Homeschool Resources Part 2- Teaching Reading and English

The best way to teach a young child to love to read is to read to them often, starting very young. I read to my kids even if I think they are not paying attention. Toddlers will mimic everything you do (good and bad) and it is no different with reading. There are tons of “teach your baby to read” and learn to read quick type things out there but I have found the very best tool to be books. Don’t waste your money on those silly programs! They are usually quite expensive and you don’t need them anyway. Stock up on good books instead!

You can make or buy flashcards with the alphabet on them and start teaching them a few letter sounds at a time. I usually shoot for a goal of 1-2 per week. I plan all kinds of fun stuff pertaining to that letter. I find books that start with the letter of the week. I make foods that start with the letter. Make it fun! There are all kind of crafty things you can do with letters. For example- cut a piece of green construction paper into four squares. Write the upper case B on one and the lower case b on another. Give the kid some glue and some beans and let them glue the beans over the lines of the letters. Viola, green beans. Get it? ! Green beans…beans start with B…B….B  Also when teaching kids the letter sounds don’t add -uh to the end like as in B says buh, or D says duh. Because they really don’t. Its an extra sound tagging on the end. Just say hard letter sound. It makes it easier for kids to sound out words if they do not develop that bad habit . Think bat. b-a-t  not buh- a -tuh . It takes much longer in my experience to be able to understand how to put the sounds together if they are in that habit of adding -uh to their letter sound.

When they know them all grab one of those beginning reading books and show them how to sound out the words. We absolutely love the Animal Antics series. I have taught 3 of my 5 to read out of them almost exclusively. Be patient when you are teaching them to sound out words. It can be very frustrating to a parent and then it only serves as to frustrate them. Label things in your house such as doors, windows, cabinets. Even if the word is too hard for them to read, they see that words are important. And put their name on everything that they use a lot, their cups, clothing, books, bedroom door..Kids love to see their own name.

I don’t think you need and English curriculum until about the second or even third grade. Before that they just need to learn to read and then be able to understand what they are reading. Once they are reading for understanding then you are rolling.

So lets talk about what I use.

Language Arts:

1) We are currently using Rod and Staff Reading and English curricula- this may seem a little dry or boring to adults but it doesn’t seem to have any problem keeping my kids attention. It is very thorough. It is easy to teach. And its cheap. They love it. I love it.

2) We have also used and loved Switched on Schoolhouse

4)  We use Spelling City for spelling work. Spelling is not the most important subject to me. I feel like if they can read well they will be able to spell well also. But if I need a few minutes of “busy work” I will have them hit the computer. Its fun, its free. I build the lists based on what the kids are learning across their curricula. Hubby thinks its fun to think of crazy hard words and see them freak out when the see their list.

5) One very cool writing program is called Writing Strands. My kids like it far better than anything else because they can be creative. I would happily use it and nothing else if I were not required by law to have my children take standardized tests.

6) The library is your friend! Use it! Plan a weekly trip. Go to story time. I let my kids all choose their own books but encourage them to choose books from different sections. I also pick a required reading book for them that is generally a little above their reading level. Usually it will be a classic. And I will ask them to write a report on it.

7) Books on tape are awesome. We have lots and lots. Sometimes they can be expensive. Look for them on sale or make your own! You can record a story your computer and burn a disk or even video tape yourself. Great for nights you may not be at home. ITunes also has a good selection of kids books you can download.

To be continued…Part 3 will contain information for History and Geography