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Oh man, been there! You’re totally right – they blindsided me, too. I found a few of the principles listed here to be helpful in our home!
Hi Allison!
Copy/pasting a recent email I sent about this b/c I think it will be so so helpful for you and your daughter! The short answer is this: you are DEFINITELY doing enough. You’re both right where you need to be!
The long answer… ;)
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Teaching our littles to read can often feel like a daunting task, especially when we’re inundated with benchmark questions from well-meaning friends and family: Does Charlie know his animal sounds yet? Is Huck on to chapter books yet? Any progress on the reading yet?
But here’s a morning truth for you: there’s no “right” age to learn to read. There’s no magical window that opens a child’s mind to literature or language or even phonics, and – perhaps better news? – there’s no magical door that slams it shut.
Your challenge this week: take a few minutes to watch your child at play. Whether he/she is reading or not-yet-reading, you’ll notice incredible leaps toward literacy every single day.
Need a few examples?
When children make a pattern with raisins or line up Matchbox cars, they’re gaining an understanding of sequence. They’re learning that letters in words must go in a certain order.
When playing a matching game or Bingo, children are seeing that some things are exactly the same. They’re learning that letters in words must be written in the same order to carry meaning.
While listening to a song, children are hearing a rhyme. They’re becoming aware of phonemes – the smallest units of sounds that make up words.
When doodling on a page, children are practicing using language to provide information in a new medium. They’re learning to convey a message through print.
When children watch you read aloud, they’re discovering that print carries meaning. They’re learning that books are spoken words written down, and we read from left to right, from the top to the bottom of a page, and from the front to the back of a book.Amazing, right? All that literacy, without a single formal “lesson.”
In our very results-driven culture, we think learning to read means sitting down with a book, sounding out letters, then – poof! – something clicks and we have a reader! But the reality is this: that elusive “click!” is often built upon a thousand connections below the surface. We need only trust the process.
For more tools on teaching your kids to read, check out our latest video: What, When & How: The 411 on Teaching Your Kids to Read:
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I hope this is helpful for you, friend!
xoxoShanna! That’s such a wonderful breakthrough!! I LOVE that you cracked the code by tuning into your son’s unique needs. WELL DONE!
Hi Nicole! I think your daughter would LOOOOOVE the Classical Kids Storytime podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/classical-kids-storytime/id1436996034?mt=2All episodes are short/sweet and a perfect break in the day. :) Highly recommend!
Victoria:
Thank you so much for your openness and for being willing to lend a listening ear and/or shared experience! Sending warm blessings of comfort and healing your way. So very much appreciate you.
xoxoHi Shelby:
I’m wondering if you’ll find the below videos from our archive helpful! The first is from my husband to show your husband. ;)
I also think you might find some suggestions on at-home learning rhythms helpful, as well as how to balance learning in a way that feels structured but casual:
I hope these are helpful! Here to assist any time — you’ve got a great village around here! :)