January Read Alouds

This month we read these chapter books out loud:

• Stuart Little
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Great Brain
• Lego Ninjago: Official Guide
  

Any guesses on which one Ike picked? It really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

We read too many picture books to list but the one that really stuck out was Who Ate It by Taro Gomi. It was really simple and cute. On one page it would say, "Who ate the strawberry." Then on the opposite page there were 3 lions and one had a strawberry for a nose. This went on with different animals and food. Simon loved trying to find the different one among the animals. We read it through at least 3 times just the first time.

Teaching the 4yo to read.

Currently my 4yo is just about to take off and read. He knows all his letters and phonics, can rhyme anything, and can just start to sound out words. I remember being at this spot with my 6yo and having the HARDEST time finding books that were suitable for him. Even the "level 1" popular cartoon character books were really too hard for him to progress with.

The BOB books which everyone loves, I thought were just okay. For one thing, there just isn't enough of them and they progress too rapidly. My older son would memorize them the first time through and then when we went to 'reread' them he would 'recite' them instead. Which is great for memory practice but doesn't do much for reading.

So we are using the "Reading for all Learners" series. I found this series at the library and my 6yo went up through set 5 before we branched out to other series. The only really negative comment I have about these is that each set costs $30. They are VERY popular at the library so I have to request each book and sometime there is a bit of a wait.

In case you are interested, here is their website.
http://www.iseesam.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8_9

A new title and a new direction.

"What's a book? Everything or nothing. The eye that sees it all." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've been wanting to work more on the blog but I wasn't feeling the title. Fortunately or not, I no longer am much of a maniac or a mathematician for that matter. (Mom still solidly applies.)
Mostly what I would like to share and document is the progress I am making in teaching my 2 boys not only to be readers but to love reading.