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Advice for Inattention During Reading Lessons
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I need some advice concerning my son, he just turned 6. We have been doing pre-reading and reading for about a year now. We have been all the way through All About Reading Level 1 and completed Frist Steps Pathway reader. Then I switched to Delightful Reading and am still moving forward with the Payway readers, even though they come later in the lessons for DR. He can read many words. The hiccup is this: when we sit down for just 10 minutes to read out of the Days Go By Pathway reader, he refuses to keep his eyes on the page. He will read one word, then look anywhere but the book. It takes him 1 minute average to read just 1 to 2 words. He does not struggle with most of the words. A few he has to sound out, but most of them he already knows. Anytime I say to this child that it is time for school, there is almost always a whine or complaint coming from him. I am posting this to many places because this has been going on for awhile, even in First Steps. I wanted to keep pressing on though and now I am at my wits end.
Maybe he thinks the book is boring. Or he might need to move more (my son is 8.5 and a string reader but still needs to take breaks to do jumping jacks, somersaults, and jump on the trampoline). Is he stressed about doing it “right”? When my son is stressed it is almost impossible for him to focus.
Just a couple ideas that come to mind based on my own experience. 🙂
He is quite young still. I would take a break and not do formal reading for a time.
At 6 none of my three children would have been able to read for 10 minutes and all distracted because reading is hard work! My kids all love to read, but were not early readers, there is no rush. At 6 give him to and let him enjoy reading. Read to him, let him pick books that interest him even if he is not reading the book. I often compromise at this age by letting them pick a fun book (that I approve), I had one child that loved a book about volcanos that we had, and I would read it to him and then he had to read a page, or few lines to me. It kept him practicing, but not too much, and he was excited because I read him his book too 🙂
Have you tried other readers with him? I wonder if he just does not care for the story. Maybe go to the library and let him pick out some level one readers. Nothing too hard. You want to build up confidence. You can also take turns reading. You read the first page and he reads the next page.
I have taught 7 children to read. The best advice/reminder I ever received from a seasoned mom was that children learn to read in their time. Some early, some later. Be patient with him. Let him pick something in his level that interests him. It will not hurt to veer from the curriculum. That is easier said than done. It took me a while to learn that it’s OK. The idea is instill a love of reading. If he’s zoning, he’s lost interest or he’s just not developmentally ready.
Make sure he’s getting plenty of time to work out his wiggles too. Maybe before you start phonics you get a snack and/or run outside a bit. Exercise balls are excellent for wiggly inattentive kids. I try to get my 13yod out to run before he starts school. He needs it to keep his attention.
The whining needs to be addressed. I consider that an obedience issue and deal with it as such. BUT I also try to remember they are little. There might be disobedience that needs to be dealt with, but I also consider how I might alter my day so they can successful at obeying.
Just remember he’s 6yod and he’s a boy My 13yod, who sounds very similar to your son, would rather be in a tree than reading to me. We still have to make him read.
At this age and stage, they only need a little bit of practice to reinforce the lesson they are learning that day/week. I am training to become a certified dyslexia tutor. I have very specific lessons they read to me to reinforce our lesson (I write my own each day). After we finish my lesson, they get their book. I would much rather they love reading than to be turned off but a book that doesn’t hold their interest and/or feed them.
My kids didn’t care for the Pathway readers. We have enjoyed McGuffey Readers for that age (free at Gutenberg.org). They start with just a couple sentences and work up to a page of large print.
We also like Christian Light’s readers. They are still sweet stories, but quite a bit shorter. They’ve held my kids’ attentions much better.
At his age and subject, 10 min is fine. If you drag out past his attention span, you will be inadvertently causing him to have a short or less-focused attention span.
Set the timer for 10 min, then release him to have some free time. Then, move to a different subject which uses a different side of his brain. You can come back to reading later, for another 10 min if you want. Gradually, the time frame will enlarge.
Here is a blog article on this topic:
https://afterthoughtsblog.net/2015/01/charlotte-mason-mean-short-lessons.html
My son liked the Pathways, but preferred the Elson Readers:
https://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist?subject=Reading%2FLiterature/6&category=Elson+Readers/951
And the Reading-Literature readers by Harriette Treadwell, published by Yesterday’s Classics. They have the Primer to the third reader. They are also available online, I think.
http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/catalog/displaycatalog.php?catalog=literature
Both of these options use wonderful fables, poetry, legends, etc. to teach reading. It’s rich literature and frankly, far more interesting to read than the Pathways.
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