for kids learning to read--posture, distance from page, height above page/table, etc.

[gardening momma]

We do our reading lessons at the dining room table. That seems to work best for us. But dd usually puts her chin down on the table or on the book while we're doing our lesson. She's very wiggly during lessons and gets very distracted, so I mostly put it down to that. I don't think it's her eyesight, although we haven't had it checked yet. The other issue is that unless she kneels on the chair, she isn't very high above the table/book, so when I point at a word in the book, I have to be careful that my hand doesn't block her view, even when her head isn't down on the table.

 

What do you think? Does it matter how she sits? I try to get her to sit up, but I was wondering if the angle or distance from which she reads the book will make any difference. Down low, up above, book angled (like on a cookbook stand), etc...?

Edited July 3, 2009 by gardening momma

[KJB]

One of my sons used to run laps around our kitchen island and stop to read a word before running another lap.

 

My other son would hang upside down on the couch occasionally flipping himself into a backroll.

 

My girls both cuddled on my lap. With my eldest, I made the mistake of holding the book myself. With my other little girl who is still learning, I let her hold the book.

 

My children have all read early and read well.

 

For the pointing to a word, I have a few ideas for you:

 

1. you could rewrite the isolated word on a white board and then wipe it and write another after dd reads the particular word.

 

2. you could use a sharp pencil to point to the word in the book.

 

3. you could use index cards to rewrite the word (which is nice because then dd can hold the word and hang upside down if she likes) or move the card under the word

 

4. you could rewrite the word with alphabet tiles or just plain old pencil and paper

[tex-mex]

Has she had a basic eye exam to rule out any need for glasses? The squirminess is normal... she may just have that need to roam a bit as sitting still probably isn't her learning style? Keep in mind that her attention span for her age is limited. In my day, we would do a group lesson on the carpet/whiteboard area and then break them up into learning groups for a 15-20 minute session and then rotate them to another area. She just may be too young to sit still?

Edited July 3, 2009 by tex-mex

[Dirtroad]

Back has to be straight and legs to the floor (not necessarily touching). DD wants to sit on her knees & bob around. That is distracting to her eyes on the page... I make her stop. DS like to lean on elbows and read closer to page... bad for his eyes & his posture... I make him stop.

 

I explain to them that good posture enhances the reading experience. To focus on the page and read at a steady rate, they need to be still. To not injure their eyes with strain, etc... they need to be elbow distance away from the page.

 

I do let them snuggle on couch to read... but still require they manintain distance, good lighting, and being still!

[gardening momma]

To focus on the page and read at a steady rate, they need to be still. To not injure their eyes with strain, etc... they need to be elbow distance away from the page.

These two things are my primary concerns--that she sits still enough to read continuous words, not just words in isolation (although I do like the suggestions given for that), and that she isn't harming her eyes by reading from 5 inches away.

 

We're doing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and there are always exercises with isolated words--I can write those on a whiteboard or index card. But there are stories to be read also, and she gets very distracted and loses her spot all the time. A couple of days ago we were working on sounding out a word silently, and then reading the word out loud "the fast way" as the book calls it. I used Smarties candy as an incentive for that, and it worked (she got one candy if she could sound out the word silently and not let me hear her working on it, and if she said the word correctly). I did that just one day, and she's doing great with sounding out silently. I might use it for keeping her spot while she's reading sentences.