YOU be the teacher

My last two posts dealt with your elementary or middle school child who is not yet a good reader. Be sure you read those before reading this. They lay out the guidelines for a parent's involvement in teaching reading.

Once again, YOU, the parent, may be your child's best chance at learning to read. Each child deserves one-on-one reading time with an adult. Its the right way to learn. Its the best way to learn.

If you can read, you can teach your own child. Learning to read is not rocket science. It is science and it does need an organization and direction, but it is not beyond the ability of any reader who has the time and interest. HURST Reading Center has an excellent beginning reading program that will help you. It is the instruction they use when working with struggling readers, and is reasonably priced. And I will periodically post ideas on this blog that will also assist you.

If you feel your child will respond better when working with someone else, find a grandparent or an aunt or even a good friend to read with your child. If that doesn't work and if you can afford it, go to a professional tutor. Some are outrageously expensive, while some are very reasonable. The school may be able to help you, but don't count on it. I will address this issue in the future.

If you decide to teach your own child, go to the list of guidelines provided in the last two posts. Then read the following which is the list of DO NOTs:

1) Do not fix dinner or watch t.v. while your child is reading to you. Sit beside your child and look at the page with him or her. Dividing your time is fine when reading becomes casual and easy for your child. Right now it must be focused time.

2) Do not praise too much. Parents and teachers today throw around compliments that are meaningless. I have certainly been guilty of that insult myself. A huge smile shared at the end of a successfully read page or book says it all. Or a high five. Or even better, the praise of a character or the book as a whole. "I really like Annie (in The Magic Tree House series). She is a girl of action!" It's not that praise itself is bad. It's just that praise has become rote and meaningless with so many people.

3) Do not "test" your child in any way after reading. The testing of children is one of the worst aspects of schooling today. You know if your child has done well or not. Your child knows also. The child's teachers do too if they just had the time to work with each child individually or in small groups more often. Always remember, YOUR best learning times have not been followed by a test.

4) In the same way, do not criticize. Protect your child's self esteem in every way you can. If your child is bringing home very bad grades, you can try to work with the teacher to soften them in some way. You can definitely say (over and over and in many different ways) "I don't care about these grades at all. You are working hard. You are improving. You are going to be a very good reader one of these days soon." We always want to encourage hard work and effort over high achievement. It should be what we value in ourselves as well. And isn't it nice that hard work and organized effort often leads to achievement?

Good luck to you and your child. Do not put off learning to read even one more day!

Jodi Heaton Hurst

My Child Can't Read!

Every child can learn to read. I mean, EVERY CHILD CAN LEARN TO READ. How is that accomplished? In different ways but basically in a one-on-one setting with one teacher and one child sitting next to each other or looking at each other across a table. That means your child will not improve noticeably in a classroom.

If you are interested in helping your child yourself, jump right in! These are the guidelines:

1) The time and experience must be pleasant, even fun.

2) You must find books that your child can read either from your child's teacher, the library, or a store. Too easy is better than too hard. Your child will read these books to you.

3) Your job is to listen carefully, to tell your child a word he or she doesn't know (do NOT insist on sounding it out), and to enjoy each book. Laugh at the funny parts, question what might happen in the suspenseful parts, be appalled with your child when a character does something outrageous. Your goal is to get your child involved in the story much like children become absorbed in television shows or movies.

4) Keep a list of the words your child can not read or does not understand the meaning of in the story. Go back to these words several times in the next days, asking for meaning or simply for memorization of the word. You do not care about spelling at this point. It is all about reading.

5) Enjoy this time together. Your child will, for the most part, enjoy it in relation to how much you enjoy it. Don't expect your child to love it at first. Just work towards that goal. Make sure YOU have fun with reading together.

6) Be patient and positive. Learning to read takes time.

Jodi Heaton Hurst