The Secret Art of Reading

Being a Kindergarten teacher for many years, I have been asked so often about how children learn to read. I think it really depends on the individual child BUT, at the moment Orlando is very keen to read everything that he sees. It has got me thinking and reflecting and I wanted to share a few of these thoughts.


 
This is by no means a "how to teach your child to read.." passage, just some reflections and ideas I thought I would share.

Just before leaving on our holiday, I was reading a very old and very outdated book on children's literacy. It was "On learning to read: the child's fascination with meaning" by Bruno Bettelheim. Now this chap had a lot of twisted ideas and blamed mothers for everything BUT he had a few points that got me thinking...

He was discussing how in the olden days (even old when he was writing it, so were talking WAY BACK) the book that was most commonly read was the Bible. Most people were illiterate and those who did know how to read were seen to know the 'secrets' and wisdom that was contained in the Bible. Those who could read were able to access the mysteries! This was a great motivation for people to learn to read, as they could then be able to access what other were.


When we then think about writing and reading from a child's perspective today... Adults and older peers are able to read. They are able to access the text rich world that we live in, where as younger children rely on the picture to interpret meaning. Many children are eager to learn the secret art of reading so that they too can access the world around them.

The only real way we are going to assist a child to become literate is to give them the passion and motivation to want to become literate. If they don't have the want, there will never be a way... no matter how hard you try.

So, as parents, it is drilled into us (and rightly so) that we must read to our children.  I agree whole heartedly with this... read, read and read! But read INTERESTING books. Beautiful texts that are rich with melody and rhyme. Texts that are inspiring and leave the child's imagination zooming from one place to another.

These books develop a passion for text, a desire to hear and know all the wonderful stories of the world (any one who knows my children, knows that the fastest way to their heart is to sit and read with them... and it is the adults who have had enough LONG before the children have :))

So at 4/5/6 ish most children who have this passion for books and stories are going to want to start accessing the books independently. They are wanting to read the signs around them and to tell others stories. They now have the passion AND the motivation! PERFECT!!! So what do we give them, to assist them to learn to read? READERS....

Anyone read one lately? OMG how stupid do the writers believe children to be? How could anyone go into writing and write such monotonous crap! "I can run. I can jump. I can swing. I can walk." snore!!!

Then kids sit and think..... WHAT! this is what I've been working up to? This is the secrets I've been waiting to access?

It is not motivating to read this rubbish! There are no secrets discovered from reading it! There is nothing for my imagination to explore! I have learnt nothing.

The only motivating fact is that we as adults create such a fuss over the fact that the child is 'reading' that they believe this is a way to receive praise and attention from adults.

I don't even consider these beginner readers as even reading... the adult assists you to read the title, which is then repeated through EVERY page of the book and you can look at the picture and guess what the other word is.... thats not reading, its parroting and guessing!

And then we wonder why many children have no motivation to read at school? With these readers we are not valuing children's capabilities and intelligence.

I completely acknowledge that there are situations where children need specific skills and knowledge taught to them to assist them to connect the gaps in their understanding. These need to be done on an individual or small group basis as 75% of the children will have worked out what sound an 's' makes without a formal lesson about it.

So as a parent, with a 5 year old who is chomping at the bit to read, is full of motivation and passion and wants to soak up the literate world around him... what am I doing to support his budding literacy?

- We are continuing to read AMAZING stories and chapter books full of adventure!

- We are talking about words. When Orlando asks about what that sign says... I say .. "Why don't you read it! Have a try and I'll help you if you need". He has a try, he finds the sounds he knows, I give him the ones he doesn't, "In this word the 'tion' makes a 'shun' sound"

- In this fashion we read signs everywhere, when in context children can read words far harder than we give them credit for. Particularly at the moment with all of our bush walking, Orlando is reading us all the warnings and directions that we need! and LOVING it.

- When reading interesting picture books together, I ask Orlando to read some of the more simple words, we take turns and share.

- Orlando reads books that he 'knows' to Matilda, whether he gets all the word right or not doesn't matter, he is still getting the satisfaction of 'reading'

I completely acknowledge at this point that I have an intelligent young chap who is keen to learn everything the world has to offer. Many children are not always so keen. Having had many a Kindy over the years, I have had to help numerous students who just "didn't get it". In acknowledging all of this, I still maintain that a passion and motivation to want to learn on the child's part is the most important factor in the whole event. We need to be careful to fuel this passion, not extinguish it by feeding them rubbish!

Let's maintain a sense that the written word is full of secrets, mysteries and delicious information that you just have to get your teeth in to!

Crunchy Clusters

For breakfast, I'm a sour dough toast gal. Not a cereal fan... at all. I can bring my self to the occasional bowl of porridge but the isles full of breakfast cereals in the supermarket don't interest me in the slightest. I've learnt to eat muesli but, my preference is the toasted stuff, which I've heard it is full of butter and honey/sugar and that's why it tastes good!

I also find that the best toasted muesli is the highly expensive muesli clusters. These are usually tiny boxes and for some reason as always made to be EXTRAORDINARILY sweet! I can not handle that level of sweetness first thing in the morning and I definitely DON'T want the kids to start the day off with that level of sugar.

So when I saw a recipe in my favourite book Wholefoods for Children by Jude Blereau for a basic muesli cluster that you could add your own ingredients to I just had to try it!

Mix:

6 Cups of Rolled Oats

1 1/2 Cups of Natural Greek Yoghurt

1 Cup of Melted Coconut Oil

Leave it in a bowl, cover and soak overnight.

