My kids have all learned to read late. My earliest learned at the age of 8. My others all learned at age 9. My youngest just clicked with reading a couple of weeks ago. This isn't necessarily because of unschooling. I took my oldest out of school after first grade. She'd been learning her letters and phonics since preschool. I read voluminously to my kids. But actual reading; the ability to sit and consistently decode words comes late to my offspring. To make a long story short they all have been diagnosed with the same eye-tracking/focus/fatigue problems. Probably it is genetic. We go to a vision therapist to help the kids get those eye muscles to cooperate. Whenever they finally click with reading it is such a joyous occasion!
There are actually many benefits to learning to read 'late.' It builds character in the mother! One learns patience! And you don't have to wade through the twaddle that passes for children's literature. My kids have been ready to read grade level books within less than a year of things clicking. And then you would never guess they hadn't been reading for forever! In an earlier post, I mentioned how cartoons and comic books served as their first readers of choice, but they soon moved into chapter books.
Here's our top ten list of first chapters books:
1. My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
2. Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
3. The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill
4. American Girl series (the Felicity series was our first introduction to these books)
5. The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner (the original series)
6. Bunnicula series by James Howe
7. Wayside School series by Louis Sachar (These, perhaps, should be in the number one spot!)
8. Frindle by Andrew Clements
9. Books by Roald Dahl
10. Encyclopedia Brown books by Donald Sobol
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