early reading help- need to add life back into our lessons and I don't know how

It sounds like she is progressing, just taking a bit more time. My two older children did not start reading with ease, enjoying reading, until about 1/2 way through 2nd grade and closer to 8. They could read simple things, but when I say reading with ease I mean reading smoothly and with out having to think hard about it.

I know it is hard when you hear what other children are doing, but the more moms I talk to the more I hear about children in similar situations, reading closer to 8 or even 9, we just don’t tend to talk about it as much because it feels like they are behind (even when we know they are progressing). I know a family and the mom was telling me about what her DD was reading, a very difficult book in 2nd grade. I asked if she could read it out loud, was she reading every word, and a couple weeks later the mom told me that when she asked her DD to read it out loud she could not read it well at all. When reading to herself she was skipping hard words but getting the “gist” of the story so her mom thought she was reading it all. Not that some 2nd graders can’t read difficult books, just that sometimes we can hear from parents what they children are reading but to remember that it isn’t always what it seems. Reading out loud is different than reading to self, it takes a different process of seeing the word, reading it and then saying it out loud.

I am currently doing DR level 2 with my 6-year old. I think your DD would find it repetitive because Level 2 is word building. He is learning to build words one at a time, and it sounds like your DD is able to read individual words, it is just working on reading with ease and smoothly when the page is full of words.

I found that pathway readers progressed really fast from simple to more challenging. For 1st grade and early reading I preferred Rod and Staff Bible Readers (shorter chapters and slower to progress in difficulty) as well as simple readers like Dick and Jane books. I would find easier to read books for your DD to practice with and help build confidence back up. Also 15 minutes of reading, when it is not yet “easier” for her would get tiring, 5 minutes when still working on reading can often be a good amount of time. If you want to go with 15 minutes, take turns reading a page with her. You read a page and then she can read a page that way it is not as over whelming.

I also found that when moving into books with more words on the page what helped my kids focus and not get overwhelmed was to use a ruler, or anything with a straight edge (even a piece of paper) and block all the text under the line they were reading. That way they only have to look at that line, and as they move down the page it helps them not reread the same line over and over on accident.

Take your time, it sounds like reading is coming along, maybe just not as quickly as you had expected. It amazed me how my children went from struggling along to almost over night they were reading with ease and now they won’t put books down, but it was hard going into 2nd grade and they were still working on enjoying reading and reading smoothly and with ease. I would find some simple books to help build confidence, and just have around the house for her to pick up and read in her free time, as she continues to practice and not have the lessons get too long.

I have a “late” reader.  I can stress myself out or choose to offer a reading environment.  I’ve been listening to a ton of podcasts on the Read-aloud Revival and I’ve learned so much about creating a reading environment.

I was so excited and eager for my child to read on their own that I unknowingly forced it too soon.  This may look late to others but when you look at this particular child it’s right on time! For example, this kid LOVES stories, dislikes being on his own, perfectionist ideas, outdoorsy kid.  So when I gave my child a book to read independently they couldn’t hear the story flow like they enjoy, felt alone, didn’t care for stumbling over some words, and preferred the outdoors.

I added more audiobooks to continue exposing my kids to the vocabulary, to hear the rhythm of telling/reading a story, and to get them hooked.  And I took them to the library and showed them the early readers section and gave them a special basket at home for them to keep their “treasures.”  Oh, add to that the privilege of their own library card, now that their reading, and a monthly spending allowance on books ($5-10) to build their own library.

This gave my child the freedom to pick books of interest rather than mom picking her taste of books.  Yes, Garfield was added (I loved Garfield when I was young) but so was Robin Hood.

One author on the podcast spoke of her brother hating reading but he listens to many audiobooks a month!

I encourage you to create a reading environment that speaks to your daughter rather than focus on her age/grade level.

I hope that helps.

Mrsmccardell can you elaborate on the monthly reading allowance? What does it look like? Do you go to bookstores for them to spend it? Do they spend it monthly or allow it to accumulate? Do your non readers get it too?

I don’t have much advice, because my son (who turns 7 in less than a month) is still learning to read. He can read CVC and some CVCV words, but like your child, he is a slow reader when it comes to books or sentences. He reads words on road signs, flyers, and menus, but has trouble putting words in a series like a story. I had to quit  comparing him to his older sisters and brothers, who were all early and excellent readers. He is progressing, slowly, but surely!

thanks, mrsmccardell!