Teaching Ella to Read

I should have written this post several months ago, but life got busy (doesn't it always?), and I never wrote it. So, here it is now . . .only a few months late.

When Ella was around 4 1/2 years old, I ventured into the task of teaching her to read. Though I'd never taught anyone to read, I really thought she was showing lots of signs of readiness, so I decided that we would begin the journey. I entered into the task with caution: if, for some reason, she wasn't ready I wasn't going to push it. She was still young when I began the process, and I didn't want to deter her from reading or learning in any way by pushing her if she wasn't ready.

I chose to use the book Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons as our curriculum (I've included a brief review at the end of this post). I made Ella a sticker chart to show her progress and help motivate her along the way. The first few lessons went well with Ella. Then, slowly, things started to get really frustrating. We were struggling through the lessons, and I was getting more and more frustrated. I really thought she could do the lessons (which only frustrated me more!), but just wasn't putting forth the right kind of effort to complete the lessons. So, around lesson 20 or so, we stopped. I decided to take a step back and reevaluate in a few months.

I'm SO glad we took a step back, and started again a few months later. Our lessons were like night and day compared to a few months earlier. She breezed through most lessons, and continued to be eager to learn more. That's not to say that there weren't times when we had tough lessons, but overall, our lesson time was much, much better. 

What was the difference in the few months time? Was Ella not really ready? When I reflect back to the first time that we tried to work on the lessons, I think the struggles with the lessons had a lot more to do with me than with Ella. It was my first time attempting anything like this, and I'm not sure that I had the right approach and attitude with Ella. I think she easily picked up on my frustration and that manifested in how she completed the lessons. When we started the second time, I started with a fresh attitude and more determined patience. I think my demeanor with her made a huge difference in the lessons.

And now, Ella can read! She finished the 100th lesson not long after she turned five years old. I was very pleased with how well she was reading when she completed all 100 lessons, and her reading has continued to progress even though the official lessons have stopped. I think the curriculum did a good job giving her the tools she needs to continue to grow in her reading ability.  

Here are my general thoughts about the curriculum Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. I should note that I haven't looked at any other curriculums or programs for teaching reading, so I do not have anything to compare the program to. 

Pros:

• The book is inexpensive, and does not require any additional materials except some paper to do the sound writing portion.
• The book was very easy for me to use to teach her. Everything was laid out - even down to the words I should say during each lesson.
• The lessons were short. The book states that each lesson should only take about 15-20 minutes. There were many times Ella finished a lesson in about 10 minutes, but there were also some lessons that took her longer than 20 minutes. On average, most lessons did take about 15 minutes.
• The lessons are also short enough that you can do more than one lesson a day, depending on your child. With Ella there were times she was especially eager to keep on, and it was nice to be able to move on to the next lesson.
• It was also nice to know that if Ella was struggling with something, the lesson was short, and we didn't have to labor on for a long period of time.
• The book incorporated pictures, questions for checking for comprehension, as well as writing as part of learning to read.
• We frequently skipped the writing portion of the lessons. I think the writing portion is beneficial, but for Ella is wasn't always necessary.
• I wasn't sure how to classify this, but I really liked the way the book teaches the student to sound the words out.

Cons:

• The lessons, particularly the first 25 or so, can be tedious until your child "gets" the method.
• The names of the letters of the alphabet are not introduced until the very end of the book (letters are simply referred to using the sound they make). There is reasoning behind not using the letter names (and I understand that), but Ella already knew her letters prior to starting the curriculum, so we skipped parts of lessons at the end.

Overall, I really liked this curriculum, and plan to use it for Troy. I do think it will be interesting to see how Troy takes to the approach compared to Ella, because I think Ella's personality fit the curriculum well and Troy and Ella are quite different. : ) 

Happy Father's Day!

I do not have the words to express how truly blessed our family is because of my husband, and his love as husband and father. His life constantly shows his love towards our family in everything from his leadership to his firm hand to his gentleness and compassion. Thank you for all you do and are for our family!

(Sometimes it is still hard to believe I've got a kid for each letter now!)

