Familyties Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I have been struggling with my oldest son for years (he is in 5th grade). When he was little he couldn't get enough of books. We used to read to him all the time. Well around 1st grade he stopped enjoying books and reading. I thought it was a "public school thing" that really turned him off to it. Well we are in our second of year of HSing and I don't see the love of reading coming back at all. I allow him to pick out any book that he wants to read...even Lego magazines, non-fiction books, etc. We also read together (take turns) and I continue to read books to him. Now my youngest who is in 1st grade is going through the exact same thing. He loved books and it seems like lately he doesn't want anything to do with them. I need some help/advice, etc. TIA.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Perhaps something else is getting in the way of enjoying reading? Could (I'm just guessing here) your boys just be to busy for reading, or books. As in from there point of view they could instead be watching tv, playing video games, ... And books just can't compete with the fore mentioned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familyties Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 Thanks for all the advice! Just wanted to answer some of the questions...there are no video games allowed during the week and they don't watch much tv. Vision has been checked...my oldest needed glasses in 1st grade. I don't give a quiz after reading books because I am trying to bring the love of reading back. Most of the time they both want to read at night before bed so they are in a comfy place. I did offer incentives over the summer, but didn't think about bringing it back during the school year. Maybe I should re-think that. I will definitely keep trying!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 What do they do when they are not doing school? Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familyties Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 While not in school they play with legos (both LOVE legos), beyblades, baseball, basketball, go to the park, ride bikes, play with friends, etc. They do watch tv at night after it gets dark, but not for extended periods of time. They watch a variety of shows..cartoons, animal planet...both love to watch movies. I have looked up popular books online in a variety of genres and let the kids decide what looks interesting to read. They can choose anything from fiction to non-fiction and everything in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathesan1 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 My son is an excellent although reluctant reader. I bought him some Calvin and Hobbes books and some Tin Tin books...he loved them!! He also read other graphic novels during this time. I let him stay up as late as he wants as long as he is reading books (no toys, no video games, just books) and now he reads on his own!! Granted, he is a very busy child, so doesn't read as much as I did as a child but he will pick up a book and read it on his own without prodding. i think that the Calvin and Hobbes books helped show him that reading isn't just work but can also be entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Do they enjoy audiobooks and read alouds? Many fifth graders are not too old for reading aloud. If they do, then I would assume it's potentially a reading problem, a vision problem or something that is making it hard for him to read. If they don't like those... perhaps they're having trouble understanding some basics of story or vocabulary. Or perhaps they just don't like fiction and nonfiction would be a better pick. I agree with trying comics... Amulet is a great one. Or Bone - both for your fifth grader. And I would say try nonfiction. There are great nonfiction titles for first or fifth grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familyties Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 My oldest (5th grade) does listen to audio books...he loves those. Both kiddos are listening to greek mythology right now and my oldest seems to enjoy it much more than my younger one. I am reading a biography out loud to both right now. Is it the "Who was (insert name) series? I let them pick so they take turns. Both love listening to stories, but I guess I don't see the interest in picking up a book on their own and just reading it. Maybe I am expecting too much...... I would love some recommendations for my 1st and 5th grader. My 1st grader picks books own his own at the library. We usually go when my oldest is in science class so I research popular books and pick out a handful and bring them home for him to choose. My oldest loves non-fiction as he loves to learn about geography and other countries. They also love reading their Lego books about building. Typing this all out makes me realize they do love books, but just don't love reading spontaneously on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 My kids LOVE reading comic books like Peanuts and Garfield. My second grader will sit and read aloud to her 5 yo brother Calvin and Hobbes for thirty minutes at a time. Remember that even though it is a comic book, a small child is still practicing reading words and decoding meanings. My reluctant reader is in the 5th grade. She was in 3rd before she really got very fluent. Reading was SO much of an effort that she just disliked it. It was hard work! I played games (Peggy Kaye's book Games for Reading has lots of suggestions) with her, let her read my shopping list, the menu, store advertisements, anything to promote the decoding. My girlie loves to draw, so I would create instruction lists (1. Draw a barn in the middle of the paper. 2. To the left of the barn draw a cow 3. Draw a farmer in front of the barn) for her to read to practice her words. She loved this. All of these exercises helped her practice and become more fluent. We have some children's books that are in a series with brightly colored pictures about the earth, animals, space, etc. Sort of like kid's encyclopedias. They like to look through them and read them one or two pages at a time. I don't care whether they (in elementary) spontaneously Love picking a book and read through the whole thing. I just want them to read and decode well. Also, finding series of books is great. My dd got audio books from the library in a book series that she loved. They only had the first two books in the series, and she got hooked. She finished the series reading the books alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 In addition to checking vision - could the kid need glasses? Does reading give him a headache? - pick some books for mandatory read-aloud with YOU - try the Little Britches series by Ralph Moody - you both alternate reading a page aloud for a set period of time or length (one chapter a day sounds about right). And make sure those Tintin books and Calvin and Hobbes are laying around for him to see.....Oh - and yourself read the first chapters of Reading Reflex. Get it from the library or buy at Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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