Small parenting victory: I think my first grader is accelerating his ability to read in the last week.
Some time ago, my aunt (I think) mentioned that she would only let her kids listen to audiobooks in the car if they also read along in the book. I thought this was a really good idea, so I decided to give it a go.
My oldest son is already a very proficient reader. He was able to read by the time he hit kindergarten. His little brother, now aged 6, knew his alphabet a couple of sight words when he started kindergarten, but was reading at an appropriate level by the end of that school year. Now, however, he's really gaining ground. And the great part is? He's reading a Great Brain book, books that I loved to read when I was little. He really seems to be enjoying it, and by reading along with the audio narration, he's been able to finish a book definitely above his grade level and has had a good time with the story. I'm very pleased.
I picked this book because I thought it would interest my boys. It takes place near the turn of the century in Utah. There are shout outs to the Mormons in the town, even though the characters are Catholic. I always appreciated reading about my religion in books, and especially since the Mormons are positively portrayed. I don't believe that every portrayal of the Church should be perpetually positive--members and the Church itself have done some inappropriate things--but I feel like Fitzgerald's response to having grown up himself surrounded by Mormons but not being one gives the perfect inversion for my boys: Their experience is the Other, but it's treated fairly and positively.
I'm hopeful that my boys will continue to read as we listen--we have about an hour of driving every day together--and that they get a lot out of the different books we end up reading together. It's nice to have a parenting victory once in a while.
Some time ago, my aunt (I think) mentioned that she would only let her kids listen to audiobooks in the car if they also read along in the book. I thought this was a really good idea, so I decided to give it a go.
My oldest son is already a very proficient reader. He was able to read by the time he hit kindergarten. His little brother, now aged 6, knew his alphabet a couple of sight words when he started kindergarten, but was reading at an appropriate level by the end of that school year. Now, however, he's really gaining ground. And the great part is? He's reading a Great Brain book, books that I loved to read when I was little. He really seems to be enjoying it, and by reading along with the audio narration, he's been able to finish a book definitely above his grade level and has had a good time with the story. I'm very pleased.
I picked this book because I thought it would interest my boys. It takes place near the turn of the century in Utah. There are shout outs to the Mormons in the town, even though the characters are Catholic. I always appreciated reading about my religion in books, and especially since the Mormons are positively portrayed. I don't believe that every portrayal of the Church should be perpetually positive--members and the Church itself have done some inappropriate things--but I feel like Fitzgerald's response to having grown up himself surrounded by Mormons but not being one gives the perfect inversion for my boys: Their experience is the Other, but it's treated fairly and positively.
I'm hopeful that my boys will continue to read as we listen--we have about an hour of driving every day together--and that they get a lot out of the different books we end up reading together. It's nice to have a parenting victory once in a while.
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