I hold Texas teaching certification in All-level Music and Early Childhood, and 3 - 6 and 6 - 9 Montessori certificates. I taught in public schools for 11 years, and homeschooled my children. They learned to read through gentle guidance, phonics exposure, and Montessori lessons. I believe it is every child's birthright to not only learn to read but to enjoy reading. Even before children can read they should enjoy exposure to fine, age-appropriate literature and learn to appreciate, analyze,...
I hold Texas teaching certification in All-level Music and Early Childhood, and 3 - 6 and 6 - 9 Montessori certificates. I taught in public schools for 11 years, and homeschooled my children. They learned to read through gentle guidance, phonics exposure, and Montessori lessons. I believe it is every child's birthright to not only learn to read but to enjoy reading. Even before children can read they should enjoy exposure to fine, age-appropriate literature and learn to appreciate, analyze, and discuss it, while gleaning lessons that are present within. Children can and should learn to use language long before they can read it.
I love to see students grow excited about reading and learning. Few things compare to seeing a child's face light up with comprehension as they grasp a concept and learn to apply it. I encourage parents to not worry about the age at which your child learns to read. Rather, focus on helping them to enjoy books and learning, and allow them to learn to read at their own pace.
My children learned to read with gentle, no-pressure experiences. I used a combination of phonics work - phonetic reading material, Montessori lessons, tactile experiences ,and manipulatives - and lots of reading aloud. We discussed characters, themes, and plots in the stories we read, and made up our own stories using various materials and games.They also read aloud, made oral presentations, and did vocabulary work. Later they added grammar studies along with sentence diagramming. I also made use of appropriate spelling activities, which included spelling lessons with a curriculum especially for dyslexic students.
Learning to read does not have to be stressful. Expanding that knowledge with grammar, vocabulary, spelling, reading aloud, making presentations, and literary analysis does not have to be painful. When children enjoy reading and learning, they will gravitate towards it naturally. Let me help your child learn to enjoy reading, literature, and learning while gaining reading skills at their own pace.
