WANTING to read.....

Tonight I told Zeek to come in the living room and watch Man vs. Wild.

Then he said something that I thought would MELT MY HEART.

He said, " Mom...I am READING my Yu-Gi-Oh cards."

I had to do a double take.

I almost fainted.

I mean seriously.....I almost CRIED!!!!

I said, "Well then..HERE...sit under the lamp!!!"

I have said it before....

It may not be on the AR reading list- but I DON'T CARE.

The boy WANTED to read.

So ...
I dont care WHAT he reads.

As long as he READS!!!!

Getting there....differently.

ALL kids are different.

If there is one thing I have learned thru my journey homeschooling...
it is THAT.

All kids are different.

Some are better at math.

Some LOVE science.

Some go thru phases of not liking ANY of it.

Some DO NOT like to read....
And

Some-

can't wait to read.

Oh the differences in children.

I have had ALL different scenerios.

Zeek was my guinea pig(asa most first kids are in LIFE).

I was paranoid.

I was HARD on him.

I hadn't yet learned that ALL KIDS ARE DIFFERENT.

I got mad and am sad to say that I even made him cry once.

It was terrible.

He was not ready.

He was a 1st grader that WAS NOT READY.

I know that there are public-school teachers that would DISAGREE...
but, he WAS NOT READY.

And I believe that I AM THE REASON he still does not like to read.

I make him.
He does it.

But---
He does NOT like it.

Then there was Shasha .....

I swear I did not even TEACH her to read. I taught her the letters and the sounds and she just TOOK OFF.

All on her own .

She was reading.

NO PROBLEMS.

After that I was pretty comfortable with my teaching abilities.

I used Hooked on Phonics with Malachi and LOVED it.

It didnt take very long and he was also reading.

He has little problems now and is in the 1st grade.

And MOST RECENTLY....
There is Sheba.

She WANTED to read.

She was READY.

I started HOP with her couple of weeks ago and she LOVED IT.

Then...yesterday- SHe read her FIRST BOOK.

She was soooo excited.

We all made a HUGE deal out of it and celebrated like she won the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.

She was so proud of herself as she put her stickers on her chart.

Such a feat...sweet girl.

Sooo....as you can see they have all been different.

Some are FAST.

Some are SLOW.

I have learned thru MY journey that it does not matter HOW FAST they get there...
only that
THEY
GET
THERE.

And with practice and patience....
They all will.

Go, Malachi, Go!!!!

Teaching reading is one of the most STRESSFUL, HARD, TME CONSUMING things I have EVER done.

THAT in itself should get a WHOLE YEAR or two ALL to itself.

It is HARD.

Not like face it then MOVE ON ..hard.

More like…stare you in the face EVERYDAY , HARD.

And it is one of those things that HAS TO BE DONE.

Its not like some of the other subjects that you can skip over as a homeschool Mom.

I mean really….

some days we  don’t get to science…Oh well.

some days we don’t get to history…oh well.

some days we don’t get to our flashcards…oh well.

But…..

You CAN’T skip the reading.

It is a CORE subject.

I mean who REALLY wants to be the homeschool mom who never taught her child(ren) to read.

That would for sure be the TALK of the TOWN.

I can hear it now, “Do you know that weird family with the dreads??? I hear that they homeschool and they never even taught the kids to READ!!! Figures……Weirdos.”  LOL

That is what goes on in MY HEAD anyway.

I’m sure that IS NOT what would happen…

BUT

I don’t really want to chance it.

AT ALL.

And the craziest part of it all is that all children are different.

REALLY different.

Zeek is not a reader.

He knows HOW….he just dosen’t like it.

He does it…because I MAKE HIM.

And teaching that child to read was THE HARDEST thing I have EVER done.

He is in 4th grade and JUST THIS YEAR …he “gets it”.

He reads and UNDERSTANDS what he read.

But he was 9 when he “got it”.

It was a LONG JOURNEY…..that we are still walking.

Then came Shasha….

I never even really remember teaching her…she just KNEW.

One day she was just reading…I mean- I taught her the SOUNDS….but she put them together and was READING.

Just like THAT.

At age 6….she LOVED read~and still does.

NOW…is  Malachis’ turn…

my WILD CHILD.

The child that WON’T sit still….EVER.

He is a hyper 6 year old boy…

REALLY HYPER.

I mean…EXTREMELY HYPER.

Seriously…..He is my child that challenges me the most.

He TESTS me.

He TEACHES me…by TESTING me.

So…I just KNEW that teaching him to read was going to test my patience.

I figured…because I can’t EVER get him to sit down…this would be NO DIFFERENT.

I figured I would have to CHASE HIM DOWN to get him to read.

