When the big kids left public school and began homeschooling with me they hated to read. It’s not surprising at all, because it was 1) HARD for them, and 2) they hadn’t read anything enjoyable.
My first task was proving to them that books could be fun and enjoyable, so I didn’t dare put anything to them that I didn’t know was going to be great. Everything had to be highly recommended, or come from a trusted.
The first thing I did was start reading to them. This way they had a chance to really get into a story without the pain of reading it themselves. If a person gets emotionally involved with a character in a book, then they will never forget what they have read. That’s the premise behind the term “living books”. So can they become emotionally involved with Abagail Adams (Witness to a Revolution), or Benjamin Franklin (Poor Richard)? The answer is that they can, and they did.
The next thing was to assign them a book to read for themselves. One that I knew they would love. I considered their interests, and what we were learning, and I only gave them books that I had read before, or that, again, had come HIGHLY recommended. I also made sure the book would be just the right reading level for them. I didn’t want them to struggle through it, but it also couldn’t be so easy that their brains would get board.
An easy book can be more of a strain to the brain than a harder, more engaging book. Think about it – you have to work harder to pay attention to an easy, boring book. In contrast, when you read a good book that dives right in, rather than being dumbed down, your brain engages and you plow through it without even realizing that time has passed.
I also had them narrate on every chapter of the book. This caused them to think about what they were reading. As they told the story, it became “their own” and they felt a connection to the characters. Also, as we listened to their narration, they felt proud of the quality of “their story” and the fact that we all wanted to know what happened next.
After they finished a book, I gave them another, and we kept on this way, as they warmed up to the idea that between those two covers, there just might be a whole other, very entertaining world. I will never forget the day that I handed one of them a new book and they began reading it immediately, forsaking everything else! I knew then that this child was hooked! These days I just direct them to a stack of about 10 preselected books and let them pick one for themselves.
Of course, the other problem, that reading was HARD, was solved with the working out of the first problem. Once they had gotten through a few books, they had become considerably better at it.
It’s about baby steps. They have spent most of their life learning that school (a.k.a. learning) is hateful. Maybe the biggest gift we can give them is to lead them, one step at a time, to the realization that there is good stuff out there, and grow their curiosity about it.
