My goal this summer is to start teaching Blake to read. His interests tend to lie more in math and science so the reading part, even though he’s considered to be above grade level, hasn’t been easy or natural for him. He wants so badly to read, but doesn’t want to take the time to learn. Yes, he’s slightly impatient. Aren’t most 5 year old boys?
I’m not looking to push him, but we do need to do some work this summer and not remain lax.
I really want to focus on teaching him to read based on sounding out letters and not just memorizing sight words. As a teacher myself, I’ve witnessed too many students in the upper elementary grades who are unable to sound out words because they’ve just memorized words for so long. With Blake, I really want him to be able to, eventually, look at any word and be able to sound it out. I think this is a foundational skill that we’ve really gotten away from in the lower grades, and I’m trying to bring it back with him.
I’ve started to sit down and create a lesson plan for him this summer, and will share as I finalize everything. I created this Vowel blends chart (which you can snag for yourself) that only contains consonants with one vowel to begin with. I think this method will really give him a good starting point and not be too overwhelming.
I also created a chalkboard wall in his bathroom to work on all he’s learned during those “long bathroom toilet sessions”, or when he’s in the bathtub.
If you know my little guy then you know structure and consistency is key, so I am working on a summer schedule. We are going to have loads of free time built into it, but I know in the summer days that we are home I need some consistency when it comes to doing “work” so he knows what I expect of him. He doesn’t do well with surprises and the unexpected, so having a firm time (with a timer) of how long we are going to work on “work” is key!
If you have any tips or tricks to I’d love to har them!
I can’t believe summer is here and he will be in Kindergarten this year!
Let the summer (reading) fun begin!
Mommisadventures 