Increasing Reading Speed

[Nealewill]

My oldest is doing well in CTC and she is definitely correctly placed but I have noticed that the vocabulary this year is tougher than last year and it takes her a bit of time to complete the reading. We are pretty sure she has mild dyslexia and learned to read well using dyslexic techniques. She could read whole language okay but she was always adding sounds or making things up. Once we switched techniques of how to decode things and gave her practical tips to keep her eyes on the words in front of her, her reading ability took off.

So I guess I am looking for some advice on reading for all of you mama's with older kids or kids that have struggled. First off, last year was our first year with HOD and my dd struggled with the reading in Preparing until about half way through the level. After that the reading was easy and she was flying through it. This year in CTC, the vocabulary is more challenging for her and I find she spends more time sounding things out and that it takes her a bit longer to complete the reading. The Ancient's book is going fine (I think it takes her about 35 min to read the 2 chapters) but the science is killing her. It takes her about 10 minutes per page. Now, I don't think she is "reading" the whole time. She has a great imagination and she can process EVERYTHING she reads very well. I half way equate her to Beth Moore in that sense - because her Bible studies are fantastic and I think it is because she articulates the movie reel she sees in her mind as she reads the Bible. My dd is the same way. She can orally narrate everything she vividly and easily that you know she understood it all. She will even include the new vocabulary she learned as she goes through it and tell you what each words means. But she does take a long time with the reading. Some days it isn't a problem but other days, I can tell her day is just taking a long time. I sometimes wonder if she is struggling with the new and harder vocabulary.

So I guess I have a few questions. First, have any of you found any strategies to help your child read faster? Or will it just come? I am not looking for a miracle or to stress her out. I am proud of her but would be happy to provide her with some tools to help her if I can. Second, did any of you find that the reading when you started CTC was harder but got easier for your child as you moved through? I know the books change and I anticipate once we exit the Ancients book and the Science book, her reading will go faster. But that History of Medicine book looks challenging. I know she will love it because it is totally her style but the vocab does look to be challenging as well. And third, is the reading level for R2R a noticeable jump in difficulty from CTC or is it just more in volume? I have thought about slowing my dd down in level but she isn't really "struggling" per se. Some days it takes her a long time because she goofs off through out the day. She rarely complains and about 75% of the time, she is done with school in the 4.5-5 hour mark. The days where she doesn't get done are usually her own fault because she couldn't focus. So I guess part of me is wondering if the time frame for her reading is just normal as well. I know I shouldn't compare her and I guess I am not really trying to compare her either, but I guess I am just curious to hear from others as to whether or not this expected. I must admit - my oldest and middle child aren't born "readers" either. Actually, none of my kids would choose to sit and read over playing, especially playing with each other. They only read because I tell them they have too. My youngest though will read out of boredom when both her brother and sister are doing school because she wants something to do and I won't let her watch TV. Other than that, they choose other activities rather than reading.

[kidsforHim]

I don't have any ideas to help you & I'm not sure what science book is currently being read but I see that Exploring Creation with Zoology 3 is used for that guide. Was online tonight & I just came across audio mp3 cds of that book! I didn't know they even had such a thing for that series. It would've helped us last year for sure. It is read by the author. I hope I'm not breaking rules for mentioning this here!
Anyway, hope you can get some ideas that will help you!
Becky

[Nealewill]

Thanks - I don't think you are breaking the rules (I hope). And yes - I was referring to the Zoology Book. That is the book that is taking her so long. I did read online that letting kids read along while someone is reading it to them does help. I have half way considered it. I just worry that she won't read with it - I think she will spend all her time looking at the pictures LOL. But thanks - I am considering it. We are in Unit 9 of CTC right now.

[MelInKansas]

It seems like she gets through it all with a good attitude and isn't really "struggling" as you say. I understand your desire to help her try to move through more quickly, it makes a day go more smoothly when you aren't having to check in on school for a longer time throughout it. But 4.5-5 hours also isn't really unreasonable an amount of time for her to be working (I assume there are some breaks). It sounds like she is doing well overall. Boy I would love it if my oldest had recall and analysis of what she read as good as what it sounds like your daughter has.

I can't recommend anything specific as far as helping her learn to read faster. I'm sure there are more good techniques, but it sounds like practice and maturity are what she needs because the vocabulary and length of the readings has jumped up a bit. Focus might be the thing you need to work on a little bit more, or at least see if that's an area where you can help her grow, and thereby help her do her work more efficiently.

So timers and some of your time with her helping her get back on task are the only suggestions I have for that. Is there something she can use to remind herself to focus? Something like a rubberband on her wrist or something? If she finds herself playing with it, remind herself to focus on her reading until it is done?

[Nealewill]

Thanks for you post Melissa. I actually was just praying about myself having patience with her tonight. I got so frustrated with her earlier today (again) because she was reading the science book and spent 15 minutes on the first page of the assignment. But there was a diagram on the page and she as analyzing it. Basically I go to check on her then reacted by blowing up right in her face (saying, so are you telling me it has taken you 1 minute per sentence to read this?!?! What on earth are you doing?!?!). Then she explains that she was studying the picture and told me way more about a cow and their stomach and how they digest their food than I ever knew. I did feel bad about my outburst and promptly apologized. However, I then reiterated the time issue again. So I don't know what to do/think. I am just going to pray about it and plan to see what God reveals. I know she is doing her best to get things done timely. I just feel like it isn't timely most of the time.