D-A-D photos from past years

This year, I had Ella and Troy answer questions for a Father’s Day questionnaire I found on Pinterest. Their answers (particularly Troy's) were, uh, interesting at times. : )

• What is Daddy’s name? 
• Ella: Daddy 
• Troy: Trent
• What does Daddy do for fun?
• Ella: Play soccer outside
• Troy: Sit down, I mean, play ball
• What does Daddy do at work?
• Ella: works
• Troy: work
• What are his favorite things to eat?
• Ella: green beans and sweet potatoes
• Troy: pickles, how about sandwiches with spicy stuff in it {I have absolutely NO idea where he got this answer from!}
• What does he like to drink?
• Ella: Dr. Pepper
• Troy: Dr. Pepper
• How old is Daddy?
• Ella: 31
• Troy: I can't remember; I can't even know
• Where did you and Daddy meet?
• Ella: when I was a baby
• Troy: I can't remember, is it at McCarty?
• How long have you know Daddy?
• Ella: a long time
• Troy: (reached to the sky)
• How tall is Daddy?
• Ella: (reached to the sky)
• Troy: (stood up, pointed to the sky)
• What is Daddy’s hair like?
• Ella: tiny (showed with her fingers)
• Troy: short
• How much does Daddy weigh?
• Ella: 80 lbs
• Troy: reached to sky
• What makes Daddy the best?
• Ella: plays fight (wrestle) and plays ball and plays defense
• Troy: cuz I love him
• What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
• Ella: play fight (wrestle)
• Troy: play defense

Happy 9 Months Luke!

Nine months! It seems like everyone lately has been commenting on how big you have gotten. Everyone also comments about how happy you are all the time, and, generally you are a very happy baby, though you definitely know how to let us know if you don't like something.

 

This month has brought big changes when it comes to your mobility. You've gone from getting up on all fours and rocking to inchworming across the room to finally actually taking crawling "steps."
Luke rocking from Lisa on Vimeo

Luke learning to Crawl June 5 from Lisa on Vimeo

You love, love, love to eat! And you eat a lot of food! You've only turned your nose up to one food - a puree of "garden vegetables," but I'm not sure I blame you since we gave it to you after you'd been eating some sweet fruit. You have a great pincer grasp, and do a really good job eating on your own. You also do a good job putting all eight of your teeth to work, chomping happily away!

 

This month you've learned how to clap and wave. You practiced your wave a lot when we were at Disney World when everyone was stopping to say "hi" to you! You also sometimes say something that sounds like "hi" when you wave, so I guess that would officially be your first word!

I'll write more about Disney in a different post, but you were a champ at Disney. You loved being outside, and even enjoyed meeting some of the characters.

Ella and Troy continue to love to play with you - they were especially excited to play with your new ball bopper with you. I'm thankful for the relationships that you have already formed with each of them.

Luke from Lisa on Vimeo.

Luke jumping may 2014 from Lisa on Vimeo.

Luke @ 8 months

Troy @ 9 months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Happy 8 Months Luke!

I’m a little late, but happy 8 months Luke! You turned 8 months old during Focal Point, but things were too crazy (in a good way!) to sit down to write this post.

Over the past few months you have definitely transitioned into a much happier baby. People are constantly commenting on how happy you always seem (granted, they aren’t around you all the time! : ) ). Everyone always loves to stop to talk to you – you usually love to talk and smile back at them.

Though you haven’t started full-on crawling, you “inchworm” around and are pretty good at getting wherever you want to go. We had to officially get rid of the bumbo this month: you became quite good at bending yourself out of the bumbo. You are still a little unsteady when it comes to sitting by yourself, though you can do it.

You LOVE to eat. Ella and Troy were good eaters from the beginning, but I think you trump both of them. You have eaten everything I’ve given you (and a lot of it!). You do a really good job picking up food and getting it in your mouth by yourself as well.  You’ve learned to sign “more” this month, and you have definitely associated it with food. One morning when I got you up in the morning you were quickly signing “more” over and over again. I think you were hungry and ready for breakfast!

You have a mouth full of teeth! When you turned eight months, you had four teeth on top, and three on bottom (another has poked through on the bottom since you turned eight months). You love to chew, especially on your swaddle blanket tags.

You are still doing a good job sleeping at night as well as during naptime. I was quite nervous about you and Troy sharing a room, but y’all have really done well together. Troy does an amazing job staying quiet so you can go to sleep. If I have to come get you to feed you or change you while Troy is trying to go to sleep he’ll very sweetly tell me that I need to bring you back.

I continue to love watching your interaction with Ella and Troy. Y’all are quite the trio!

Luke @ 7 months

Troy @ 8 months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Happy 7 Months Luke!

