We Are Deep In the Heart of Texas

Nomadic seasons of farming adventures with nature thrown in to include; a pinch of family, snippets of friends, counting our blessings, paying IT forward, home school, and the spicy things I decide to rant about.















Friday, March 30, 2012

Do You Remember...

When you first started reading?  This year's main focus has been learning to read for Zephyr. Mrs. Jana (fellow Texas homeschooler & blogger) told us about The Well Trained Mind . I agree with the author's suggested use of literature to teach Zephyr and Saenz. 

We have also used: Hooked on Phonics, Reading Eggs, Reading Rabbit, McGuffey's, migratory flocks of primers, and sight word flash cards. 

The lovely thing is one afternoon we got my WALKING DEAD: Compendium 1  delivered and Zephyr realized he could read the words.  Mind you! He did sound out an expletive but, I was just so happy he connected his past lessons into actual reading. PHEW! I feel like I have done my job as a teacher.

Now Zephyr is reading whatever, he gets his hands on and has the confidence to tell me (SSSSSSHHHH) it is his turn.  Plus now I have been looking for movies with subtitles in English to help his fluency.  So this year we will be ordering Sonlight Multi Core C (2nd grade) plus more readers for him at 3rd reading level. 

http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?type=grade&grade=2&tab=multisubject

So let me invite ya'll to do a happy dance.

We have a new reader in the chicken coop!
Happy Easter to All who pass here.
Mal

6 comments:

Cat said...

Hot Day- am! Happy Dance for sure!

I can't remember much about starting to read, but Mom always mentions that I started reading the Secret Garden, and it was the first book I didn't like. (I guess I thought the main character was a turd...) So, HOORAY! Reading survives!!!

Sharon said...

I guess I was in the first grade, there hadn't been kindergarten at the little country school. Once I learned to read, it was mostly what I did when it was too dark to play outside.

A bomb could go off and I wouldn't hear it, I would just brush the dust off and continue reading, I'm still that way. I read until I can't see straight.

Yay for Zepher!

Judy's Corner said...

We all read before we hit first grade. We didn't have TV and my parents were big readers. My own children were both reading before they turned five, but had distinctly different reading approached. Steve sounded every word out and could read ANYTHING. Jenn memorized words and had an incredible memory...eventually, she learned to sound out words. I thought this was pretty interesting since, though my children were not home schooled, I was their teacher when it came to reading. But each of them actually came to me, asking that I teach them to read, at age four. Each kiddo reads at his own pace, I truly believe. Congrats on the new reader... now you will have to tell him, "no reading at the table" like my parents did to us! LOL

Nekkid Chicken said...

Hey Ladies, Yeah I remember the world of books. I too could be so deep inside the pages; a fire could be raging next to me and I would not feel it. Ms. Sharon.

Judy, Zephyr know about 75% of Dolch sight words yet; didn't connect them as reading full sentences til just a week ago.

Cat, I am still dancing with Zephyr. He gets testy now if I try to help him sound out words. LOL What a difference the CLICK of discovery has made.

Happy Easter All!
Mal

Sabah said...

wow nice pictures wow!!! looks loke a great trip!! MU BLOG IS ABOUT PEACE !!!
i know already seen one BUT PLZ have faith teaches life lessons. plz be nice to a fellow writter!!!!

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