How do you make the read each day?

[mhaddon]

My son is 7 years old and is so active he won't even sit and watch TV. Getting him to sit still for a block of school is almost impossible. I tried to implement so long in his bedroom for reading time and it has never happened :( He always builds, cleans, etc. Anything other than sitting still and reading. I do audio books and he absorbs them, but his reading is behind and he tires quickly when I make his sit and read with me. Even then it is only a few pages and he has to get up and do something. I feel this is putting him further behind. He told me he read all 6 of his level 1 library books in the van today, but I really don't believe him because of how laborious it is for him normally. He probably went through all the pictures.

 

So how do I help him? I have tried setting aside time for only reading and I may as well be trying to wrestle an alligator to get him to do it.

[MamaSheep]

:bigear: I have the same problem with my dd.

[Classically Minded]

My dd8 likes to move while she reads sometimes but as long as she is reading I don't mind. One of her favorite places to read is while she is riding the exercise bike lol. She is kinesthetic, so maybe you have a child that is too, she learns best by moving.

[mhaddon]

He is auditory first and then kinesthetic. His visual is as low as possible... which makes the reading part hard. We also live on a farm so he has room to roam and play and a LOT to keep occupied. She during the day he even hates to be inside and reading outside doing the things he would be doing isn't possible. I was hoping with the heat and being in he'd read, but that hasn't happened. :glare:

[raceNzanesmom]

We try to read after lunch while the house is calm and quiet. I remind him before lunch that he has to read. He usually reads 3-5 pages to me, then he spends a few minutes at snack time and bedtime with books. I know he isn't always "reading" them but he's enjoying them. Then I read to him right before bed. We do devotions over breakfast and discussion with dad at dinner.

[EmmaNadine]

Have you had him screened for ADHD? It may be possible that he literally can't sit still. My son is like that.

[lea1]

I think it starts out with really good read-alouds. If you find read-alouds that really suck them in and make them want to hear what happens next, that gets them more excited about books in general.

 

While you are doing lots of read-alouds, you should also have him read aloud to you every day. Start out doing just a page or so and then increase a bit over time. You can buddy read, where you read a page and he reads a page, etc.

 

The more he reads, the easier it will become for him. The more he sits and listens to read-alouds (while coloring or playing with cars or lego on the floor) and hears really good books that he finds interesting and engaging, the more he will fall in love with books and reading in general.

[mhaddon]

He loves read alouds, he listens to them on his Ipod all the time through the librivox app I found. He devours them. He listened to the Chronicals of Narnia straight through in a weeks time when he was four years old. He LOVES books and to be read to. About a page later he is done if reading to me. I try daily, but sometimes it is a battle :(

[JumpyTheFrog]

Have you tried having him read after a long, hard exercise session?

[chepyl]

My DS has to read every morning before he gets to do anything else. He earns video game time that way. He has to get up, get dressed, brush his teeth, and read a picture book/Dr Seuss book or 15 minutes from a higher level book. I don't care what he reads, as long as he reads daily. He is an excellent reader, but dislikes reading. I try not to push it so much that he starts to hate it.

[Classically Minded]

He is auditory first and then kinesthetic. His visual is as low as possible... which makes the reading part hard. We also live on a farm so he has room to roam and play and a LOT to keep occupied. She during the day he even hates to be inside and reading outside doing the things he would be doing isn't possible. I was hoping with the heat and being in he'd read, but that hasn't happened. :glare:

I had read a story last night from "School is Where the Home Is" by Anita Mellott and it shared a story about a homeschooling mother who had a son that just didn't want to read. He even felt the same up until age 9.

 

Also, Max Elliot Anderson, who was a reluctant reader himself as a boy, now writes children's books and offers help for reluctant readers:

http://www.maxbooks.9k.com/

[mhaddon]

That is very encouraging, thank you :) I keep hoping, I was an avid reader and still am. I will devour 800 pages easily in a day. I always have a book with me and did from the time I started reading. So that makes it even more frustrating.

 

This is the child that went to cub scout camp and played hard non stop and still wouldn't go to be until 11 am. The director was my friend and didn't believe me and during the water slide time made him run the entire hour we were at that station and he was still going strong. He was blown away and finally believed me on how much energy he has :lol:

[Tracy]

Have you tried "trade reading" with him, where you take turns reading something of high interest to him? At first, you may just have him read a sentence per page. This is a great way to detect where he is having difficulty.

[mhaddon]

We do trade reading, and I do help. I'm not sure how much help I should be giving?? Gosh this is hard. I'm rethinking homeschooling him :( My going to be K son is sooo much easier and focuses and tries. It's hard not to compare.

[Tracy]

We do trade reading, and I do help. I'm not sure how much help I should be giving?? Gosh this is hard. I'm rethinking homeschooling him :( My going to be K son is sooo much easier and focuses and tries. It's hard not to compare.

 

I totally understand. My dd7 shows signs of ADD, and though she can read very well, she just doesn't. She may pick up a book and page through it and read a paragraph here or there, but never all the way through. My ds4 can focus so much easier on the task at hand. (I realized recently that giving him a bath takes a fraction of the time that it did for dd at that age, and even now. And that is very good example of how things are across the board with each of them.)

