Millie Rosa

do you remember the tv ads for Hooked on Phonics,
> showing a three
> year old reading a high school science text or some
> such. Maybe it
> was an owner's manual for a VCR. L and just how much
> comprehension
> was the child experiencing? sheesh.
>
> not to mention the strain on little kids' eyes, from
> reading so
> young.

This is kinda offensive to me. Why is it perfectly acceptable to respect your kid acheiving readiness for reading "late," but not "early?" My 3 yo is reading (and he has never had any phonics or any other lessons); if there was a high school science text or a vcr owner's manual around here, I assure you he would read it. He might not "get" some of it, but he would absolutely comprehend a great deal (and would try to understand what he didn't "get" by asking me a slew of questions). Yesterday, he must have been reading my new book in the bathroom (The Well Dog Book), because he came out and called the dog and showed me her ear is called a "pinna," and her heel is her "hock," and her forehead is her "stop." His comprehension must be better than mine, because I am almost done w that book, had already read that section, and I didn't catch these terms. Are you saying I should try to prevent my son from reading b/c it might strain his eyes? Why would reading strain his eyes? If he
wasn't ready to read, he wouldn't be reading.
Sorry to be offended, but I thought unschooling was all about recognizing and respecting that every child has their own time table for learning.
Millie
by the riverside


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bunsofaluminum

I'm sorry, Millie. Didn't mean to offend. I do think, if a kid's
ready, he or she will read, no matter the age. One friend, when we
first started homeschooling, had a boy whose first word was read when
he was two, and he hadn't slowed down as of age 11, when we knew
them.

But what I'm talking about is teaching "reading" to little kids, who
are capable of piecing together the sounds of words, without the
comprehension. English is really not that hard to learn. The schools
make it seem so, for their own reasons. With all of my kids, except
my late starter, a teensy weensy bit of phonics was all that was
needed, and then they were on to real reading. Not reading to show
off, nor reading "primer" or "reader" type books, but real books.

>My 3 yo is reading (and he has never had any phonics or any other
>lessons);

So you didn't pick him up at age three and say "Okay. Gonna learn to
read." and then put him through phonics.

THAT'S what I find ludicrous about those ads for phonics programs.
Extensive phonics is not necessary for kids who are ready to read.
Extensive phonics will make zero difference, for kids who are not
ready. I've experienced both.

and yes, I've seen bad eyesight in kids who learned early, or who
read a lot (myself included), while eyes remain stronger in kids
whose reading started a little bit later.

The difference in our current society is, while early reading is
beamed upon with great pride and respect, late reading is seen as
something to be avoided and fretted over and worried about. To the
detriment of the late starting reader.

that's the point of my post. Not dissing early starting readers at
all.

sorry about the offense. None was intended.

blessings, HeidiC
--- In [email protected], Millie Rosa
<willsmamamillie@y...> wrote:
>
> do you remember the tv ads for Hooked on Phonics,
> > showing a three
> > year old reading a high school science text or some
> > such.

> This is kinda offensive to me. Why is it perfectly acceptable to
respect your kid acheiving readiness for reading "late," but
not "early?" My 3 yo is reading (and he has never had any phonics or
any other lessons);
> Sorry to be offended, but I thought unschooling was all about
recognizing and respecting that every child has their own time table
for learning.
> Millie
> by the riverside
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]