And some not so subtle. He's already blown past his 350-page reading goal for the entire summer and is upwards of 400 pages now. Granted, they are early reader books, but wow.
1) Brady himself told me the other night, "I'm reading better and better!" He's right. He recognizes more words immediately. His reading pace has increased. His enthusiasm for reading has picked up and his confidence is growing.
2) We stood at the pool, dripping wet, between the Men's and Women's restrooms. He used to always come in the Women's with me but he's too old for that now, but not quite old enough to get completely undressed in the Men's.
Then Brady says, "Oh look, that one says 'Family.'" Yes! He found the family restroom I hadn't even seen. Yay for reading!
3) We parked in front of a restaurant and he asks, very perplexed, "Why does that sign say 'We buy gold?'" Ah, the mysteries of modern society. Here's what we have done to encourage reading:
Rewards
For us this includes the Reading Store that we do at home and a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese for meeting his goal.
Reading programs
He likes to see his name and number of books he's read on the board at the local library and he's excited to get certificates from his school's program and the state of Kansas.
Library time
We go every three weeks and check out new books. This becomes a fun part of our routine.
The reading teacher at Brady's school recommended this website, Raz-kids.com and it is awesome! You find the level your kid is at and they "earn" stars by listening to the book, reading the book and then answering a quiz. There is an extensive "book room" to find titles they like.
You use the stars to "buy" equipment, accessories and even aliens to adorn a "space ship." Brady is motivated by numbers and loves the idea of earning stars. He is really enjoying this website. It is working for us. Check it out!
Posts
I'm so happy to hear that your son is enjoying reading. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. For him, math comes easily and with great joy. Reading we need to work a bit more on, but he has really embraced the challenge!
DeleteGood for him!! I cant wait to start teaching my Daughter to read.. She already loves books so Im hoping it not to much of a challenge
ReplyDeleteHow old is she? Brady has always loved books. I have read to him, with him, for as long as I can remember. But the process of learning to read has been a bit frustrating for him. But I think that love of stories will propel him forward, with a little encouragement from mom!
DeleteLove love love reading! I will check out raz kids, thanks!
ReplyDeleteLet me know if raz works for you. I had a particular "page" set up by Brady's reading teacher. But it looks as though anyone can use it to some extent.
Delete