homeschoolreading

I was given a free copy of The Reading Lesson and I was paid for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off.  ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. Your experience may vary. When I do accept a review, it’s because I am excited to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here.

Teaching all of my boys to read is one of the most memorable and rewarding parts about homeschooling. However, it was also one of the most intimidating aspects of homeschooling.

Through my experience in teaching my sons to read, I learned a lot about how to teach reading.

20 Easy Peazy Steps for Teaching Homeschooled Kids Reading

So I was stoked when I got The Reading Lesson to review because I believe you can teach your homeschooled child how to read in 20 easy lessons.

It’s all the extra fluff added to a reading program that makes teaching reading complicated. When a reading program is direct, consistent and simple it has far reaching effects.

What makes this process so mysterious for educators that have not embarked on the reading journey yet or that may be struggling in the middle of it is that fluff things like reading comprehension, teaching letter names and busy work are folded into a reading program.

What? You mean you don’t have to teach the letter names to teach reading. More on that in a minute.

What happens is that a new reading teacher thinks that reading has to be so much more complex than simply teaching a sound, showing how to blend each sound and then repeating the word.

However, that is just the beauty of a simple reading curriculum like The Reading Lesson.

Look at some of these features that you’ll love.

■Focus is on the sounds, not learning the ABCs.
■A picture is associated with sounds, which makes it’s easier to associate sounds with a word image.
■Words are part of each lessons.

Why is this important? Immediately, your child understands the value of reading because he is rewarded instantly for his efforts.

We don’t learn to read to learn sounds, which make no sense.  We learn to read for pleasure and to find out what we want to know and that means learning words.

Reading comprehension is naturally folded into learning to read instead of being taught as a separate subject that makes no sense to a bright child.

■Teacher assisted program.

Why do I list this as a key benefit? Because teaching reading is an interactive process and one where your child needs you to model reading attack skills.

In today’s world, many programs tout independent learning as if it’s the ultimate goal of our education. Independent learning is a valuable skill, but it is the parent who provides a rich learning environment.

■There is NO fluff.

The author’s words are more gracious than I would be especially after teaching my sons through various levels of reading.  She says, “Most learning is hard. The common hype that learning has to be fun is just that – hype. All real learning requires concentrated effort.”

This very insightful comment goes back to what I said earlier that there is no need to learn the ABCs before you teach your child to read.

Big Difference Between Teaching A  Child to Read and Comprehension Skills

Sure, your child eventually needs to know the names of the letters, but it’s the sound the letter stands for that advances them to reading earlier.

Too, all the overly abundant activities focusing on letter names of the week is fun and builds fine motor activities, but they are not needed for a child to associate a letter with a sound.

This kind of work can be fluff and very annoying to a first time teacher who thinks these activities are necessary to teach beginning reading.

Once I realized that my sons didn’t need to know the letter names, it had me rethinking my letter of the week activities, which is a really slow way to teach reading.

If your goal is letter recognition that is one thing. If your goal is to teach reading right away, there is no need to go that slow.

With my second son, I focused on letter activities, but taught reading much quicker realizing that I could teach him several consonants and a vowel at one time.

Too, I learned all those activities that we think needs to be associated with reading could have a negative effect on a lifelong reader.

Teach Your Homeschooled Child How to Read in 20 Easy Lessons

Worksheet activities, book reports and extracurricular activities can morph into busywork that chokes out straight reading time for pleasure. Look at my post What Makes Reading Painful for Homeschooled Kids.

I so appreciate that The Reading Lesson doesn’t add to the learning to read myth that coloring and worksheets are needed in order to learn how to read.

■ Interactive content through the CD.

Something else I learned that was valuable to encouraging a budding reader was allowing them to have more time to explore letter sounds.

With your guidance while your child uses the CD, letter sounds are reinforced.

Included with The Reading Lessonis a CD with simple but visually appealing letter cards to help your child remember the sound along with simple games.

The Reading Lesson is a great example of how simple teaching reading should be.

It not only has several pages of instruction to help you, the reading teacher, but it gives page after page of teaching tip to help you make the most of your time with your new reader.

I think you’ll love the simplicity of this program.

Product Name: The Reading Lesson
Company Name: Mountcastle Company
Grades: For ages 4 to 8 and struggling readers too.
Price: The Reading Lesson Book, CD, Plush Toy (plus bonus gift) $49.00
Format: Both a physical book and e-book are offered.

Hugs and love ya,

All product information is correct and accurate as of the date of this review.SaveSave

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

In the early years of homeschooling much of our time is focused on how to teach reading and rightly so.

Today, homeschooled kids who read for pastime pleasure or as a professional prerequisite is about giving you a bird’s eye view of reading.

