learning to read - Stories of an Unschooling Family

Learning to Read and Trusting Unschooling

It is absolutely essential that we are curious people who are excited about the possibilities in life. The atmosphere in our homes gets picked up by our kids so they think it’s normal to learn, to be curious, to follow thoughts and ideas and try things out… I was battling with my kids for a while. They kept saying, ‘Why do we have to do this, Mum?” And I replied,…

Unschool Reading: A Slow Learner

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was helping my daughter Gemma-Rose learn to read. She’d choose a book and we’d sit side-by-side on the sofa and we’d enjoy the story together. Actually, I don’t know if ‘enjoy’ is the right word. Reading was a very slow process. We hardly ever got to the end of a book. I’d think, “Will Gemma-Rose ever read fluently?” which was a very…

From Around the Web: Unschooling and Learning to Read

How do unschooled children learn to read? Can we trust them to learn to read in their own time? What if a child is still not reading after a ‘reasonable’ amount of time? I’ve gathered a few blog posts from around the Internet on unschooling and learning to read. I hope you enjoy them! 1. How Late is a Late Reader? by Luminara King from Living the Education Revolution Our daughter,…

Popularity, Learning to Read and Shakespeare

Is there such a thing as a typical unschooling day? What about a typical unschooling week? Do my children spend equal time on all the key learning areas? The answer is no! We tend to get immersed in a few things at a time. This isn’t so good for my record-keeping, but it’s a very enjoyable and effective way of learning. Recently I’ve had a lot of English and Creative…

Sharing Some Thoughts on Learning to Read

I was asked to share some thoughts on learning to read and write. Shall I start with reading? When I created this blog, Gemma-Rose was almost a fluent reader so I haven’t written many stories on this topic. I will try to think back to how she did acquire these skills. Did I teach her to read, or did she learn to read by herself? A common question people ask…

Homeschooling Heidi

“Can we have another chapter of Heidi, please Mum?” begs Sophie. It’s the third time I’ve been asked that question today. “If you make me a cup of coffee and get the book ready, I’ll be there in a minute.” The girls rush off. They can’t wait for another instalment of this story. I can’t wait either. I was ten years old the last time I read Heidi. I’ve forgotten most of the…

A Little Unobtrusive Help with Reading

Many years ago, I taught my first child Felicity to read so quickly and easily, I was sure I was a brilliant homeschooling mother. What was everyone else doing wrong? Teaching a child to read? Easy! Or so I thought. Then Duncan came along and the word ‘frustrated’ became part of my everyday vocabulary. He could remember the sounds of letters, but running them together to form words was a…