Back To School!

Well, for us, it's not actually "back to school."

Since we'd done a lot of "home school" type of stuff with our oldest son beginning when he wasn't even able to talk, he's a little ahead of the crowd.  Putting him in kindergarten to learn the numbers while we'd already started teaching him multiplication seemed silly.  So, we kept him out until 1st grade...  this year!

He's doing fine, and while he knows most of the material, they are covering some things we didn't.  Hopefully he won't get too bored too soon!  With this being a pretty big event for him, a lot of attention has been focused on hiim.  While we have attempted to not let it get out of hand, our other son has made it quite clear that he feels a little left out.

Our schedules have changed since our oldest was that age, so we don't have as much time to focus on education as we did,  However, it's still a high priority!  Seeing his big brother going to school to LEARN and READ has not gone unnoticed by this little tot.  He has actually asked myself and his mother to teach him to read so he can go to school like his brother (imagine what a wonderful world it would be if all kids could read by the time they went to school!)  He already knows all of the letters and the sounds they make, but until now, he hasn't exhibited his brother's zeal for learning.  Perhaps we can put his jealousy to his advantage!

Last night, after he repeated his request to learn to read, I put him in front of one of the sight words videos I'd made for his brother.  Actually, we watched four of them!  He sat in my lap, bolt upright, and soaked it up like a sponge.  Later, his mom read to him from the Bible and then a bedtime story.

I hope you can find some quiet little way to encourage your little ones to WANT to read!  Don't leave it up to the schools to do all of the teaching.  The difference between a mediocre student and an excellent one is often the involvement of the parents!

Here's one of my kindergarten sight words video I have on Youtube.
Try setting your little ones down in front of it in full screen mode and reading the words as they come across the screen.  Before long, they'll be reading the words to you!  If you combine these with early reader books with stories composed exclusively of these words, the results can be amazing!



Good luck and feel free to share any thoughts you have!