Being in the homeschool reading trenches, it is important to glance up every now and again to hone our reading vision.

Look at some tips to remember on your reading adventure.

Make it your aim to associate reading with pleasure in the early years.

How do you do this? By not just teaching phonics and then stopping for the day.

I know your time is stretched thin when the kids are all little but one attention grabbing story can capture the attention of 3, 4 or more young children.

Too, another tip I did along this same lines was to start a chapter book or long book like Charlotte’s Web instead of reading just a short children’s book that could be read in one setting. 

Don’t worry about the higher vocabulary in chapter books.  Just explain the meaning and move on. 

I piqued their attention for the next chapter or the next time we sat down together. They didn’t want to miss what happened next in the story.

Environment matters too.

Try to move away from a stiff and formal atmosphere for reading.  Don’t do like I did with my son.  The minute he started rolling on the floor, I got onto him. 

Soon I realized there was a difference between moving and wrestling.  Too, when I asked him at 3 years old what we were reading about, he could still tell me in a few simple silly words.  He was listening.

I learned to relax by taking a lesson from my son who was relaxed while we read even though he was moving a bit.

Add in choral reading.

I never heard of choral reading before I homeschooled.

Shortly after reading about the benefits of it, I added it quickly to my reading schedule.

In teaching my boys to read, next to reading aloud, choral reading was by far the best teaching tip that spanned from beginner reader even to high school with my boys.

Choral reading is reading a short passage with your child at the same time.  The benefits are far from simple.

I had one son who equated reading with not breathing or at least it seemed that way. 

He read so fast without pauses because I had focused so much on getting up his reading speed that he wasn’t comprehending, much less enjoying anything we were reading.

When we started choral reading, he could see where I paused, where I put emphasis and how I took a longer pause at the period.

It wasn’t too long before his reading fluency changed and he could not only understand what we were reading, but his volume, diction and rate of reading improved quickly.

Since he is my Sociable Sam type of personality, it was always a fun time for us.  He liked the challenge of reading with me.

Homeschooled Kids Who Read  Lifelong

It was also a skill I practiced with my sons as they entered high school.

Though I had let my oldest two sons do choral reading together a few times, it ended up being competitive and one son would always feel like he was doing less. So that didn’t work in my circumstance.

You may have children that are spread apart enough in age that an older child could do it with a younger child and not make the younger one feel defeated.

Much later in the teen years and even into high school, it was a fail-safe practice because not only would my sons be reading for pleasure but understanding what they read in books would be the stepping stones to passing tests for any profession they chose as adults.

Create memory aids.

Visual person that I am, I knew that at least two of my sons were visual learners also.

In the beginning, I made story props so that each child could hold up the character or prop when he heard it in the story.

Using hands-on props helped me sons to remember certain parts to a story.

For older kids, letting them look at a timeline or visual fact card on the subject you are reading about is helpful.

Public reading aloud.

Public reading aloud infused my boys to take reading seriously and to see the value of it beyond pleasure. 

When reading for pleasure, it’s not really important to have to remember what you are reading.

When my sons took up public reading aloud, it is a form of reading that is done in the adult world or work place. 

Public speaking and public reading aloud helped my boys to prepare for the work force and equipped them with valuable study skills if they are pursuing college courses.

Homeschooled kids do not have to make a choice between a pastime pleasure or using their reading skills as prerequisite for a professional job.  They can have both.

Adding in a few of these tips to your reading schedule not only will make your child a better reader, but when he is an adult, he will be an avid learner.

Guess what? Things have become too serious around here.

To celebrate National Reading Month, we are going to PARTY!!!!

I LOVE giveaways and I am so excited for you about this giveaway.

I have joined a few of my fellow bloggers from iHN to give away a Kindle Fire HD 6 16 GB !  Oh yeah baby, it’s nice!

Would you like one FREE?

Just a few guidelines.

1. Open to U.S. residents only.

2. The giveaway is from 6:00 am EST Monday, March 16 until 6:00 am EST Friday, March 20.

 The winner will be announced on Saturday, March 21.

3. Follow the instructions closely on the Rafflecopter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scoot by and visit the other hosts and check out their tips about reading.

Starts at Eight: Children’s Books about the Library

The Heart of Michelle: 5 Ways to Encourage Reading in a Reluctant Reader

Our Journey Westward: 11 Tips for Raising Readers

Life’s Hidden Treasures: Family Favorites and a Kindle Fire Giveaway for National Reading Month

Hugs and love ya

Look at some more helpful tips!

Teaching Homeschooled Boys How to Read – When to Panic!

Letting Go of the Homeschool Language Arts Stranglehold

What You’ve Got To Know About Teaching Reading Comprehension