Do You Have to Add Fast? And Reading Aloud...

[girlwouldmake3]

Hello, I have 2 questions about my "first" grader. Math -- we've been doing math with the MCP workbook and addition and subtraction games (GiggleFacts), and DS gets it and is adding and subtracting well to 20. I'm wondering should I proceed on to help him add and subtract with regrouping, assuming his speed with the basics will improve over time (or assuming speed is not a big issue), or should we practice the basics more just so he's faster (as I assume the schools do)? I'm worried more practice will make it boring...

Reading -- DS learned quickly over the past year, and started this school year reading Magic Tree House books. I was asking him to read aloud to me every day... until he learned to read silently and realized he can read so much faster that way! Now he's reluctant to read aloud, so although I am able to hear him on occasion I wonder how to encourage him to read aloud but keep it fun. I'd like to hear him some to make sure he's understanding what he reads, and also to help him learn to read aloud with expression. Any ideas for good books for us to read together, or what else we might do? Thanks.

[AAK]

I wouldn't worry about speed yet with addition facts. If he still needs fingers and toes to do the addition, I would review it some more. If not, I would move on. Double digit addition still requires constant usage of the simple addition facts so review is built in. If it takes him an incredibly long time though, the double digit stuff might get frustrating.

Reading, do you have younger siblings that your ds can read to? If not, are there any cousins or family that he could record a "book on tape" for? That might be a fun way to get reading aloud. Also, for books on tape, he could experiment with one voice for Jack and another for Annie. Or, you could be Annie, he could be Jack (with a voice) and he could be narrator in his own voice.

Amy

[ocelotmom]

I think reading aloud is a really valuable skill that gets very neglected! I know that my skill at reading aloud has improved tremendously since my oldest was young and I started reading to him, and I was a good silent reader to begin with.

I agree with the other commenter about reading to a younger sibling/cousin/friend. A local nursing home might have a resident who would appreciate being read to. I've seen "read to a dog" programs that are supposed to be helpful, and you could see if your community has something like that. If you're with a homeschooling group or similar, you could set up a Reader's Theater type thing (as formal or informal as you want - there are lots of free scripts online).

[Calidris]

If there are no younger siblings, how about shared reading? You read a passage, he reads a passage. That way you can model reading with expression too. And it is something to do together, not "work".

[jake&zaxmom]

We have a "car book"*. DS reads to us in the car to and from wherever we go. I LOVE it. I get to hear his tone and pronunciation and inflection, we discuss vocabulary and idioms. He takes his responsibility to entertain us in the car very seriously We finished Pippi Longstocking today and should start a new, yet-to-be-determined book soon.

*We have "car books", "bed books" and "couch books". Car books are currently read by my older son (younger son will eventually take over) in the car. Bed books are read silently in bed and couch books are the ones that I read aloud to them usually while sitting on the couch. This way I get to hear them, they get to hear me and we all get to silently read books of our own choosing.

[lach]

Originally Posted by jake&zaxmom

We have a "car book"*. DS reads to us in the car to and from wherever we go. I LOVE it. I get to hear his tone and pronunciation and inflection, we discuss vocabulary and idioms. He takes his responsibility to entertain us in the car very seriously We finished Pippi Longstocking today and should start a new, yet-to-be-determined book soon.

*We have "car books", "bed books" and "couch books". Car books are currently read by my older son (younger son will eventually take over) in the car. Bed books are read silently in bed and couch books are the ones that I read aloud to them usually while sitting on the couch. This way I get to hear them, they get to hear me and we all get to silently read books of our own choosing.

What a great idea!

[Lillian J]

I'd just let math be for now - he already knows a lot for his age and even beyond. There are lots of ways to keep math a gentle growing presence in his life without having to put him through anything boring. Here's a thread on math games & manipulatives. This Home Education Magazine page has links to lots of really good articles on how to make math an enjoyable part of daily life - Taking a Closer Look at Math.

I really don't think there's any reason to require him to read aloud to you. It's extremely unlikely that he isn't understanding what he's reading - if that were the case he wouldn't even be bothering to read, because it wouldn't be making sense to him. And there's absolutely no reason for him to demonstrate that he can read with expression - that's something we all had to do in school as we grew up, but there's no reason why a child of his age should need to read aloud with expression. That's something that comes in time to most people, to some more than others, but not because a teacher got them to. The inner experience of the reading is likely something that has expression, but the outer speaking of it might not and doesn't need to. So I'd just read a lot to him and let him read on his own in whatever way he likes. Here's part of an article I wrote about the reading experience I had with my son when he was first homeschooling.

One day, for example, we started out on a long drive in the car, and I handed him some little books I wanted him to read to me while I drove - Little Bear, and Frog and Toad books. We hadn't been "working with reading" for a while, and I was getting anxious about it, so I thought we could make good use of the time on the road to "catch up." He was disappointed, and said he'd planned on reading his Nintendo Power magazine on the trip. I insisted that we needed to "work on" his reading. We went back and forth. If my anxiety had been registered on a meter, the needle would have been banging on the high end! We were "behind." I wondered what had ever made me think we were capable of homeschooling? Finally, he whined, "Well, can't I just read you my Nintendo Power?" Anxiety rising, and assuming he was just looking at pictures in that magazine, I called his bluff with, "Fine! You do that!" Well, he did. He opened the book and began to read long, relatively technical passages with multi-syllable words. He had taught himself to read beyond the Little Bear, and Frog and Toad, level because he wanted the information he could find in books that required more advanced reading. By the way, I've heard a number of other moms share almost identical stories. He wasn't even reading yet when he was the age of yours, by the way - but he eventually grew into a voracious reader and talented writer. Here's a story I've often told about his own observations on this sort of thing:

My son was on panels of young adult homeschool grads at a couple of conferences. On one of those, he commented on how much faster and easier it is to learn things later rather than earlier - in days rather than weeks, weeks rather than months or years - and there was a raucous outburst of laughter and applause from the front and center rows. Those were his friends and their parents, all cracking up and cheerfully applauding that someone was coming right out and saying what we'd all learned the hard way, because it's something a lot of people don't think to point out. So my advice is to just relax and enjoy - it seems that he's doing just fine without any nudges. Lillian

[girlwouldmake3]

Thanks for your ideas, these are all good points. Lillian, I have enjoyed your advice and articles. It's not always easy to just let go, though! I end up doing a combination of unschooling and maybe half an hour each day of "school" time, mostly math at the moment. I'll proceed as long as DS is enjoying it, but remember your advice to let him be if he's not. He does agree occasionally to read to his younger brother, but I don't often ask since I don't want it to be a chore (putting up with a younger brother is enough of a chore sometimes!) Your ideas made me think of funny poetry, which he might enjoy reading together -- he loves Runny Babbit so more Shel Silverstein would be great.