 

Please do not think, though, that a b&m school will be better equipped to teach your ds. This is the type of child that falls through the cracks. You will have teachers that press you to medicate him. He will come home with homework every day that will take you and him hours to get through (even though other kids could do it in less than an hour).

 

I recently went to a homeschool conference and went to a presentation on "the distractible child." I had never considered that my dd had ADD, because she is actually quite bright and accellerated in most subjects. But I couldn't deny the many similarities. (I actually bawled throughout the entire class, and that is not like me at all.) I am still not sure that she has ADD, but she most certainly has some executive function issues. I saw in that session that there were many things that I could do to make it easier for her to focus. I would encourage you to look into ADD and executive function deficits to see if there are things that you can do to provide more support to your ds.

[Mom22ns]

My kinesthetic auditory learner moves constantly. She was also an early reader. The keys for her were books she wanted to read and letting her move.

When I read, she is always doing something, with her hands, sitting on an exercise ball, always something. When she reads, it help if she lays on her stomach and can kick her feet. She can also read while sitting on a ball.

 

My kid with attention issues actually hyperfocuses on books, so I haven't dealt with it from a purely focus standpoint.

[Writerdaddy]

Hi there,

 

I have an 8yr old son who is somewhat similar. he's an impressive physical specimen, very kinesthetic, and seemed low on visual. he also hates to read. however, although he likes some audio books that are way below his level, he would never be able to listen to Chronicles of Narnia like your son does-- the vocab is way beyond him.

 

One thing that has helped a lot was helping him to visualize as he is reading. I have used Visualizing and Verbalizing workbooks (but without a manual or knowing the techniques of the program, which probably reduces the effectiveness considerably), and the IdeaChain program, which has the whole technique spelled out. This is very expensive, but it seemed to help a lot.

 

My other strategy now is to adopt a "write to read" approach, putting reading on the back burner and seeing how far he can go with writing, which is a more active thing and something he sometimes likes to do. I have not started yet and don't have any resources about that, but just the idea that if we work, work, work on writing he will get all the benefits like vocab acquisition, and improve his reading comprehension indirectly. I am sure someone and some company somewhere has worked out a curriculum on this idea (I mean more than spell to write and read-- more directly "write to read"), but it would mean going beyond just the copywork and dictation of WTM.

 

And by the way, although some kids might calm down after a lot of exercise, there is no amount of exercise that will wear my boy out. yours sounds the same.

[TriciaS]

Had his vision been checked? My daughter was fighting reading, and it turned out she had 20/200 vision in one eye! We couldn't tell, because in most situations, her good eye (which was 20/20) would take over. Is it possible it's hard for him to focus on the words on the page?

 

Otherwise, :grouphug:! I have a feeling my 4 year old dd will be like that, so I'm :bigear:!

[mhaddon]

Thanks for the encouragement. It is hard when all his friends are reading. He was upset at cub scout camp because he was the only one not reading. I thought that might motivate him, but it didn't.

 

We have had his eyes check and they are fine. (for now) he will eventually need glasses with the family history :)

[PeterPan]

He's old enough to get a proper eval with a neuropsych to check for ADHD, etc., and sounds like you have plenty of reason. Definitely wouldn't give up on homeschooling with what you're seeing, not till you know what's behind it. As far as the eyes, a developmental optometrist screens for extra things that affect school work, so you might pursue that for his next check instead of a regular one. It's just one of those good things to eliminate. I had 2 regular optometrists clear my dd before the developmental optometrist finally caught the problems.

[mazakaal]

My 8yo has to read aloud to me for 10 minutes as part of his school time. He rarely reads to himself at all during the day because there's just too much playing to be done. But he takes a long time to fall asleep at night and I let him read in bed until 10pm. That's when he does the majority of his reading.

[mammaofbean]

My ds is a total fidget. He is always climbing on the back of the sofa, etc when he reads. His reading skills are fantastic, he just needs to use them more. He has recently become interested in comic books. He doesn't always read the whole thing, but I figure eventually he will. And not a story, but still reading, he loves joke books. Really anything with lists of facts or short passages works great for him. Also, if I tell him he can read or go to sleep he will always choose reading.

[sewingmama]

My DD can't sit still to read either. She paces the house as she reads or jumps on the mini-tramp.

 

The other thing that I found that helps is to give her silly putty to play with - that focuses the movement into her hands and she can sit still next to me for long periods of time without moving anything else and read from a book I hold for her.

 

She is also happy to read if the only other alternative is bed and sleep ;) I tell her she can only stay up if she is reading a book in bed - she's usually had plenty of movement during the day which helps her stay stiller and also helps wind her body down to sleep.

[chepyl]

That is very encouraging, thank you :) I keep hoping, I was an avid reader and still am. I will devour 800 pages easily in a day. I always have a book with me and did from the time I started reading. So that makes it even more frustrating.

