Writing Skills for the Ages
Once again, my home is decorated in Early Reader. This consists of many little file cards with words like "Stove", "Freezer" and "Bathtub" on them, affixed to the appropriate household items. It would appear, to those not In The Know, that I need to have pictures drawn for me in order to function on a daily basis. Actually, I do need all the help I can get, but in reality, we have another beginning reader in the house. Labeling things helps a young reader to actually connect words to things, that groups of letters actually mean something.
These days, my little guy and I read at least twenty books a week. We draw letters-they don't exactly match up with the lines on the paper, but we are content to draw the letters, talking about how the small "b" and the small "d" look similar, but how they have their "tummies" on different sides, and how the letter "s" looks like a snake, etc. This is just for fun, and is done two different letters per day. I encourage him to stay as close to the lines as possible, but I don't get upset with him about it. I circle the really good ones, and make sure the Daddy sees it at the end of the day. At the age of four and four months, I have a little guy who knows his letters, can write the first few letters of his name, and asks questions like, "How do we live on this planet?" Of course, a little guy needs recreation, and there are few summer days I don't have to rinse him off outside before he is clean enough to come into the house to take his bath. He is a very busy little man.
One book we really have enjoyed working with is called Phonics Pathways. Tor really loves learning the different letter sounds, and this book is very easy for anyone of any age to understand (of course, the little guys need a big person to read it for them). It is written and illustrated by Dolores G. Hiskes. I recommend buying it, especially if you have a few readers to enjoy it, because it is a lenghthy book, and takes a while to go through. I have also successfully used this book for Jasper, when he was still really struggling with dyslexia, and it helped quite a bit. I simply took the tack that I had to re-educate his reading skills by starting at square one. It has paid off immeasurably, with Jasper's reading skills improving to where he doesn't hesitate to read anything he comes across.
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