Week #13 - The Joys of Reading

When I was figuring out how I was going to teach Owen to read, I consulted many sources. The three main sources of whose opinions I valued the most were my two sisters and one sister-in-law, all of whom had used this book. They swore by it and said they wouldn't use any other. I read reviews online and it got some good ones. I decided to give it a whirl and ordered my copy of this book. But, being the skeptic that I can be sometimes, still had my doubts.

Am I ever so glad I did order this book AND listen to my sisters. I love this book!!! It is simple to follow; simple to understand; simple to use; simple for the parent and child alike. Sixty-two lessons ago, Owen started this book. He is now reading this book as well as other very simple books. In fact, the other night when Adam was home, Owen read the book "Goodnight Moon" to Adam.

There have been some serious frustrations on my part in teaching Owen to read. I'm sure he has experienced them as well. There were some lessons where it felt like we were going 1 step forward, 3 steps back. A 20 minute once a day lesson was turning into an hour lesson once a day. It became a source of struggle, conflict, contention and bad feelings between the both of us. He was dreading the reading time and, frankly, so was I.

I tried explaining to Owen how important it was that he learned to read. I said to him, "Reading is the key to freedom. If you can read, you can learn to do anything." I got the glazed-over, what-in-the-world-is-she-talking-about look. He said he understood but still, the frustration, anxiety and uncertainty lingered.

I finally sent up the flare and white flag in surrender and told Adam he had to do it. I was done! I couldn't take it anymore. No matter what I tried, he just didn't seem to understand. So, the infinitely more patient parent that I, sat down quietly with Owen and got him over the humps of frustration and insecurities (to which there are LOTS!). Slowly, ever so slowly, Owen began to understand the joys of reading.

When he and Adam would finish a lesson with the story at the end, Owen giddy with excitement and pride would run to find me clutching the book. He would flip open the page to his lesson and read me the short story at the end. It wasn't much, but the ego boosting and confidence was returning to this sweet child.

Having completed yet another lesson in this book, I am so incredibly grateful that Owen is discovering that he really can do something (after large amounts of ego stroking and "you can do its") and seeing his confidence bloom over discovering the joys of reading is all worth it to this proud mom!