 

This is the child that went to cub scout camp and played hard non stop and still wouldn't go to be until 11 am. The director was my friend and didn't believe me and during the water slide time made him run the entire hour we were at that station and he was still going strong. He was blown away and finally believed me on how much energy he has :lol:

 

Not all kids or even adults are readers. Use, he needs to be able to read and needs to do his school reading, but some people just don't read for fun. DH does not read novels or other books.for pleasure. He reads to educate himself. Every now and then is will pick up a novel, it is rare; but he reads gardening books like crazy!

 

I am trying to find.books that my son will get into like that. He loves Star wars and Harry Potter movies and Wii games. He has all of the books for both series, but he is.not interested.in reading them. He has tried and cam read them, but loses interest. I may look for cheat sheet type books on his favorite games, I think he would debpur those, of I could find one.

 

We traded off reading for six.months.before he was solid and comfortable. I make him read to me daily during school. If you think there is a problem - get his vision checked. Otherwise, read together and try different types of books that match his interests. One book DS did love was a paper airplane book and a.simple oragami book. Does he like to build and creat things? Get a book that requores him to read and follow directions to make something. Have him read the recipe while you make cookies or a cake. Let him find a new dinner recipe and tell ypu how to make it. My biggest advice is really not to push it. The jarder I pushed for DS to like reading, the less he wanted to read. If I just have a simple requirement and keep a large variety of books, he will read.

 

My sister was a good reader in.elementary, but she hayed reading. She only read scripts for shows she was in and required school books until 8th grade. As an adult she reads.more than I do. My mom.never pushed, just brought her different books.until she found the book that made her fall in love with reading.

[kolamum]

Unless I'm reading your sig wrong, your son is only 6, I'm not sure he can be too far behind at that age. :grouphug:

[Murrayshire]

My DD can't sit still to read either. She paces the house as she reads or jumps on the mini-tramp.

 

The other thing that I found that helps is to give her silly putty to play with - that focuses the movement into her hands and she can sit still next to me for long periods of time without moving anything else and read from a book I hold for her.

 

She is also happy to read if the only other alternative is bed and sleep ;) I tell her she can only stay up if she is reading a book in bed - she's usually had plenty of movement during the day which helps her stay stiller and also helps wind her body down to sleep.

 

:iagree:with the putty! We use thinking putty. http://www.timberdoodle.com/Thinking_Putty_s/289.htm

AND glow in the dark putty

http://www.timberdoodle.com/Glow_in_the_Dark_Thinking_Putty_p/284-glow.htm

 

My ds, 6 yrs old, can ONLY have it while he is reading. We use the glow in the dark putty at bedtime with a reading light on his book.

He reads aloud to me after breakfast and in the evenings after bath (or right before bed) Those are his calm moments of the day! I read aloud during the day and after he reads to me at night from his favorite read alouds.

[lindblomnest]

I would try letting him do a quiet activity that relates to the story you're reading while you read aloud to him. For example, I'm reading Little House to my 4 and 6 year olds right now and I let them build log cabins with our lincoln logs while we read about Pa building the house.

My son sometimes gets that nervous energy when he is made to sit for a long while as well. There are times when he is more comfortable standing and wiggling a little while he reads, so I let him if we're just reading for fun. Maybe it's a boy thing.

[Ellyndria]

My 7 year old gets to stay up later if he reads in bed. He would definitely rather read than have lights out earlier! Obviously, the child would have to have a desire to stay up later if this incentive were to work.

 

I also told myself that just looking at the pictures counts too. When he was learning to read, he would do his lesson with me during the day, but for other reading (I would "let" him read in the car, another motivator), he could do whatever he wanted. Looking at pictures eventually became reading a few sentences here and there on interesting pages, which lead to reading the whole book. Science books in subjects he was interested in were a hit.

 

Now, he still prefers picture books or things like Calvin and Hobbes to chapter books, but he has read a few chapter books on occasion. I'm still trying to figure out how to get him more interested in longer chapter books though.

[Scook86]

My ds is the same way. He will sit and listen to read alouds and audio books but he doesn't want to be the one actually reading.

[Scook86]

My DD can't sit still to read either. She paces the house as she reads or jumps on the mini-tramp.

 

The other thing that I found that helps is to give her silly putty to play with - that focuses the movement into her hands and she can sit still next to me for long periods of time without moving anything else and read from a book I hold for her.

 

I think we may try the silly putty idea. Sounds like it might work! Thanks!

[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

If you are working on short vowels, make 20 word cards on index cards or small pieces of paper: map, cut, cop, tap, etc. Put them in a container across the room or go outside and put them far away. Have him run to the container, bring back a card, sound it out. Then, run to get another...

 

Also, my nonsense word game is fun. If he needs running in between for that, too, put the cards far away and run to pick them up as part of the game.

 

Oral spelling reinforces reading and can be done while running off energy.

 

You can also have him read books one sentence at a time, running around the house between sentences. At the end of each page, you can read the whole page to him so that the story is not lost.

Edited July 6, 2012 by ElizabethB