You end up with an interesting looking slodge but stick with it,
it's worth it!

In a small saucepan heat:

1/2 Cup of Maple Syrup

1/2 Cup or Rice Syrup

1 Teaspoon of Ground Cardamom

2 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract

Until it is warm and runny. Mix it through the oats and spread it over 2 baking trays.

Dry in a low oven of 90*C  for 2 hrs. Pull it out every 30 Mins
and stir it, breaking up large lumps

As it drys it becomes more stir-able

After 2 hrs turn the oven up to 150*C and toast the clusters to desired
 'toasted-ness' watch it at this point as it is easy to 'over-toast' it.

Now select what DELICIOUS ingredients you are going to add to your clusters... Some things we have been enjoying are:

Sliced figs

Dried Cranberries

Goji Berries

Dried Blueberries

Roasted Coconut

Roasted Almonds

Sliced Dates

What ever you like really - We aim for about 4 or 5 in each batch

Mix it all together and ENJOY!!!

Nutting out Knitting

I've known how to knit since I was a kid. But only VERY basically. I can cast on, knit, purl and that's about it! If everything goes right I can knit something, but I often end up with more stitches than I am meant to and a random hole or two :) Needless to say it isn't a skill I pride myself on.

Crocheting on the other hand I can do quite well. I can read patterns, do a few fancy patterns, numerous different stitches and can often nut it out if I don't already know. If something goes wrong I can see why and fix it.

So the problem I have is that often I find these beautiful patterns that I would adore to make. As they are knitting not crocheting I have to leave them or convince someone else to make them for me. This came to a head the other day as I was in a book sale and there were two yarn books for sale. One was for crochet and was rather boring, the other was for knitting and was very inspiring. So I brought the knitting one.....

Yarn crafts are a winter thing for me, I love to sit on cold winter nights with the fire on and create woollen wonders. So I have set my self the challenge of nutting out knitting.

I passed by a stall at the markets, who were selling beautiful home spun, home dyed wool. So I set myself up with a ball, ready to make one of these beautiful knitted hats for Orlando. I sat down with my new wool and new book and set to reading the pattern...

"Cast on 80 stitches, divide evenly between a set of 4 double pointed needles and join"...... RIGHT! I can cast on!!!!

I love yarn crafts being handed down from one person to the other, I know the Internet is a great source of tutorials but I think some age old crafts a better shared. So I took my wool and book to my mother-in-law's house. She is a great knitter, whips things up with style and does all sorts of fancy stuff. She assured me that it was actually quite simple, once you knew what they were talking about. She showed me as I went, and I was off! By the end of my busy week I have finished my first knitted beanie. Knitting seems much faster than crocheting.

Now with my little hat complete, I have learnt many new knitting skills. I now know how to use circular needles, knit in a round using 4 needles, and knit a cord! Simple for some, quite and achievement for me! Apparently I have perfect tension and it looks like a machine. I think this is because I go so slow :)

The only problem ended up being that I was making the hat for Orlando. For some reason it is much smaller than it should be, so I thought it could be for Matilda. Once finished a (7-8 yr old) hat will fit about a 1 yr old. So looks like it will end up a gift for one of the many babies we know that are currently 'under construction'.

Food Journey - The Beginning

I love cooking. Always have and hopefully always will. This year our families food culture has taken a bit of a twist. We have always thought ourselves to be healthy eaters  (with a love of sweet treats). We grow much of our own fresh produce (as much as we can in the cold of Canberra), buy mostly fresh foods and cook many things from scratch.

This year I have begun a food journey, delving into the depths of the 'whole-food movement' which really is returning to the 'old-food movement'. In starting my research, I realised that many of the foods I was fed as a little girl were in fact in-tune with this way of eating. I grew up thinking that I ate 'freaky foods' in comparison to the other kids and celebrated when I found a friend who knew what tamari and tahini were! Now that I have a greater understanding of how our bodies digest different foods, I understand many of the food choices my Mum made for us. I no longer see it as the 'freaky' option, but the wise one.

One of the books I have found most useful in my readings is Jude Blereau's book Wholefoods for Children. I believe this to be a wonderful book and I recommend anyone with young children have a read, in fact anyone wanting a better understanding of what foods provide our bodies. Blereau assisted me to see food as a nourishment rather than indulgence.

The main point from the book that plays though my mind is: Food was created with all the things, in all the right proportions, that it needs to be digested. The more we change food, take things out, add things in, the less digestible it is.

This change of view has effected the way I see food in the world. I no longer drive past major fast food outlets, when short for time and say "oh, I'll just grab a treat and work it off later", instead I'll hold out, wait till I get home or to a less processed option. The idea of eating that food now creates a mini gag reflex, which I'm happy to support!

Now, in our household we try to grow as much as we can; we buy only free-range or organic meats, preferable from the local market; we buy all those 'freaky' ingredients; and make nearly everything from scratch. Our food philosophy at the moment has adapted to: a small amount of good quality rather than bulk of the mass produced.

This way of eating sits really well for me. It makes sense to my logic that the more we disturb food, the less nourishing it is. I enjoy cooking, so I have no problem with the little bit of extra time it takes me to do things, or the fact that I need to be a little more organised. Instead I get great satisfaction our of my family sitting down to good, wholesome, nourishing food that I have created.

Any-hoo I'm sure my food rants will continue and you'll see much of Wholefoods for Children as it is well used and loved in this household.