About reading

If you can read, you can learn about anything! Reading is such a wonderful tool and I love reading! I am a slow reader but I enjoy it. In recent years I have mostly read non-fiction. Most of my reading consists of books, blogs, and websites about child rearing, homeschooling, nutrition, health, gardening, home care, care giving, etc. I also read the Bible regularly!

I was a "late" reader. Good thing I was homeschooled! My parents tried to teach me to read but it did not come easily. I remember at the age of 9 being so proud of myself for reading the word "ICE" at a convenience store all by myself. I could read a few easy words before age 11, but it was difficult and I would have to painstakingly sound them out. The Summer when I was 11 and a half years old was when it suddenly clicked. All of the sudden I just got it! I remember we were doing a reading program through the library and I was borrowing books to read and I could finally read them with little help!

2 years later, when I was 13, I took part in standardized testing. I tested at a 9th grade level in reading! In such a short time I went from probably a Kindergarten reading level to a 9th grade level! In my teen years I really enjoyed fiction as well as non-fiction, especially Missionary Biographies. I tell this story often, because I often hear other homeschoolers, and even parents of children in traditional school, worry that their child isn't reading yet at age 6, 8, or even older.

When my oldest son came to me at the age of 3 and BEGGED me to teach him to read, I was a little beside myself! I had always said I would not push my children to read before they were ready. I think my parents handled it well, they worked with me to learn the basics of reading, but I don't remember them ever becoming frustrated or pushy about it. I was determined to let my children learn to read when they were ready, but I wasn't ready for a 3 year old who wanted to read! At 3.5 years old I started teaching him to read using a book called "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". By 5 years old he was reading at a 2nd grade level and now as a 15 year old he is a voracious reader! He will get 2 inch thick books from the library and devour them in a day or two. I have actually taken his books away at bedtime so he will sleep instead of read the whole night.

My second was much slower to read. He finally finished the same "100 easy lessons" book at age 11 and even then really did not read very well until age 12. Now at 13 he reads much better though still struggles some with unfamiliar words. He has always had a desire to learn to read, but it has been a struggle for him, much like it was for me.

It took my 3rd son a long time to see any value in reading! He just didn't see the point! Why read when someone else can read to you? Or why not just skip anything that involves reading? Yes, I know those are not good reasons not to read, but that was his thinking and nothing I said could change his mine. He completed the reading book at age 8, but had no interest in reading at all, unless it was to earn a Book-it Pizza. About age 10 he suddenly decided that there was a benefit to him to be able to read! You see, he wanted to be able to read the text in his video games! Now, about 6 months later, he is reading the text in his games, he is reading his Bible, he is reading over my shoulder when I text people (well, only when I let him), he is reading a lot!

This isn't a post about how children are meant to learn to read later than society tells us, although I am pretty sure that's true. Nor does it contain any information from studies done on children learning to read. It is simply a story about how my children and I learned to read, in hopes that others will be encouraged, especially those whose children are taking their time when it comes to learning to read.

Yesterday all three of my boys told me that one of the goals they each have for themselves is to read through the whole Bible. It may take some time (It took me 5 years the first time I attempted it!), but there is no greater reason to learn to read, than to be able to read God's Word for yourself.