I don’t.

He LOVES reading and it is one of the ONLY things that makes him sit still. 

He will actually CALMLY sit and READ a book.

I mean…sit on his bottom CALMLY and read.

CALMLY….without getting up.

SIT.

QUIETLY.

and

CALMLY.

And he LOVES it.

He QUIETLY loves it.

Awesome.

Sheba is next….

let’s just PRAY that the last child will be easy on me.

I figure that right about the time I figure this whole homeschooling thing out …they will graduate.

LOL.

More Bookshelves…….PLEASE!!!!!

Today we woke up and went to the doctor….again.

All 4 kids …..again.

Sooooooooooooo……we didn't really have school.

After the Doctor-we decided to make it a LIBRARY DAY!!!

It was cold and the kids didn't need anti-biotics….

We were CELEBRATING.

The kids LOVE the library…I love the library.

I couldn’t homeschool without our library.

Let’s just say we are THAT family that takes our “library crate” to and from the library.

Full to the top …EVERYTIME!

And we usually go AT LEAST once a week…sometimes 2!!!

So you can imagine my JOY when we walked in today and they were having a BOOK SALE.

and to top it off….EVERYTHING was 50% off!!!!!

I got all the books in the pic above for $3!!!!!!!!!!!

You read that right….. $3!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am OBSESSED with books.

Jays keeps building me MORE bookshelves…..

Sweet man-  God LOVE him…

He has learned to DEAL with my OBSESSION over 2 things:

wooden bowls(any kind,color,shape…I LOVE them!)

and

BOOKS.

So..

NEEDLESS to say….

When he came home and saw that stack sitting on the table ..

He knew.

We need another bookshelf.

And Oh……..

Don’t tell him…

BUT….

I think I might GO BACK tomorrow.

Maybe I’ll bring $6 this time!!!!

Happy Reading!!!!!!!!!!

H is for HARD.....

If I am being honest about homeschooling..I mean REALLY honest.

That is when I can admit that for some reason...teaching them the "basics" is gthe hardest for me...SO FAR.(I am SURE there are HARDER things to come!!!)

I am CONSTANTLY asking the "other" kids who come over...

"What are YOU doing in math?"
"How did YOU learn your multiplication facts?"
"What did YOU read today?"
"How often do YOU do science?"

Most of the time I get VERY LITTLE info from my little public school friends..they are soooo OVER school questions! LOL

I cant help it...somewhere inside of me I still find it hard not to "compare" us to others.

I am REALLY working on that...but its a SLOW PROCESS.

Trying to RE-train my brain after YEARS of "conditioning".

I KNOW my kiddos are smart.

But...It has been a struggle(at times) to teach SOME of them to read.

I have found that I have to find a BALANCE somewhere in the middle.

Some MIDDLE ground..

On one hand-
There are the UN-schooling books I have read that say, "Dont worry if they dont read till they are 11...its ok."(When I read THAT I almost LOST MY MIND....not till they are 11??? Thats WAY TOO UN-school, hippy style for EVEN ME!)

and on the OTHER HAND..
there is the "you HAVE to be at a certain LEVEL" view of the CONVENTIONAL public school.(Which is ONE of the reasons WHY we choose to Homeschool...so that we DO HAVE more FREEDOM.)

I have struggled with the fact that Ezekiel finds it REALLY HARD to piece it together.

He can read...but DOES NOT LIKE IT!!!

I have to MAKE HIM read.

AND ...while he is reading-I almost have to stand over him.

A struggle...for BOTH of US.

I WANT it to be easy for him...I WANT him to WANT TO READ!

I am learning that as the children grow older, the things that I WANT for them arent always so.

The same things arent always going to be EASY for all of us.

Zeek is an AMAZING creative thinker, humanitarian, and LOVES science!

ALL which are JUST AS important as READING EASILY at 8!

Shashamane is 2 years younger than Zeek and can probably read at a 3rd grade level....ALREADY.

I taught her the "rules" of reading once and she has NEVER looked back.

She is 6 and I have started to find her on the couch READING...without being ASKED!!!

To me...THAT is a miracle.

I am learning to appreciate that it takes "creativity" on MY PART to get some kids interested.

I now get Zeek interested in reading by steering him towards books like "Captain Underpants". (If you dont know- its POTTY HUMOR..All the way!)

I have learned that he IS INTERESTED in reading...as long as WHAT he is reading has SOMETHING to do with farting, burping, peeing, pooping, or eating ANYTHING gross!

Its like I always say..."Get in where you fit in."

For now...We apparently "fit in" with GROSS little boys who WANT to read about SMELLY FARTS and STINKY POOP! LOL

Like I said...I AM BEING HONEST!