I really like teaching my little kids how to read. I had a lot of fun with Joey when he was little, and he went to kindergarten able to read simple words, and I was very proud of myself. My goal is for my kids to never wonder if they're smart--I want them to have an easy time in school right from the start so they have a good self-esteem. Jason, A.K.A. The Neglected Child, for various reasons has had very few reading lessons in his short life, and so I thought it was time to start. I heard about a book called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," and that many people have had success with it, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
I also have been thinking lately about how censored things like blogs sometimes are. You know how it is--you're not going to post a picture of yourself yelling at your kids, or a video of them whining--it's all about how great a time you had on vacation, and the cutest pictures of the kids, etc, etc, and I don't know about anyone else, but I sometimes start to wonder why everyone else's life is so perfect and mine, although great in general, has some stinkier aspects. Of course I get why, we should be positive, and nobody wants to hear kids whining. But still.
Fiction:
I can't believe how quickly Jason and Tyler are picking up reading! They're so dang smart, I wonder how they're my kids, lol! And not only am I giving them the priceless gift of literacy, but we cherish the time together, and our love and respect for eachother has increased. Tyler just turned 4, and already he can read, I'm thinking he might have to skip right to 2nd grade. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime we'll be reading some some great books! We flew through Dr. Suess, and are starting in on Harry Potter. I think next I'll start them on a classic like Moby Dick or A Tale of Two Cities. So much fun!
Non-fiction
When I announced to Jason and Tyler (in my most excited, postive voice) that I was going to start teaching them to read every day (Won't that be fun?!), their first reaction was a very whiny "Why???" and "I don't waaaaant to!" Followed by a lot of crying. I got mad and left the room. I had to come up with a plan, so I fell back on old reliable: bribery. Yes, I bribe them with candy, Air-Heads to be exact, and it's the only reason they tolerate it. Oh, and I think a more appropriate title for the book would be "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 lessons Which Are Sometimes Easy But More Often Make You Grumpy and Annoyed and Sometimes Make You Wonder If Your Kid is Kinda Dumb."
They are learning to read (at least I'm pretty sure they are), and it is rewarding to see them learn, I just thought I'd present the true story, for your reading pleasure.
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Hey you cute thing...This is the best post ever..I always thought that when I heard people talk about their great family home evenings. Today is Rob's b.d. Lucy had some champagne for him yesterday which is our today. Love you lots
ReplyDeleteyour boys whined!! I don't believe you! I forgot about Tyler's b-day :( I was on such a good birthday card streak!
ReplyDeleteClassic! That was the best (and most honest) blog post I've read in a long time...and for the record, I yell a lot! Love you! And hey, at least you're trying--that's more than I can non-fictionally admit to!
ReplyDeleteHAHA Jenn I love you! It's so true about what you said tho. I got a kick out of the fiction story only because it sounded so real and yes it make you just want to barf. It's like christmas cards..life is grand, look at the 103.5 million different sports and hobbies my kids EXCEL in, every child is on a mission, getting married, having babies, making tons of money, saving africa and are the most perfect things you ever met. Maybe this should be a rule of thumbs..if every blog post sounds like a christmas letter maybe you need a few gory lil details lol.
ReplyDeleteActually one of my VERY favorite blogs is my friend of 2 boys and she is so honest. She doesnt sit there and cry about it, but she tells the truth and it is honestly hilarious! I think I showed you one of her posts cuz I love it so much. Her honestly just makes me love her and her kids more, and relate better. I feel like I know them better. I dont know how to explain why, I guess I dont relate to being perfect, and its boring! Real life may be difficult while youre in the moment, but if you step back and look at it from a distance it can be really funny and those "quirks"' makes us all who we are.
Love it! It's so good to be reminded that all of us moms struggle and don't have the perfect kids we see in blogland. As for reading, I remember going on multiple month+ long vacations from learning how to read.=) Right now we're on a math hiatus. Oh wait. I don't think we're doing much of anything right now.=) Love you Jenn. You are awesome!!!
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