Homeschool and reading

Homeschooling and reading, reading and homeschooling~ how those words make my heart flutter. You see I am a teacher, one who has been blessed to teach her students to read- and lucky blessed me, they are all of MY children!

I love reading, I love to teach reading-you see reading makes sense to me, it makes your heart do flips, it opens the world of knowledge to you, it makes me want to kiss Benjamin Frankin (he gave us the Public Library).

I believe in phonics- thus I teach phonics. As soon as my kids are old enough to sing that 'alphabet song,' ~well, I hook them up with learning the sound each letter makes. My first student learned to read by her fourth birthday. She was immediately into chapter books. My second learned to read at 3...though she took longer to string her ability to read words into sentences. She came around fast and by four was a 'reading machine.' My third daughter also learned by 4, though she is not a lover of reading, which to me is so sad. We are still encouraging her, to spend more time with a books and though she will read endless stories to her younger siblings (like 20 at a shot), she still hesitates to pick up a chapter book. When she does, she is all excited and wants to tell me detail by detail of what she is reading-baffling, I know.

I am working on reading now with my newest children. My 5 and 6 year old hadn't been read to when they came last year(through foster care), they had no attention span-but we fixed that! Now I take them to the library and they say in the most earnest of voices, "Thank YOU Mama." (like I just gave them a 5 pound chocolate bar and told them to enjoy themselves.)

King Meemer (5) is into the reading thing, Princess Sunshine (6) has some speech problems, so sounding out has become a little bit of trouble for her- though she IS reading. King Bonkie (4) who thinks he is the oldest and should lead his 5 older siblings, has decided to not get left in the 'reading dust,' and is determined that he too will read.

To teach my first, 13 years ago, I made my own simple books. I illustrated them with funny little characters and my daughter was hooked. We made many books together and so loved it. As God gave me more children, I did less book writing, by the time our third came and we were up to our eye balls in the foster care system that she was a part of, well somehow there just wasn't the time or energy. My sister in law had begun homeschooling and had showed me their 'Bob Books.' They were so like my silly wee books, but you could just plunk down a few bucks and have a little box of simple readers to get you going. If you are teaching reading, I highly recommend them. My kids love them and hey, if you can love a book-that is groovy to me. Well, so long as it is honoring to God.

I am so privileged to live in a country where homeschooling is legal, I am blessed to have the opportunity to allow my children to read wonderful books. As soon as we get the reading I will hand them a children's Bible and tell them to 'have at it.' I will teach them to bow their heads and hearts each time and ask the Holy Spirit to come to teach them His Word. After all, there is no other book that will help you more, no other book that offers you eternal life, that has the solution to your every problem-a book that points to a Savior who loved you enough to die for you!

Yes Lord, those who honor You, You will honor. Holy Spirit, teach my children to love your Word (the Bible).