Teaching Reading Philosophy

 The Learn to Read course is designed for young children.  Very young children love to be read to, and they love to read. 

I have done a fair amount of research to decide how I wanted to teach my children to read.  My method of teaching children how to read is varied.  I believe strongly in teaching children how to read as soon as they express interest in it.  A child does not have a high level of patience.  Teaching the child how to read one or two words at a time will satisfy the child's desire without overwhelming their ability.  

Reading at this age involves a lot of repetition.  When teaching colors, parents quiz on the color many times.  Eventually, the child knows the name of the color on sight.  This is the idea behind teaching sight words.  Knowing sight words isn't enough.  

Phonics generally includes: 

Ear training

Tongue training

Eye training

Word building

Spelling

Children need to learn phonics, preferably early in their education, for them to be successful readers. Once phonics is mastered, children can read pretty much anything. 

Some educators advocate teaching phonemes and letter sounds without true familiarity with the alphabet.  The use of sounds are introduced by use (such as mmmmmm first).  Many parents sabotage this method by teaching their children the ABCs.  Some educators prefer teaching children whole words, such as sight words. 

I see value to all of these, so I prefer a mixed method.  Children are taught words, phonics, and alphabet in bit size lessons to build mastery and satisfy the child's desire to learn. 

Phonics Action Word Game

 In week 1 of my new learn to read lessons, I have a phonics game.  

The instructions state: 

Teacher introduces a game where teacher pronounces action words by letter sound (ex: s-i-t), student does the action.

The purpose of this game is to get the students to hear the different parts of the word and identify them as words.  It is important that action words are used when the game is first introduced, so children can associate the sounds of the letters with the words, and the words with the actions.  Building this phonetic foundation will be helpful later.  

Be sure to pronounce each letter properly so the word can be understood. 

Here are some more examples of action words

 s-i-t  ->  the student sits

r-u-n  ->  the student runs in place

w-a-l-k  ->  the student walks in place

c-l-a-p  ->  the student claps

s-l-ee-p  ->  the student pretends to sleep

w-a-k-e  ->  the student pretends to wake

d-r-i-nk -> the student pretends to drink

f-l-y -> the student pretends to fly

 b-ow -> the student bows

m-a-r-ch -> the student marches in place

Only start with a few words like this at first.  As the student gets used to the game, add more words.  Eventually, you can have the student pick a word.  

What if my child doesn't get it? No problem! 

First, keep trying.  You only need to do a few words at a time.  You are building skills. 

Second, try modeling.  Whenever a child doesn't understand the instructions, model.  In fact, it is better to model while giving instructions!

Third, try using a book.  I love using From Head to Toe by Eric Carle as a visual for this game.  I will pronounce the action word (ex: bend) or the body part (neck) and model.  Then when I ask, can you do it? (as the book states) and my kids do the action.  

Eventually, this game will become a dictation game.  Any word can be used later.  For now, though, keep it simple. 

Being Silent

We all have opinions.  We all have voices.  Sometimes, we don't want to share our deepest thoughts.  Sometimes, we do.

What are the mediums to do this?

Social media.
Podcasts.
Opinion pieces.
 
Something that I often joke with my husband about is becoming a YouTuber.  We occasionally indulge in online distractions provided by YouTubers.  And, as a stay-at-home, work-from-home mother, there is an additional appeal of what if I can make money on the internet? I know that there is money to be made on the internet.  I teach English (as a Second Language) online through Cambly and Hallo. I have also made pocket money reviewing books and captioning videos.  Money can be made online, but it is hard.  And, it isn't always "good money".  In fact, opportunities to make money online in these ways is limited by other people.

Wanting to make money is not enough. I do not blog enough to have a following bigger than a few people.  That's not why I blog.  Will I someday? Maybe.  I don't know.  I blog because I like to write. I don't blog because I don't know what to write.  I hesitate. 

I am silent on a great many things.  Sometimes it is for the better.  Sometimes it is not.

I don't want to be silent.

But, I have anxiety.  What if I am not enough? What if they hate me?

I don't want to be silent.

But, I don't have tough skin.  What if they are trolls? What if they personally attack me?

I don't want to be silent.

Learned, but Not Taught

My three year old has been talking a lot about Jesus recently.  It is incredibly sweet to listen to him say, "Jesus loves the cats" and "Jesus is always with me."  The thing about it is, my husband and I do not necessarily talk about Jesus, using the Holy Name, often.  Rather, we usually say, "Our Lord" when referring to Jesus.

We attend the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, also known as the usus antiquior or Traditional Latin Mass, nearly exclusively.  Because the Mass is in Latin, our child hears variants of the Holy Name with Latin word endings.  And, the J sounds more like an I.

We do pray the Rosary as a family.  When we pray the Rosary, the Ave in English does use the Holy Name.  This doesn't really explain how our child knows that Jesus loves the cats or dogs or the world.

We only have one book that uses the Holy Name, which our child loves.  It talks about how Jesus is with us wherever we go.  This book does explain some of the short sentences he will say.  Yet, sometimes, the conversation goes much deeper than superficial thoughts.

So, how does he know?  Well, I have to believe it is from exposure.  Not from direct teaching, but from living life.  We don't bring books or toys to Mass with us.  He sits quietly and follows along.  We do talk to him about stained glass and stories of saints.  We do take him with us to cemeteries and ceremonies.  And, we expect him to be quiet and behave.

