Homeschool World Forum

mrs_waller07 · User Joined: 02 Mar 2011 Posts: 3

My husband and I decided to pull our 8 yr old son out of school at the end of the school year last year. We are new to the homeschooling life. However, not only is this our first year but it is deployment year...so I am left here to do this alone. I am thankful that my husband will be home much earlier than we had anticipated but I feel so drained already!

My son is doing great in his math. My problem is with reading. That has always been his weakness. He had two years of headstart and then had 3 years in public school. He had speech therapy all the way up to 2nd grade. His phonics have always been great. It isn't that he canNOT do it....he is not interested in doing it. He doesn't like reading his own books or even reading from workbooks. Any tips would be very much appreciated!!

hscoach · User Joined: 10 Feb 2010 Posts: 325

I think the biggest key is to find some books that he really loves. I would recommend that you take him to the library at least once a week. See if he can find some books that interest him. (something he is passionate about)

Then you read to him. He can just listen or he can follow along with his eyes as you are reading the words. Read to him as much as possible. If he chooses books that are a little above his reading level, that is okay because you will be the one who is reading. Just listening will help him develop a love of reading.

At the library you can also check out books on cd that he can listen to - or books that come with a cassette tape. He might want to listen to one of these, for example, while he eats his breakfast or lunch.

He might also enjoy something like reading comic books. My son is also 8 and he read the book Redwall by Brian Jacques for school this year. (He said he loved this book!) He just read the regular book but there is a graphic novel version of it. My son has read other books that were graphic novels and he enjoyed them. Here is a link.

http://www.amazon.com/Redwall-Graphic-Novel-Brian-Jacques/dp/0399244816/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299156117&sr=1-5

Your son will still need to do some reading on his own but maybe you could make it for shorter time periods so he won't get frustrated or the two of you could possibly take turns reading sections or pages.

I am sure it must be so hard to homeschool with your husband being gone. Homeschooling is very rewarding but it is also a tough job! Hang in there.
_________________
Laura L. Barth
http://www.freehomeschooladvice.com

mrs_waller07 · User Joined: 02 Mar 2011 Posts: 3

Thank you for your help! I try to take him to the library every week but he isn't always interested in the books he gets. Yesterday however, he picked out every Henry and Mudge book they had. I am hoping he will become more interested in reading. Most of the time he just becomes frustrated and says....will you just read it?

hscoach · User Joined: 10 Feb 2010 Posts: 325

We love Henry and Mudge books! He might like Nate the Great (series), Hank the Cowdog (series), or The Hardy Boys (series). My son just finished reading two of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and enjoyed them so much, he is asking for the whole set for his birthday.

If you read to him, eventually he will begin reading on his own. I wouldn't worry. It will all come in time. Best wishes!
_________________
Laura L. Barth
http://www.freehomeschooladvice.com

RaysHomeschool · User Joined: 07 Mar 2011 Posts: 16 Location: Georgia

Some students who understand phonics but have no interest in actually learning do a complete 180 when exposed to non-fiction books. Find out where his interests lie and get him books with real facts and information about it. My daughter refused to read until we were at the library one day and she saw a book about horses. Now we can't get her to stop reading!
_________________
Visit www.RaysHomeschool.com for tips, tricks, advice, and a look into the life of a homeschooling family.

mrs_waller07 · User Joined: 02 Mar 2011 Posts: 3

He is always about picking out non-fiction books. This last one was about fearsome fish.
However, I was able to find an illustrated Tom Sawyer book....and he was super excited about it! I hope to find more books like that. We read 3 chapters one night and he was disappointed to have to wait for the next 3.

ergonzalez · User Joined: 28 Apr 2011 Posts: 4 Location: Texas

Funny, our oldest daughter went to school during her elementary years. We struggle when she was learning how to read the "traditional" way. Eventually, she founda short book that she liked and little by little she started to read short novels. today, we have to tell her to take a break and stop reading. Is crazy.
_________________
-- EG