Pretty much everyone knows I home school. And, just about everyone who knows that, knows that I hate teaching children how to read. Detest it to the very fiber of my being. Personally, I love to read. I remember learning how to read; I was in first grade, and I distinctly remember the joy of knowing that I could read stories to MYSELF! I also remember that my readers were of the "Dick and Jane" genre, but that relates not at all to my post. I'm just rambling, basically.
Anyway, back to how much I hate teaching my children how to read. Not one of them has been an quick learner. Let me amend that, none of my children have been "early" learners. Basically, the process involves me trying every method I can find, bashing my head against the wall while they struggle and resist, and then one day I notice they're reading the sub-titles of the French film I'm watching. This has happened three times in my home so far. Yet, with number 4 (and 5 still to go), I gnash my teeth, worry, struggle, and continue to knock my head against the wall. The knowledge that some day they WILL read does nothing to pacify my angst.
So, today, in search of yet another method, I (mistakenly) checked out the forum boards where I bought my curriculum (Sonlight.) I was looking for stuff like this :
HELP! My (almost) 7 y/o is struggling to learn to read and I'm at my wits end. I've tried a variety of methods and nothing seems to be working. Can someone advise me?
To which, I was hoping to see something along the lines of this:
REST assured. There is nothing to worry about. Many 7 y/o children are still struggling with reading. I can recommend many games and books to help you ...
After the ellipses , of course, there would be a ton of helpful suggestions. Unfortunately, that is not what I found. I don't want to copy from a private forum, but basically, no joke, what I found resembled this:
My 5 y/o tested at fourth grade reading level, and I'm having trouble finding a program that is challenging enough for her.
And:
My oldest is 5 1/2. She is reading at a fourth grade level, and has the word recognitions skills of a 12th grader.
I'm going to go bang my head against the wall.
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