The battle with reading..

Tricia - posted on 09/01/2009

Wow, I'm amazed at the amount of people whose 7 year old has the same problems. In K, Bryce didn't really have to many problems but in 1st grade there were lots. He would cry at night saying he was dumb and stupid and was never going to learn how to read. He would actually act up to be sent out of the room before the reading part of learning began, he would have so much anxiety he couldn't relax to concentrate on the job that needed to be done. I felt so horrible! After speaking to the teachers and counc. and Bryce, we started giving him below grade level books to bring him back to the basics of reading, we had simple flash cards with words like me, he, she, it.. he started to feel more successful. He just started 2nd grade and is starting to get nervous but knows he just has to concentrate.. and think about it. It's hard and a struggle almost every night but I have Hooked on Phonics that i'm going to work with him on this year. I have been very lucky with the teacher he had last year, she would call me at night to discuss ideas, and this year the teacher has kept in contact already with me to try to make Bryce feel good about things.. he even signed up to read in front of the class already!! Very ez book but he signed up on his own... :)

Dawn - posted on 08/18/2009

My son has reading problems. Writing is an issue too, along with penmenship. We are having him tested for dyslexia, dysgraphia, and some other things (he is 7 1/2 years old). My friend recommended he be tested for convergence insufficiency. It is an eyesite problem where things are blurry (what Elaine was saying). Most doctors don't test for this or know how. You can look up you insurance company and find a doc that specifically test for this. Wasn't hard for me to do. There are new findings that kids labeled with ADD actually have convergence insufficiency. Who would have known? I have found that with my son, especially at speech therapy, does well reading instructions to games, and reads well with others, but with me, he always looks at me to tell him what the words are. I make him sound out the words and go from there. Stay in touch with his teacher. Email her every week for an update if you have too (keep copies of the emails for future references). If his reading is progressing in school, but not at home, I probably wouldn't worry unless the teacher does. Good luck!!!!

Elaine - posted on 08/04/2009

My child has an issue and found out she needed glasses to read. At this age they find it hard to express what's happening. I would get eyes checked. Make sure to ask him if it looks blurry cause usually regular DR just ask to read letters never asking if it blurry. Just go to eye dr and they will let you know. good luck also sometimes its just so much for them to do, My kids are 22, 18,and 7 so I really understant the whole education system.

Shirley - posted on 07/20/2009

mo really, my son is the same way. He just want to hurry up so he can go back to playing . Just make him sound out the words and you will be suprise to learn how much he really knows. And let him know that if he doesn't learn how to read he can not go to the 2nd grade with his friends.

Cristina - posted on 05/24/2009

I agree with Tracey W. My son needed a lot of encouragement and I had to incorporate reading into everything. I would ask him to help me cook a recipe so he could read it. I would buy him video games that required him to read (like Spore Creatures) and refused to help him with the video games. Asked him to help me look for the street where I had to turn. I asked him to get me a specific product at the supermarket where he would have to read the labels. And I would never tell him a word that he was trying to read without letting him sound it out first. Always give them good feedback so they can move forward. The other thing was that he was telling me he had headaches. so I took him to get his eyes checked and turns out he needed reading glasses. If you guys haven't done this, I suggest you do. Many kids will have problems with reading because of their eyesight and they don't know how to tell you. And letting them pick out their own books is a great incentive.

Tracey - posted on 05/22/2009

i had the same issues with my daughter last year. the only advice that i can give is that most children will take one step forward with anything they do..and then regress for a short time before mastering that age appropriate skill level. be patient with him. try to find a few books that interest him. integrate reading into your everyday life. read with him before bed (even if it's just a a few minutes)...you read one page, then let him read one page. and most of all, continue to encourage and praise him for a job well done (even if he didn't do that great of a job). most kids need plenty of encouragement. the best advice my daughter's teacher gave me last year (during 1st grade) was to continue to tell her that she's one of the best readers she knows...sometimes it call comes down to confidence. best of luck to you & your child!

Amanda - posted on 04/26/2009

When it comes to reading before bed I read one page and My child reads the other. I always try to read with her like this after school. We talk about the book and compare it to our life. Sometimes it is funny some times it is a life lesson. Does your child see you read? Sometimes that helps too. Another thing is construct a phone like out of PVC pipe that way they child can hear what he is saying and he might pick it up better. Make him put it to his ear every time he reads. That is what we do in my child's classroom. I hope this works.

Maureen - posted on 04/01/2009

Hi, my boy just turned 7 last wk-n and is in Grade one. When he was in Kindergarten, he did well for both his English & Maths based on the school report card. But i found him struggling to read when he started in Grade One this year. I was worried and tried to get him to do the phonics he learnt in Kindergarten and to my horror, there were some words he couldnt recognise nor read. I hired a private phonics teacher who gives him 2 lessons a week and he's just completed 10 lessons. I am so pleased that he's able to read better now. It boils down to knowing the basics of breaking down the words to pronounciation which in pre-school is not given much emphasis. You may like to check out your local education centre on the availability of phonics lessons. Good Luck! PS: It is never too late for any child to learn the fundamentals of reading.

Holly - posted on 03/27/2009

Although, my son is doing fairly well in reading he is a perfectionist and until recently didn't like reading anything too hard. What I found worked best was to start him off with books that he could read comfortably and read that book for about 3 nights in a row. By the third time he read it he usually sounded very fluent. This seemed to help his confidence and keep him from getting discouraged.



My local library had a book called "Read Right" which I found helpful. One of the very helpful parts was a list in the back that suggested which books to start with.



What sort of reading homework is the school sending him? My son's school sends him books at his reading level to read at home & that seems to work well. It sounds like they're sending home the same reading homework to everyone, is that right?



Good luck w/ it.

Holly

Tiffani - posted on 03/25/2009

My son is 7 years old as well, we had parent teacher conferences last week with his first grade teacher. Come to find out he's excellent in mathmatics, and pretty behind in his reading. This came as no shock to me, because I could tell when we would do his homework at night, he just gets frustrated too easily with reading and takes a long time to read the books. We have decided a long with the teacher that he will be taking summer school to hopefully help with it. I'm a little worried because I know how mean and hurtful some kids can be and I don't want him to be teased. His teacher is also sending different types of books and flash cards home that I hope will help!

Taryn - posted on 03/09/2009

Boys tend to like comics and joke books. Why don't you try him on those. As for homework, may be a reward chart. Trust me it still works at this age. My son is in grade one as well and loves lego. Once he fills his reward chart I let him pick out lego and it is very exciting to him. Good luck.

Marsha-Ann - posted on 03/01/2009

I know exactly what you are going through, my son is 6 and at night it is the hardest thing to get him to read...Once he does start though if it is a book he like he is ok reading through it ( it has to be a baby book, not the ones they give at school). I am trying to get him to into Leapfrog or scholastic readers....funny because he likes games and he will read rules in a game but he get down right difficult when it comes to reading school work.

Angela - posted on 02/26/2009

What kind of books is he reading?  My son is a year older and just plain didn't like the books he had to read at school.  When he started reading books that he picked out and actually liked, he didn't have any trouble reading.  I don't have any other ideas, but  I do know your frustration.  Good luck.