Thursday, April 3, 2008

Home Education Week

Dana's prompt for today is a blog edition of Show & Tell.

Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game.

Reading is big in our house. We have been reading aloud to both children since they were born. I firmly believe that reading aloud has more impact on a child learning to read than any whole-language or phonics program (although phonics certainly has its place). This year Emily Anne has been learning phonics at 4K preschool, and I've been supplementing with The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading. The other night, she pulled out her Bob books and read four of them to her little brother. That was such a sweet moment!

Will has also had his accomplishment this week. His grandmother gave him a Go, Diego, Go rolling bookbag, and he was having fun pulling the handle up and down. Each time, he pulled, he counted! He began with five and counted up to ten. He also counted each time he took a step on the stairs yesterday. I sporadically have counted things in pictures as we've read, but I've not made a conscious effort to teach him counting. I believe this is just what he's picked up from his big sister!

So that's our Show & Tell this week. If you have a chance, check out today's edition of Thirstin for the Word Thursday. My post today is also in honor of Home Education Week.

4 comments:

Shari Ellen said...

Having a big sister will really help him academically. Today, I overheard my daughter teaching her 6-year-old sister about estimation using the VHS tapes and DVDs. She also was teaching her about 3 feet in a yard and how to estimate a yard. I don't have my 6-year-old do a lot of formal work because she learns all day long from the older 4 siblings.

Anonymous said...

Reading aloud is so important and enjoyable for both parents and children. That's great you've been reading to your kids from birth. I wish I had read aloud more when the kids were younger, and still read aloud with them now (they are 7 and 10). My younger one seemed to learn many skills faster than his big brother, since he learned so much from watching him.

Heather said...

We love reading aloud still (mine are older). Great accomplishments.

Brumbemom said...

Thank you for your comment on my blog. I enjoyed reading yours as well. It is very exciting, isn't it, just beginning your homeschool journey? I envy you a little bit. My oldest will be graduating next year. Time flies, make the most of their young years! Have a great weekend.
Michele