Genie Maples

on 5/22/01 3:14 PM, [email protected] at
[email protected] wrote:

> For all of you who have always unschooled your kids, I'm curious about the
> mechanics of how they learned to read. Did they pick it up on their own from
> having watched and listened to you, or did you use some sort of program when
> they indicated that they were ready?

My oldest daughter read fluently well before her fourth birthday. No
evident "sounding out" of words, but she could somehow read words I wouldn't
have thought she'd had opportunity to sight-learn. She read with expression
even then. She's just wired for language somehow. It came quite naturally
to her. I did read to her a lot, we watched Sesame Street together, made up
word games because that's what she liked. No teaching. She just read. Has
never *had* phonics. She's also writing a lot now, at 11. Her spelling is
pretty good and I think she usually realizes on her own when she makes
spelling errors. Not sure though, because she doesn't show me much of what
she writes. I have no idea what's in all of those journals.

My middle daughter *said* she couldn't read up until this year, and she's 8.
She actually could read a few words, but I she didn't really get that what
she's doing is reading until this year. That realization came to her while
playing Gameboy--pokemon, I think. She suddenly got that she knew what the
words on the screen were. Very cool moment. We haven't "done" phonics
either, though I offered several times when I realized she wanted to learn
to read. She did read some Bob books to me last year--I just this moment
remembered that, and she thought that was cool too, but she knew those were
words that were chosen to be really easy, and it didn't mean the same thing
to her that reading the Gameboy screen did, where she was reading for
information.

My son, who just turned 5 isn't reading at all, and in fact there are a few
letters he still confuses. He can spell "aardvark," though, picked up from
watching Arthur on PBS. ;-) He likes to ask me to spell things and tells
me, "correct" or "incorrect." He likes Mr. Ratburn, obviously. A few weeks
ago, my PS'ed 10 year old nephew got into an argument with him, insisting
that "a-a-r-d-v-a-r-k" was incorrect. <g>. Charlie's sisters backed him
up, and the cousin still didn't believe them until his mom said, "Yes, a
word can start with AA and aardvark does. :-D If Charlie reads late, I
don't think I'll freak out or anything because I've already watched one
child who swore she couldn't read and was at the beginning of some real
frustration about it--and who adamantly did not want lessons--simply pick up
the skills when she was ready.

If I could explain the mechanics of my children learning to read, I would,
but for us, it's been internal process I haven't really been privy to. We
have tons of books, tv, video games, and I read to them (less for every
child, though--less time on my part, less interest on their parts--the
younger ones were more interested in keeping up with the other kids than
sitting still with me) and they see me reading for information and pleasure
and writing a great deal. That's about it.

Sorry I can't shed more light about specifics.

Genie

[email protected]

In a message dated 5/22/01 5:21:27 PM, geniem@... writes:

<< I did read to her a lot, we watched Sesame Street together, >>

I forgot to credit TV and video. Sesame Street, Animaniacs, Disney
Singalongs (with words going by which they can ignore, but after you see it
over and over, maybe the words are more interesting to look at). Some of the
things they liked involved interpersonals more than reading/language--Mr.
Rogers, Muppet Babies, Ninja Turtles.

Nowadays Holly watches Between the Lions a fair amount (and calls me for
Chicken Jane, which it totally reading, but it's spoofing the Dick and Jane
books with dead-on art (only animated) and a cool theme song. And they have
Gawain's Word (combo Wayne's World theme song and a kind of Electric Company
or Sesame Street moment where the front of a word and the end come together).

I have never, and I recommend to all here very strongly they they not either,
ever said "Oh, good! Now you are learning to read! This is like the lessons
in school only look--it's funny, and there's music! Now lovely for us all
and God Bless Unschooling." When you get teachery or condescending you
break the spell.

Sandra