Reading in Beyond?

[Heidi in AK]

DD has a really high reading proficiency. Comprehension is iffy. She has to like the subject to retain what she reads.

Today my husband was home while we were reading her history, and he said, "she can read, she should be the one reading history, rather than have you read to her." Well, we had to have her read it a couple of times. In Beyond, should we be reading history, storytime, and Bible together? I had been assuming so, but now I wonder!

[MomtoJGJE]

According to Charlotte Mason and HOD, at 7 you should still be reading to her.

However, occasionally I let my 7 and 8 year old read their own, in fact my 8 year old is moving toward reading her own either science OR history every day when she turns 9 in January. But my 7 year old enjoys reading hers. So about once a week or so I'll let her read it. I start handing over reading in Bigger generally...

[LynnH]

The guides don't have the student reading their own science until Preparing and then they start reading their own history in CTC. I know some who have kids on the older end of the guide do have their dc read either the science or history in bigger, but I don't think that is the norm. If she struggles with comprehension I would definitely just follow the guides suggestions. Since the readings are meant for the parent to read they can be more challenging, plus you want them to be able to focus on the follow up activities that go with the reading rather than having them have to read something several times just to try and comprehend it. That would make the reading take much longer than is planned. If you are doing DITHOR then she is getting plenty of practice reading and comprehending. The story time is read by you up until at least RTR I believe, then they you have the option of having your dc read it on their own. I actually still do story time with my ds because we really enjoy that time together and talking about the books together.

[Molly]

I would suggest carrying on as you are because the skill of being able to comprehend what they hear read to them is really important. Great that she can comprehend what she is reading, but to be able to do the listening with the comprehending is a big thing that will be a great asset to have as she grows.

[MelInKansas]

I second what everyone else says. The other thing I have been learning about lately is that being read to really helps a child's language skills grow. They hear it read correctly, with good inflection and emphasis. Yes, they might be able to read it on their own and understand it, but you reading to her is helping her language skills grow in even greater ways.

I still treasure the time I spend reading to my almost 9 year old. We both learn a lot when I read it to her. Occasionally if it is a very busy day or I am caught up in something I will have her read her science on her own, but then I feel like I am behind and I have a difficult time doing the activity because I don't know what she read.

One thing once your child is a fluent reader, they can look over your shoulder and read along. My oldest does this. I think that increases her comprehension greatly to have the information coming in two ways.

[LovingJesus]

My oldest has been a very advanced reader since age 7. He reads plenty of additional books on his own that he tells us about and has done so since age 7.

I do read Bible & History to him in Preparing and storytime. He could easily read it on his own, but I love the benefits of reading it to him. Emotional / heart connection, listening skills, & relationship building.

He also frequently, daily, comes to listen to brother's history & story time. These are books he has heard or read or both but he still enjoys and wants to be part of reading time.

Reading to our kids has been a blessing & can lead to important discussion. I would keep going!

[my3sons]

Great advice here already! I'll just add that the best way to improve comprehension is to do DITHOR diligently and consistently. It improves comprehension steadily year after year! I see a big change in my middle ds just now, and he has done DITHOR for 3 consecutive years. He could read anything quite young. If reading were just reading words on a page, he'd have been a star pupil. But, since reading does involve comprehension - well, that took the last 3 years of DITHOR. I'm sure it will take the next 4 years of DITHOR to keep improving.

Another surprising way to improve dc's reading comprehension is to read aloud to them. In the Appendix of DITHOR, there is a "Qualities of Good Reading" page. When adults read to dc they (hopefully) are reading in such a manner that models these good qualities. They pause at punctuation, emphasize words in bold print, use epression and proper pitch, and maybe even use a different tone of voice for different characters. All of this helps dc better comprehend what is going on in a book. When mom sounds excited, they know something exciting is happening. When mom sounds fearful, they know something frightening may happen next. These cues begin to build better comprehension, as well as better listening skills. These are all important skills for not only young learners, but also for older students when taking notes while listening to a lecture, a sermon, a DVD, a CD, etc.

Finally, the oral narration teaching helps in Beyond's Storytime are a huge help in building reading comprehension! Retelling is a higher level skill as it requires dc to remember what happened without looking at the book. This is a life skill dc need to develop, as they will be retelling much in their lifetime... relaying phone messages, sharing with friends about a movie or a book they've seen or read, sharing the news a doctor has given at an appointment... all of these examples are forms of oral narrations. So, it will be important for dd to continue to practice them and become more proficient at them.

There are two different skills here. One skill being reading comprehension for what you are reading yourself, and one skill being reading comprehension for what someone is reading to you. When dc turn 9 yo or 10 yo, CM says that the scale begins to tip more to the dc reading their own materials for better comprehension. But still, dc are read to and asked to narrate, all the way up through at least CTC, and possibly longer. I hope something here has helped, and I wrote this response not only for you and your situation, but also for other ladies reading this and their situations, hopefully to help explain it more fully. Thanks so much for asking!!!

In Christ,
Julie