Seven months . . . closer to one year old than being a brand new baby. You are such a funny baby: you complain and demand our attention, and when we look at you, you give us the biggest, cheesiest smile. You “talk” a lot, and you smile a lot too.

You had three more teeth pop through this month – all on the top. Your teeth are so cute, and it is crazy how many you have already. You love to chew on toys and blankets – maybe because you have so many teeth coming in. You are pretty content in the car or stroller if you have a blanket to chew on while you are riding around.

You started sleeping a lot better this month. Most nights you’ll sleep long enough that I’d consider you sleeping through the night. It is very nice to get some decent sleep again. : ) You have also started taking much longer and more consistent naps, which is also very nice for us. You still like to sleep on your belly. If you fuss for very long after I lay you down, I often find you flipped over on your back. You can roll from your back to your belly, but I think you are usually too sad to think about doing that in your crib. You also scoot around a lot in your crib. I don’t know *exactly* how you are moving around, just that you do because I find you in a different place than where I laid you down to start at night. In fact, you have a certain corner of the crib that I often find you in when I check on you before I go to bed.

I feel like every day that passes you are more and more content. You are definitely a mama’s boy right now, but you have gotten to be more content when others have you when I’m not around. In fact, you are actually more content with others when I’m not there (probably because I’m not there to distract you!).   

You have really started eating solids this month, and now that you have decided that eating solid food is OK, there hasn’t been anything you haven’t liked. You’ve loved all the different fruits and veggies you’ve tried, as well as yogurt and puffs. I think yogurt is probably your favorite food right now. You’ve gotten really good at eating puffs, and you entertain yourself for a long time while you eat them.

Your grabbing skills have gotten even more refined this month. As evidenced below, you didn’t like the sticker (or maybe that I was taking your pictures) and you did something about it!

Although you weren’t happy in the photo below, you generally really like to be outside. You’ve started showing some hints that you may suck your thumb, but you aren’t a full-fledged “thumb-sucker” yet. You really love your siblings, and you are very tolerant of them, smiling and laughing with them. You also have become fond of our dog Reeses (even though you didn’t seem so interested in her at first).

Luke @ 6 months

Troy @ 7 months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Happy 6 Months Luke!

Six months is one of those milestones that seems really big – halfway to no longer being a “baby.” Many days you remind me how much less you are like a newborn and how much more you are like a one year old. You don’t have to eat as often anymore. You grab and knock my phone out of my hand when I’m holding you. You smile when you see my face or hear my voice. You watch me as I walk away, and even cry sometimes too.

You started using your jumperoo this month. Generally, I think you like it, but you’d prefer if someone sat by it and talked to you while you are in it.

Your interactions with Ella and Troy also show how much you are changing. You love (most of the time!) when they talk and play with you. Ella, who has recently learned to read, loves reading books to you. Troy randomly kisses and hugs you many times a day. One day Troy told me, “I like Luke better than I like my big pillow.” And, he really likes his big pillow!

You started going to Bible class at the end of last month, but I forgot to mention it in that post. You were pretty unsure at first, and I had to hold you quite a bit the first couple of classes, but you have gotten a lot better in just a month in sitting in your chair and being content a good part of the class time.I think you are going to be our first non-blue-eyed baby. Though your eyes have been blue, they’ve been darker than Ella’s or Troy’s from the beginning. Within the past month, the color near the center of your eye has started changing to brown. Maybe your eyes will be like mine – brown near the center and green on the outside. Only time will tell!You started sleeping in your crib at night as well as during naptime this month. I was anxious about the transition, but once you figured out that your crib was OK for sleep, you’ve done pretty well. Your dad figured out that you prefer to sleep on your belly – crazy to me since you have not been a fan of tummy time (though you’ve started liking it more lately). You have gotten pretty good at holding yourself up during tummy time lately as well.I LOVE your smile – it is infectious to me. It reminds me SO much of Ella’s smile at the same age. I also love your laugh, and love that we can make you laugh easily. I got a good video of you laughing recently (at the end of the post). You started rolling over this month, but you aren’t a very “rolly” baby yet.

You are getting pretty good at grasping toys (and hair!) as well as putting toys in your mouth to chew on which is a good thing since your front two bottom teeth popped through about a week before you turned 6 months. Your teeth are pretty cute. : ) We tried to give you food again a couple of times this past month. You didn’t hate it, but you also didn’t love it. We’ll keep trying though!

Luke @ 5 months

Troy @ 6 months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)