly over a longer period of time.
So what are the basics? What do you need to purchase to teach a child to read? Hooked on Phonics? NO. Please don’t. Language and reading is so much more complicated than phonics. There are so many words that must be memorized by sight.
CM suggested a basic alphabet set. She used an ivory set of letters. I personally use a set of letters that are one color for consonants and one for vowels. This set can be used to teach the letters slowly over many days.
Secondly, you need a sand tray ( or a corn meal tray if you are sand phobic, like me! LOL)
It seems that most difficulty arises on the part of the parent or teacher rather than the child. A child will tell you when they are ready to learn. If only we could be so patient enough to wait for their cues.
How many of you know about how Abraham Lincoln learned to read?
It is said that he taught himself. How? You might remember that his mother died when he was 10. He had moved twice across state lines beginning on empty ground with his father to rebuild a life twice before he was 8. His formal schooling equalled to about 1 year. His mother could not read, but had sections of the Bible memorized and would quote it to him as well as poems she knew. He practiced writing his letters on hickory tree bark. When the bark would be full of his practice letters, he would take a knife shave off the bark and start again. He would borrow books from anyone who would loan to him. Because he was ready to learn, he did well. {so if you don't have access to any books, or know how to read yourself, you can still teach a child to read!}
I had a child that read chapter books by age 6, another that took until nearly age 10. They each develop at their own stages.
Consistency and plodding along at a snails pace is the best way. Many days I didn’t think my oldest son would ever learn to read fluently. I needed to be patient and keep offering him books that peaked his interest. Civil War books, woodworking, things about native animals. And refusing to always answer his questions orally. Sometimes he needed to find out in a book for himself. I also tried to create a friendship between the librarian and him so that they could encourage each other in his interest of books. And most of all I kept reading aloud books to him that were above his reading level. I also required him to narrate to me what he had heard.
Children learn by a variety of memorizing the look of a word, the mnemonics of remembering what some of the letters sound like together and where they fit in in a sentence. A whole word focus can work with some children as can a total phonetic study, but I’ve found the best way is to treat them as a whole child and give them chances from every angle.(OH Yeah! That first principle again!!)
You begin teaching a child to read at birth. By reading to them. Basic rule: Only read aloud to your children on the days you eat.
It's good to read some books that are their favorites over and over. Jim Trelease says a good book is worth reading 200 times to a child. With hearing the words over and over, they begin to memorize it. When a child sits on your lap through a whole book, they are working on their habit of attention. Please read books that are exciting! Read books from different genres. Read predictable books and unpredictable books. Books about people, about nature, about history. Give children a very liberal diet of a variety of tastes of books. Don't forget poetry!
What's first?
The first step in learning to read is to be able to know your letters. If the habit of attention has not already been taught, wait to learn the letters. You must have “laid down the rails” of attention prior to this learning as well as creating a great attachment between the mother and child.
Make it fun! Use letter books, music, etc. Cultivate the interest of the sound and shape when learning the letter. You can listen to music that encourages letter sound recognition. (this was something that wasn’t as possible in CM’s time!)
My children have always wanted to find the first letter of their name early on. We practice finding the letter among our set and as they become familiar with it they find that same letter on signs and everywhere we go. As adults each thing we see, we automatically read…but with a child it is much like us looking at a foreign language…they simply see shapes and lines.
I personally would not introduce more than two letters a day…and hopefully letters that are not too alike such as b and d on the same day. (Handwriting without Tears developmental teaching order)
Other movable alphabets that can be used are magnetic letters, cut out letters, stamps.
Secondly. let them use a sand or cornmeal tray to help them learn to write their letters. I suggest 1 or 2 letters written a day is enough. Always keep these lessons short 10-15 minutes at the most and then stop when they are really enjoying it. This will keep their interest when you return to this the next day. {remember JOY and EASE!}
I love to read alphabet books to my children. Read some everyday.
Let them get used to hearing the same good books and soon they will have the books memorized and want to “read to you”.
Word making exercises are very fun. I find my children enjoy making their own name and identifying letters found in their own names. Write their name plainly and beautifully where they can see it everyday.
How did your child learn to talk>?
Then sound form was understood. We began to help them form the word TABLE with their mouth. They tried out various sounds until the sound they made mimicked our sound for table.
Word Form came MUCH MUCH later they began to write the word for TABLE.
So How much time between their understanding of table and writing it? six years ??more?? This is why giving a child a very liberal diet of words from a very young age is so important.
Don’t worry too much about phonetic spelling. That can sort itself out when they are reading well. Just as they spell their name right because they have seen their name written a million times, they will do the same with words as they become more familiar with them.
Teach rhyming families. Encourage a child to take a mental picture of how to spell a word they know and then allow them to play with that word and other letters they know to make rhyming families. They might enjoy doing this with their movable alphabet. It’s faster than writing and then they take a visual picture of more words they know.
Such as cat, bat, fat, rat. etc.
I encourage my emerging readers to keep a copy book. This is a quick look book of words they have learned. It is all in their handwriting. It is also the words they asked me to spell often more than once. I either help them copy the word from somewhere or tell them how to spell it so that they can get a mental image of the word they know in both language and symbol. They can refer to this copy book in the future when they want to revisit this word.
All of my children are raised to be letter writers. We send a letter out each week to someone when know. It might be one or two words, but they get the experience of writing and also to receive mail. Sometimes the mail is for someone in the house and doesn’t even need a stamp.
Remember that book you read 200 times to a child. It’s when they know their letters ( or some of them) that you pull that child’s favorite book out and let them “read” it themselves. Perhaps its because they have it memorized, but now they can begin to put the form of the word (the word symbol) picture into their mind to represent what they know.
So if they have a favorite book at age 2, don’t stop reading it. Let them keep enjoying it and when they are six they will be able to “read” the words they have heard and understood for the past 4 years. Then they become to understand the word form of the words.
Make sure to read a variety of books to them. Poems are a great way to introduce reading.
So let’s demonstrate some reading instruction. We will assume a Good habit of attention. Good attachment between child and parent. Happy child. Early in the morning. Full belly. “All the stars are aligned”. You send the other children away with a 15 or 20 minute timer.
Give plenty of patience to each step! If this takes more than 15 minutes, stop and wait for another day to teach more. The next day you would be able to introduce a few more words. Find these also in the first few pages of the book. On the third day of lessons you should be able to read a whole sentence and move through a page or two. Each day add another word or two. If the child comes across a word that they are unable to identify, consider placing a paper or "counter" over that word and move on. Return to the confusing word at the next lesson. {Remember? Joy and ease!}
And here is a nice write up by another homeschooling mother on how she used a CM approach to teaching reading. I didn't follow this guideline personally, but I think she very clearly follows CM's writings. Enjoy!
What books have we used to teach reading? The Carrot Seed, Mary Had a Little Lamb. What have you used?
