My elder daughter loves books with a passion. A highly auditory learner, she is able to sit through challenging and even chapter books. Her reading skills though need to be worked on. I had thought that she is weak visually, but this is not the case. I have seen her understand and notice details with accuracy and clarity on many occasions.
I have come to the conclusion that it is really a lack of confidence that has stopped her from being able to read. I am quite sure too that my anxiety has rubbed off on her and while I don’t want to pressure her anymore, I feel that she IS ready to read independently.
We tried several approaches, none of which seemed to work. I have Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox & Elaine Bruner, but could not bear its messy layout and boring drills. Other online phonics resources seemed to only scratch the surface. They were also very inconvenient. I would have to spend a long time printing, preparing flash cards and stapling books.
Then I read about Valerie Bendt’s Reading Made Easy : A Guide to Teach Your Child to Read through my friend’s online bookstore. It is such a gem that I wish I had heard about it sooner. With this book, absolutely NOTHING else is needed. I don’t even have to prepare – all I have to do is read the ‘script’ prepared and point to the word lists. Lessons are broken down into bite-size pieces but challenging enough to give the child a sense of direction and satisfaction. I have never felt so relaxed teaching Ms M how to read.
Ms M did 12 lessons in ONE sitting! I feel so positive about this! This book is a definite keeper … ma shaa Allah.
A must-have!
Frustration!!! None of my local libraries carries the Reading Made Easy book…sad, sad day! Cannot wait to read your Islamic books for kids reviews :-)
Umm Nassim: I know how you feel! I had wanted to just check the book out before buying but couldn’t find a copy in the library. I trust my friend/book-supplier (*S*) so I took the plunge!
OK, will work on that post… I am tearing myself away from Hama beads and goodreads … hehe…
MashaAllah, Ms Muffet is learning to read! I know how she was struggling with it before! Sounds like this is a great improvement! I am looking forward to her next visit here with all her learning goodies!
I KNOW! I was just confounded – it wasn’t like she didn’t know HOW to read – she took an English test for a homeschool institute and she could read what she needed to. I realised, she COULD but only in a “sort-of” kind of way… but WHY only just so? Alhamdulillah, this has been a blessing and she is so happy!
BTW: Be prepared for violence and pirates LOL…
see, the difference between yours and mine is, yours is the eldest while mine is the youngest. you know how the latter is, he gets away with everything for far too long. *sigh* it’s high time i buck up and get back on track. semangat sambal belacan – buku naik berabuk! *tsk*