Posts Tagged home school reading

After several sacrificial years of systematic home school reading and phonics instruction, you expect a specific outcome:  independent reading.  Yes, every busy home school mom (especially those with lots of children) will honestly admit that she dreams of the fateful day when her child can read a book “on his own.”  Independent reading is truly a major milestone that culminates after years of teaching the home school child how to read.  But what do you do if you have a child who knows how to read independently but chooses to spend his free time engaged in other activities?  Or perhaps you schedule independent reading time during the home school day but regularly hear the whiny plaintive cry, “there’s nothing to read.”  How can you motivate your kids to read books without whining or complaining?

1.  Give your child the power of choice.

One of the primary goals of an authentic classical Christian education is raising an independent thinker who has all the skills and tools for making wise decisions.  Lay the foundation for this goal now by giving your early elementary age homeschooler the freedom to choose his own books.  Get him his own library card, and make a commitment to go there once a week.  Let him pick whatever books he wants (even if they seem silly to you — like Captain Underpants — he’ll eventually grow out of such humor), and let him check out  as many books as your library allows.  When budgeting your monthly expenses, always leave a little money for buying books, and never refuse to purchase a book that he wants at the book store or neighborhood garage sale.  Building his own personal library is critical for establishing good independent reading habits.  My kids frequently pick up a favorite book from their own library for a second, third, or even fourth reading.

2.  Identify his thematic and literary preferences.

Involve him in taking an inventory of the books that he has read and truly enjoyed.  Sit down with him, and brainstorm a list of books that he has read.  Create a column for pros and cons; use these columns to list the things that he did and didn’t like about the books.  For instance, maybe your daughter didn’t enjoy the  animal battles in Brian Jacques’ youth classic, The Long Patrol, so put warfare in the negative column.  But maybe she really enjoyed the conversations between the animals; if so, put personification in the positive column.  Right away this chart has helped to clarify the fact that you should help your daughter find ‘happy ending’ animal books with minimal conflict.  Perform this inventory for 10-15 books so that you and your child begin to see patterns.   Create a rating system, and let your child assign so many stars to each book just like the journalist gives 1-5 stars in favorable and unfavorable book reviews.

Don’t assume that just because you loved a book at that age your child will love it, too.  We are all individuals with preferences, and what you might find appealing to read may be extremely boring to your child.  Pay close attention to his likes, and guide him toward books in the library or book store that reflect his past pleasurable reading experiences.

3.  Reserve free reading time during the day.

We all live hectic lives, and unfortunately this is not only true for us as adults but also for our children.  We schedule sports, fine arts, playtime, entertainment, home school co-op classes, and even worship into our busy ‘run here-run there’ days and nights.  Often, the first thing to fall off the schedule is free time for independent reading.  Please don’t make this mistake!  You will reap the consequences down the road with a dependent, uninterested teenager who hates to read if you don’t make reading a daily, enjoyable ritual.  You must allow time for practice.  Mastery never emerges overnight, but reading skills gradually improve the more we use them.  Practice, practice, practice!

David and I intentionally decided as parents to reward independent reading by giving our kids the option of reading at night in bed before the lights went out.  If the child chose not to read then the lights went out immediately, but if the child opted to read independently, their bedtime was extended for 15-30 minutes depending on their age.  This simple decision has been instrumental in creating a love for reading in our household.  What child wants to turn the lights out?  An additional benefit is the relaxed sleepiness that reading induces making nighty-night a pleasant expectation.

4.  Model the behavior you want to see in your child.

I know that you know this, but your kids will pattern their behavior after the behavior that you model.  In this case, that means that if you want to raise a child who enjoys reading, your kids need to see you and your spouse doing your own independent reading every day.  You can certainly read the newspaper before they get out of bed, and of course, you are allowed to read your favorite novel in your own bed after the kids go to sleep, but make sure that during the day the kids see you reading.  If all they see you do is watch television, then guess how they will choose to spend their free time as adults?  Wind down at night with a good book; turn off the TV, and invite the whole family to grab a book and a comfortable position for reading on their own.  One easy way to get your homeschooling husband and dad involved is to give him an illustrated classic for reading aloud to the entire family.

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Motivating your child to find pleasure in independent reading is a challenge that you can achieve.  All you really have to do is let him make his own book choices, identify his reading preferences, make time for practice, and model the behavior you want to see.  Pretty soon you’ll begin to see improved reading fluency, expanded vocabulary, and contextual knowledge which will contribute to his reading confidence and pleasure.  I guarantee it!