My children are ages five and under, so I can't say I'm an expert at how this works in the long-term. But from what I've experienced so far, teaching reading and writing as we go along in daily life makes much more sense to me, and has worked far better, than in trying to do it in some kind of separate, formal setting. Isn't that what homeschooling is all about... being able to teach as we go along? I think so, and I love it that way. We read lots of books, we talk about letters now and then, the kids ask how to spell things and what letters make what sounds, and somehow, by the time they are three or four, they just know the letters and the sounds and how to put them together to make words. It's really been pretty cool to watch it all unfold!
Abraham is our boy who somehow knew the names of all the letters by 20 months old, and he knew the sounds for all of them by the time he was three. Last month, at age three and a half, he started reading... really reading! He can read words that are up to three or four letters long without any help, and longer ones with assistance. He can sound out and spell words with some help. And he won't be four until May! I am in the habit of not letting on to him how amazed I am by this... but wow! How cool!
This week, Abraham wrote his first-ever thank-you letter! He couldn't spell the words on his own, of course, but he told me what he wanted to write, and I told him how to spell the words, and he wrote all four pages of the thank-you letter. All by himself! I am really proud of him.
(Just to note, Rilla can do these things too! I had to do a post about Abraham this time though!)
very cool indeed. Cathy
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