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SarahCD Forum Rookie
Joined: Oct 09 2011 Location: N/A
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Posted: May 30 2012 at 10:48am | IP Logged
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Am I in the right place? I hope so ...
My question involves my 6yo daughter, who is finishing up 1st grade. She is nearing the end of Little Angels Reader A (red), but is still not reading very smoothly. She struggles, it's just that simple ... and that complicated. She knows letter sounds, etc., but putting it together is still very hard for her.
I am grateful that we are homeschooling, because we can go at HER pace! But it's hard for me to know how "normal" this is, because this is not what my older children experienced.
What are some GOOD little books for us to read over the summer? Beginning readers, etc. The ones that are out right now all seem to include cartoon characters. I don't really want (too many of) those around the house. But I really want to build her confidence by finding books she really CAN read!
I'm also thinking about audio books that she could follow along with? What are thoughts on that approach?
Thanks!
__________________ Sarah
wife to G
mom to dd 9, dd 8, dd 6, ds 4, dd 4 and ds 1
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Mackfam Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006 Location: Alabama
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Posted: May 30 2012 at 11:13am | IP Logged
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Sarah,
I moved your post to Nurturing the Years of Wonder because your dd is still a young early learner, at age 6, but you're right, your question can fit in a number of places here. For more skill specific help with beginning reading you could post in Language Arts Come Alive, too. (Let me know if you'd like me to move your post to Language Arts, or if you'd prefer it somewhere else! )
SarahCD wrote:
My question involves my 6yo daughter, who is finishing up 1st grade. She is nearing the end of Little Angels Reader A (red), but is still not reading very smoothly. |
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I think this is totally normal...FOR HER. Each child seems to have their own individual timeline for reading fluency, and it varies from child to child even within families. I have one child that read very young, one that taught himself with little to no instruction from me, and another that is a later reader in spite of indicating reading readiness at a young age, and another that is indicating very early reading readiness.
I think you're doing great by just gently nurturing her reading! At some point (unique to her), her reading will take off and become what I call "beginning reader fluent". And then she can read aloud some of her books to you. Until she's a fluent reader, reading aloud is fine, and if you'd like to provide some great audio books, that's fine, too! Be sure you read aloud from good, rich books. You don't need to limit her experience with all words to just her readers - let that be a small portion of her experience with words. Let the bigger portion be found in her listening to fantastic living books. Let your big kids do some reading aloud to help you out time-wise there.
SarahCD wrote:
What are some GOOD little books for us to read over the summer? |
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I really like the Faith and Freedom readers (which I learned about here). They're gentle readers and are quite enjoyable. I purchased a few for my later reader that needed a little more practice and he really enjoys them. Seton has reprinted them so that they're easy to access and purchase. If she's near the end of the red book of the Little Angel Readers, I recommend the 1st Grade set of Faith and Freedom readers, starting gently with the Pre-Primer and Here We Come. She might really enjoy that over the summer.
Hope this helps, Sarah! She's doing great!!
__________________ Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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SarahCD Forum Rookie
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Posted: May 31 2012 at 7:23am | IP Logged
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Thank you so much, Jen! Your advice is very, very helpful! I have thought of the "Faith and Freedom" readers for my dd, so I will give them a try! Seton will be at our homeschool conference this weekend, so I will pick them up there! My only follow-up question is what does pre-primer mean?
Also, does anyone recommend any particular audio books for a 6-7yo who is just finishing up 1st grade? Or even good read aloud books for her? I just really want to build up her confidence, and so often I pick books geared toward her older sisters ... I want to seek out books specifically to her ability.
Thanks again!!!
__________________ Sarah
wife to G
mom to dd 9, dd 8, dd 6, ds 4, dd 4 and ds 1
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Mackfam Board Moderator
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Posted: May 31 2012 at 7:32am | IP Logged
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Pre-Primer is just the name of the first Faith and Freedom reader, and it actually contains three smallish books within the covers, the first of which is titled, Here We Come. It's probably just a little below where your dd is reading, but that may build a little confidence for her. And she'll probably move through it quickly. I'm glad you'll be able to see them at the Seton table before you purchase so you can see what you think would be best.
__________________ Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Meredith Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 08 2005 Location: N/A
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Posted: May 31 2012 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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Hi Sarah, I second the F & F readers, they are great! We have used them with all our children. My youngest is still working through them at 7, so there's a nice range in terms of *when* readers get going.
Violet mentioned Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lingren for a fun read aloud perfect for her age. Also the Betsy and Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace, especially the first 4.
Hth,
Meredith
__________________ Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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Claire F Forum Pro
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Posted: May 31 2012 at 3:13pm | IP Logged
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My 7 year old really enjoys reading books like Frog and Toad, Little Bear and Amelia Bedelia. They're at his comfortable reading level, so he can read them and gain confidence and enjoy a sweet story. Maybe something like those would be enjoyable too? Just a thought.
__________________ Claire
Mom to DS 12/04, DS 5/07, DD 8/09
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SarahCD Forum Rookie
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Posted: May 31 2012 at 3:26pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, Meredith and Claire! These suggestions are really helpful! I was feeling all worried about how I was going to help her along, and I now think we are going to have a nice little summer reading program going on here! Yay!!
__________________ Sarah
wife to G
mom to dd 9, dd 8, dd 6, ds 4, dd 4 and ds 1
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DominaCaeli Forum All-Star
Joined: April 24 2007
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Posted: May 31 2012 at 3:43pm | IP Logged
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Other fun read-alouds (and eventually independent reading, once she's ready!) for that age:
Milly-Molly-Mandy
Pippi Longstocking
Brambly Hedge series
Mischievous Meg
My Naughty Little Sister
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Beatrix Potter series
Happy Little Family
Big Susan
__________________ Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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Mackfam Board Moderator
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Posted: June 01 2012 at 12:59pm | IP Logged
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I wanted to come back and add a set of very nice readers that are free (in the public domain) in case you might be interested:
Harriette Taylor Treadwell readers
__________________ Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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