I have been missing from blogging because I lack the self discipline to do so. I will give myself another attempt to blog in order to document all the work that I have been doing with my own. At the beginning of this year, my eldest had issues with reading and comprehension. Today marks his 'final English paper' for his first year at primary school. And, I'm glad to say that our efforts have paid off without any external enrichment classes.
Throughout the years of teaching preschool, I have truly believed in the phonics system to help children to read and spell. I believed it's sufficient, until, I taught my own two kids. Yes. That's when phonics was taught and they can't spell when they can sound the blends, consonants and vowels. To be fair, they are poor listeners. They can't decipher the sounds in words all the time. Tsk tsk.... I find that girls fair better at this than boys. But this is solely my personal experience.
Alright, back to the topic of coaching the boys. I find that a combination of the following helps.
[1] Do the traditional phonics.
Most preschools in Singapore conduct phonics lessons now as a part of the English education. Extend the lesson at home by having the games that allow the child to spot the sound (if they are little). otherwise, attempt to get the child to spell the word using their listening skills. Very often, the child spells "fone" for "phone". Phonemically, the child has made an educated error. The blend and consonant share similar sounds. That's when we list words that contain "ph". This is an attempt for the child to identify and learn the spellings of the various words. Yes, they must learn the spellings. As much as you can. You can make it fun. play hangman. repeat the letters. repeat. repeat. repeat the same list for the week. Then change. There's no short cut. Keep this list for the end of week 2. And, if you are wondering, organization is crucial in educating the kids. We need to be really clear in order for the kids to achieve the objective.
[2] Read. Read. Read.
Children who find it difficult to read are choosy with their books. They read, lose interest and need companionship in their reading journey. By reading journey, I refer to a single book. Not books. You need lots of patience to instil that love for reading for children who find it tough. (P.S. There are children who find reading a breeze. And, you wonder why?) Rest assured. My boy really could not read and now, he can read books he did't manage to in January. Even his teacher in school is surprised. He's not top notch, but I'm very happy with the progress and results. You get the picture. Parents have to let the children choose their books. Celebrate every word they manage. Do the same book as often as he wants until he's confident. Confidence is important and confidence is built with time and his personal effort. Then let him know you are there to help him with the books that he has difficulty with; that you can share the books he can't manage by reading to him. Make him comfortable initially. Let him want to try. For my boy, he likes to sit on my lap and make me hug him and make me read to him. Then, I will embark on the plan to get him to co-read with me. Help me with the words. Word by word. followed by page by page. Until he did it all by himself! I started with the Oxford Learning Tree readers. Maintain that interest by consistently reading to the children. Sometimes, I get the feeling that he doesn't really listen. But, if we finish the book and leave it accessible to him. You will find him reaching for it in future.
[3] Do sight words, apart from phonics.
You can find lists of sight words simply by asking google. The list is usually sectioned into pre-k, k, grades 1 and 2. If the child is very weak, you should begin with the simplest stage. This will also assure him that he can conquer it. Once he's able to read the words at the grade, add ten words from the next grade. Keep doing this until all the sight words are mastered.
[4] Keep a diary. A simple diary.
Get the child to write one thing that happened in the entire day. Simply denote if the event made him happy or sad or angry. I tell my boy to write one sentence or in point form. It doesn't have to be a story. The purpose is to have an experience with writing, with relating his experiences. Children love to change little things like their pens/ pencils/ booklets. I often do not buy big notebooks for him to 'finish'. Instead, I suggest buying little booklets so that the child has the sense of accomplishment of filling up his diary. If you have guessed right, you can 'grow' the size of the booklets as the child starts writing more. :)
[5] Play games. Bingo. Memory. Hangman. Crosswords.
The trick with playing games is you have to keep the words they learn at your fingertips. Only do words they have seen or read.
There will be occasions you feel that it's not working, that your child is not reading. You will get frustrated, get upset, look elsewhere for help. I'm writing this post to encourage people who are in the same position as me. Not all children respond to enrichment or tuition. Coaching my own children have proved to be tedious, nerve wrecking, back breaking, heart breaking, but this joy I get as I see how he is managing now is my prize. There are still areas for me to work on with my child, but hey, that's the 'value' of my existence now.
