Help! Help! Help! Every time I sit down to read with Tayson or have him read to me we end up with him in timeout and me completely pissed off. I have tried reading right before bed as a privilege of getting to stay up late, I have tried reading as soon as he gets home from school before he can go out and play. What can I do to get my kid to love, like or even endure reading? I know he knows the words but he refuses to read them. I am beyond frustrated and we are just starting the school year again and need to read and do homework every day.
Are there good books to buy that 6 year old boys will want to read?
Is there a good way to encourage him without just telling him all the words?
Are there reading games that work?
Is there a book I should read to learn how to teach him better as a parent?
9 comments:
Hey Kath, so sorry for the frustration. Boys usually love to read non-fiction books. Books about bugs, sharks, etc. Maybe magazines too like Your big backyard. I would also give him time to read on his own first and then read with him. Maybe 10 minutes and 10 minutes. Also his school should be sending home books or a reading level he's at that will help find appropriate books. I'll ask around the 1st grade teachers and see what they say.
I went through the same thing with Alison about a year ago. I would get SO frustrated! (I could never be a teacher!) Then one day, it just "clicked," and she has been a crazy reader ever since. I think that she was just really bored with the Dick & Jane and Bob books (as was I!), but things really started picking up when she started reading the Shel Silverstein books. (Where the Sidewalk Ends, Light in the Attic, etc.) The words aren't too difficult, and the poems are short and funny. Also, she really likes Frog & Toad because the stories are funny. Try having Tayson read things other than books, like billboards, street signs, or the back of the cereal box in the morning. (Then it's not so much a chore as just something to do in the car or while eating breakfast.) I've also heard that comic books are a good way to get a kid to read. Good luck!!
My sister says her son is CRAZY about I Spy books..it isn't a whole lot of reading, but it may be worth a try.
I don't really have the answers for you. Abigail used to be a HUGE reader and then during 2nd and 3rd she didn't want to read at all...she seems like she is getting interested...the only thing I have done differently is quit pusing the issue, got Harry Potter on CD for the car and gave her incentives for reading.
Figure out something that he really really LOVES and incorporate that in with reading....like if he loves to be with dad and Star Wars, after he reads the new Star Ward easy reader you get him, he and dad can go and buy another one....
And the answer just came to me....make Todd do the reading time:)
I just had a book party with Usborne Books, heard of them? Anyway I will ask the lady and see if she has any recommendations for you.
I guess Don Quixote is out.
Find some crazy books like Star Wars, or maybe a silly magazine, and try to see if Todd can give it a go. Sometimes it works better that way.
I think a lot of it is genetics. I taught both Liam and Eden to read before kindergarten. Eden took off and is an incredible reader...she always has a book in her hand. Liam, um, no. He has made minimal progress and can't stand to read. He likes when Brett reads the Series of Unfortunate Events to him, but he refuses to read on his own unless the books are (1) short and the words are (2) huge. (i.e. books made for 4 year olds). On the flip side, Liam can outrun Eden in cross-country...maybe they're linked! - Kristine
Wow-can you beleive the advice that everyone has. That is amazing!
I just wanted to say that I had the EXACT same thing with Noah last year. I wanted to scream every time I sat down to read with him..same story all the way. I tried different times and different books. I swear it was just something he had to grow into and adjust to. I don't think it was anything I ever did. So just know you are doing a GREAT job!!
My winners were some Usborne books that have easy words at the top and some more challenging sentences at the bottom and they can choose which one they want to read. Also, Barnes and Noble has a section of books that tell you their level and they are fun and all about the things they like right now, and Also Noah's teacher gave me some printouts of suggestions that I asked for. Do you want copies? Let me know. It helped. :)
Anna doesn't love to read, either. The more I pushed the more frustrated she got. I finally made a chart. For every five books read she gets to pick out of a goody bin I have. Cheap stuff I got from the dollar store. She loves working towards something.
I also have books next to her bed and while I get the other kids ready she lays in bed and reads. Really easy short books that I know she won't get frustrated with. I think a lot of Anna's issues with reading came from me making her do it. And also when the books were hard she gave up quickly.
Lastly, for awhile we read together. I read the hard words and she read the easy words. While reading, if she stopped at all I would say the word for her and she would keep going. Once she saw how fast it went she loved it. And eventually she could read the hard words herself.
I have a list of great age/level apppropriate books if you are interested.
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