Do you think a child should learn how to read at their own pace?

   The image above is our oldest Bailey reading and Sadie, who decided she wanted to join in the fun.

         Do you think it’s a better idea for a child to learn how to read at their own pace or should they know how to read at a certain level at a certain age? I personally think a child will learn when they are ready, as long as they are getting their daily language arts and reading lessons. I have seen it happen in our household. My oldest at age eight had a hard time reading, but as soon as she hit nine years old she was flying through books. I was in shock, because I am her teacher and I was thinking we needed to change her curriculum for the following year, when all of a sudden she could read everything. I was so excited to see how well she was reading too. So I do truly believe they learn at their own pace and do very well when it does click. Now when I look at my middle child who is in second grade, she is doing the same thing as her older sister.

       Except this time I believe she will need a lot more extra reading, and activities with reading added to her daily lessons, because I think she has a little more of a struggle paying attention on top of the reading difficulties. Again this is the beauty in homeschooling I fit my curriculums to my children’s learning styles. I totally believe there is not a “one size fits all” kind of thinking when it comes to what I teach. I know my middle child needs extra attention compared to her oldest sister. Her oldest sister just gets everything when my middle child sometimes seems like she is on another planet when I am asking her a question. I feel blessed to have the older sister who is reading at a high level where she helps her out and reads to both her sisters throughout the day when school is not in session. I mean as you can see in the picture above it’s my baby trying to mimic her big sister and that to me is a great example of good influence and helpful with showing our littlest one about reading. As our littlest one Sadie grows and follows behind her big sister I hope one day she will know how important reading is.



        Some parents don’t agree with idea that a child will read when they are ready to read approach. When a lot of homeschooling families do believe in this way of teaching like myself. This type of approach “they will read when they are ready” focuses on the love of reading rather than early reading (Keys & Crain, 2009). The school system tries to use the one size fits all way of thinking. When you compare my children they have two very different types of learning styles. So reading has to be formed to fit their individual learning styles. Children learn at their own pace with reading when homeschooled in most cases and this helps nurture a child’s inner wisdom and then allows a child to follow their own bliss (Keys & Crain, 2009). So it would not be such a demand to have to know how to read before a certain age as the one size fits all motto in the public school system. Parents just want their kids to love reading to where this is a lifetime love (Keys & Crain, 2009). Again some people think children should know how to read before they are the age of six while others will learn on their own anyways in most case before they are eight years of age. (Keys & Crain, 2009).



       Some parents that choose to home school still give a certain amount of instruction as I think I do. Overall we don’t want to be pressuring to our kids to read because we have seen our oldest just flow right into a high level of reading as stated on her test scores at the end of the school year. So why force something that will come in time. They love to read anyways, so it’s exciting. I myself was never a big reader so I really hope my children will just naturally love to read for life as they do now without having to do it at such an early age. Parents try and do a lot of read aloud to help bring their children in and let them decide for themselves if they are ready to figure it all out and read on their own (Keys & Crain, 2009). Parents try to be sensitive and let their children figure it out for themselves when it comes to reading (Keys & Crain, 2009).



          Like I have said before parents will choose what’s right for their children and I would never judge a families decision to send their kids to a public school system but I do hope to change the opinions about homeschooling. So it’s just as acceptable as a public school system in societies eyes .Each child has their own way of learning and we as parents are just trying to do what’s best when it’s comes to our children’s education. Each year of homeschooling I get so excited because my children score above average at the end of year testing in everything. They continue to amaze me. It just shows we have made the right decision as a family to continue their education at home. I have three very smart amazing beautiful girls. My life is so busy but I would never change a thing about it. One day they will be off doing their own thing and I hope one day to look back and say we did everything possible to make sure our children had the best influence and schooling we could offer as parents. This is our journey as a family and we moving right along year by year.



     Take it from me it’s not easy but it’s an easy choice when it comes to education. Our children are only small once, and we hope to be a part of every moment as much as possible. Not smothering kind of way either, just the love of being around them from the time they wake up till the time they hit the sack. Time moves fast and that is one thing I never really paid attention to when I was younger. Then I hit my 30’s and had my own kids and I see how valuable life is, how valuable your time is here, how valuable your children are and how fast they do grow. What seems like a routine everyday turns out to be nothing like that when you look back it’s just a year passed with all kinds of different things that went on and the biggest thing is your children turn a year older. Before you know it they are getting married and having their own children. So this is why we choose to spend as much time with our children and educate them with our values and beliefs and they score above average every year. Plus I love my time with our girls, even though it’s tuff it’s so rewarding in the end.

                                                                                        

Annotated Webliography: Where does the day go in our homeschooling home?

Keys & Crain, (2009) , Parental patience and children's reading , pilot study of homeschooled children, Encounter, Retrieved Winter 2009, from Academic Search Complete.

This article talks about homeschooling parents choosing to let their children learn to read at their own pace. So they gain a love for reading. Not being pressured to learn how to read at such an early age. Most kids being homeschooled still learn how to read by the time they were 8 years old“they will read when they are ready approach”.