And, these expectations pay off.

And, he has learned very basic truths of Faith.  Not from his parents telling him, "believe this".  He has learned this through the life we live.

I have never felt overly religious.  People who know me probably laugh at that statement.  I grew up in a Catholic home.  We went to Mass.  We prayed.  We studied the Catechism.  We read the Bible.

We lived a joyous life. I still live a joyous life.

I am married to a Catholic gentlemen who loves his faith.  Yet, we do not live an overly religious life.  We take care of our children.  We care for our home.  We attend Mass.  We pray.  We study.  We meditate.  We read.  We donate our time, money, and talents to the Church.  We live a Catholic life.

Today, we were told in the sermon not to view ourselves as Traditional Catholics.  Instead, to view ourselves as Catholics, period.  My whole life, when speaking of faith, people have always said, "But, you are not like other Catholics I know" or "I am Catholic, but I don't do that."  I used to awkwardly answer that I was more traditionally minded, but that explanation never felt right.

Religious and Faith isn't something I do.  It isn't a box I check.  It is part of who I am.  Have I questioned it?  Of course! I took logic and philosophy classes to learn how to question issues of faith and morals in a truly correct manner.  I am a scientist.  I have a biology degree - I even studied genetics and evolution.  Yet, I am still Catholic.

Religion isn't sentiment.  It isn't something I do to feel good.  It isn't something I do to be charitable.  It is something I do for the love of God, or, at the very least, as an exercise in confidence that God is Just.  Religion is a form of justice.  It isn't for us.  It is giving to God what belong to Him.

So, at the end of the day, when my three year old tells me, "Jesus loves us." He is right, but it is my duty to continue living a life that is aligned with the values I wish my children will develop.  I don't want going to Church to be a necessary chore.  I want it to be a natural part of life.

Will I teach my children about God? Well, yes.  It is what is learned, not taught, which I will encourage now though.  Young children need confidence in God, like they need confidence in their parents.

Raising Bilingual Toddlers!

My toddler's favorite word isn't in English! It is SALTA, which means jump in Spanish.  The catch? I don't speak Spanish.  How am I raising a bilingual toddler?

I wrote about it! Read more!

5 Helpful Tips to Travel with Babies

My husband and I have two beautiful children.  Our children do not stop us from living exciting lives; instead, they make our lives exciting.  This includes traveling.  Some might find this crazy.  I wrote an article on the subject of travelling with children. 

One of my husband's goals is to be well-travelled.... We have a two-and-a-half-year-old son and a 10-month-old daughter. We have travelled near and far with them. The general initial reaction is either: you're crazy or you're brave. We might be a little of both, but mostly, we're strategic.

Read more here. 

It is important that we view children as blessings.  They enhance our lives; they bring us blessings.

We have taken them to the Hawthrone House in Salem, MA.

We have taken them to Colorado and New Mexico.  We stayed nestled in the mountains.

We hope to take them back to Washington.

We are planning to take them to St. Louis, Michigan, and Rhode Island this year.  It is very exciting.  They travel well, so I know they will enjoy themselves. 

Meditation - Should I Be Doing That?

What is meditation? Meditation is a valuable tool.  Should I be doing that? Simple put, yes.

Meditation is a tool for self-care, prayer, and coping.

Whether in pain, anxious, depressed - meditation is a common recommendation.  When faced with an important decision, meditation is recommended.  Meditation is recommended for athletes, students, professionals, and religious.  Meditation is recommended by therapists, nurses, doctors, homoeopathic practitioners, priests, nuns, spiritual directors, and life coaches.  The catch is: meditation may mean different things to different people.

Arguably there are two types of meditation: prayerful and self-care.  There is, of course, some crossover in these.  Praying can contribute to self-care.  Self-care may include praying.  The purpose is different.  Prayerful meditation should be focused on God.  Self-care meditation can have a variety of focuses.

Prayerful meditation can be guided or unguided.  Guided meditation may follow a rule, such as the Ignatian or Carmelite method.  It might be as simple as placing oneself in the presence of God.  It may be more complicated, like analyzing a prayer line by line.  The Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy are also guided meditations.

Unguided meditation involves praying more freely with the intent of "being still" and "knowing that" He is God.  This may be simply sitting in the presence of God's creation.  The moments of awe can be unguided meditation.

Self-care meditation can have many purposes.  It could be to improve a mood, cope with emotions, conquer a problem, and look toward the future.  Meditation can be used for weight loss, pain control in labor, and coping with mental health concerns.  Meditation can be used to learn new things and process things learned.  Meditation can be used to balance work and life.  It can be used to prioritize.

Guided meditation, which can be called self-hypnosis, involves relaxing and holding an image in your mind.  This is often done with the help of another person who guides the meditation, such as a nurse.  This can be done with recordings.  It can also be done alone.  The setting must be relaxing.  The image must be positive.  Breathing must be rhythmic.

Unguided meditation can be used as a coping mechanism used in any situation.  It involves deep breathing and banishing thoughts for a minute or two.  It can be used in the instant.

This is not intended to teach meditation; rather, just to mention it.  I am currently listening to a podcast on happiness meditation.  It is interesting to hear different methods of meditation.  If you are not meditating, it might be what you need to find a meaningful, happy work-life balance.