Help your Homeschooler Love to Read
June 27, 2008
Homeschooling parents often worry about their children`s reading skills because reading skills are such an important part of a person`s education. We need reading skills for far more than just getting good grades in English class. Reading skills are important for success in all subject areas. Due to this fact, homeschooling parents should also incorporate reading lessons into all subjects. For example, during a history lesson, you can ask your child to summarize the events of historical event as a way to practice their comprehension and summarizing skills. Parents should also encourage their children to read outside of what is required for school work because developing reading as a habit will do wonders for a child`s education.
One of the greatest benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility it offers. Homeschooling allows children to soar beyond the many limitations of the public school system. Public schools fail to push students to reach their full potential as readers. Many public school students perform poorly on standardized reading tests, which is unfortunate as reading skills are crucial to a child’s education and success in life. Homeschooling allows you to incorporate reading into your everyday routines and not confine them to the few hours a day you dedicate to school work. For example, you can read your child a story before bed or have them read to you and that can be a part of their reading lesson for the day.
Establishing reading as a habit is not only beneficial for your child`s reading skills but also helps add to their knowledge base. Encourage your children to read a wide variety of books, including fiction and non-fiction. Fictional stories are great to get your child`s imagination soaring and non-fiction is important for developing a wide knowledge base.
One of the easiest ways to indirectly prod your children into reading is to make sure there are many interesting books lying around the house where the kids can see and reach them. Kids are curious creatures. If they see books everyday, they will eventually pick one up and leaf through it. At that point, you can jump in and give them positive attention for picking up the book and reading it. This will reinforce that behavior in the child and they will be more likely to pick up a book a second time.
Every education should be well rounded of course, but reading is a building block from which other education follows. When homeschooling your child, encourage him or her to read from a young age. Reading skills take a long time to develop but they are crucial for your child`s success no matter which path they choose in life.
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