One good thing though - I have recently read that the main jump from Preparing to CTC is in the area of reading. But the area with the biggest jump from CTC to R2R is Writing. Then from R2R to RevtoRev, the big jump is science. So I guess I am really glad that we won't we have huge jumps in reading every year (hopefully).

And she actually does use a timer regularly. Funny story about her timer - she will tell me that since she got done with one box more quickly than the allotted time frame, she thinks she should be able to add that time to a different box LOL. But that is honestly how the day stays balanced. She finishes some boxes quickly and others drag. So I guess it all works itself out in the end anyway

[Carrie]

Daneale,

The ladies are doing a terrific job of helping you talk through your daughter's reading challenges. One thing that I'll share which may be of help to you is that the Story of the Ancient World has a very challenging vocabulary, and requires a high reading level, so it isn't surprising for it to take your daughter awhile to read that assignment each day. I would actually be more concerned if she were finishing it very quickly, as I'd be wondering whether she really read it!

As far as the Zoology 3 book goes, I will share that that particular science book is very heavy on utilizing challenging science-related vocabulary. The reading is dense, but interesting, making it a very time consuming read (if the child is paying attention to all of the different terms and descriptions). My own oldest son, who was a terrific reader (read early, read everything in sight, and read fast) took his sweet time with that book too. I was completely surprised by that as it was truly the first book that he didn't blow right through in his life. There is just much to ponder as they read!

So, yes, as the year progresses and the books change out, your daughter's reading speed will vary with the materials and with her maturity. Right now, I would applaud her diligence! If she does get done early, then it makes sense that time can be added to her next subject. You are so right that the ebb and flow of subjects all end up where they should by the day's end. CTC is a big adjustment in independence too, which the student will grab onto as the year progresses. It is a wonderful growing year, and I know you'll be amazed by the time your daughter finishes the guide as to how much she's grown and changed. If she were taking longer than 4 1/2 hours daily, I'd be concerned. But that time allotment is about right; so for now I'd pray for patience (this is an area where I struggle too), encourage your daughter on her journey, and know it is alright to be taking the time she needs to process the more difficult material (even if there is some dawdling along the way). This is a good reminder for me too!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Nealewill]

Carrie,

Thank you so much for your reply. You are right, I will be amazed at the end of this year! I was amazed at the end of the last year as well and will probably always be amazed each year And what you shared definitely does comfort me. I think she is probably right where she should be. I think I am going to officially chill out LOL!

Thanks again so much.

[my3sons]

I'm sorry I am just seeing this! You are so faithful in helping others here, I wish I'd seen this earlier to try to help you. However, the good news is, you already have gotten excellent advice! I have to agree. I think dd is accurately placed and working through the amount of work and skills in CTC in a pretty timely fashion. She is doing a good job of processing what she is reading too, which is terrific, and which is harder to teach than time management actually. One thing that I did with Riley, who is my creative and visual child who will gladly do school all day without looking at the clock, is let him take 5 minutes to pour over the pictures in the science book. I told him it was his time to really enjoy the beautiful pictures, to take them all in, and that after 5 minutes of enjoying them, it was then time to get down to the reading. This really helped him! With my oldest ds, he had difficulty pronouncing words properly, due to early speech delays. So, with him, I either read aloud the first page of the book, so he could hear me properly pronounce a good portion of the words he would be reading (i.e. names of people and places), or if it was science heavy vocabulary, I would just read the words in bold a few times, and chapter/section titles. This seemed to help him. Anyway, I just thought I'd share those few little tips that worked for my kiddos. I think it is a good idea to have dd keep reading the books herself, as this improves comprehension, retention, and writing ability. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Nealewill]

Don't feel bad Julie

I love the idea of setting a time limit for her to pour over the pictures in the book. That is a really great idea. I think that will help her tremendously with having the opportunity to spend time on those colorful pictures but then have the time to focus on the reading.

And ironically, I also did find at the beginning of the year I definitely had to go over those bold print words It was either unit 1 or unit 2 where she taught me a lesson about this. In one of the earlier lessons she read the word the epidermis but pronounced it very goofy. She did her reading for the day, comes up to me and says "Mom, your blah blah blah covers your whole body. What is it?" I guessed a whole gammit of different things, none of which was epidermis LOL. And then she says, "It is your blah blah blah." I say, "Your what? Get me your book." So she finds the page and shows me the word. Needless to say, that event taught me a good lesson. Cover the bold words before she reads!

Finally - I probably should have posted an update. The very next week, she sped up quite a bit. A lot of the advice shared here really helped her and she is definitely getting done in the 4.5 hours a day with no problem. Also - a lot of it helped me to put things in perspective as well. As for her reading, she got done with her history reading so fast one day last week I thought she was lying about reading it all. I took her history book and started quizzing her. She answered everything correctly and was smiling the whole time. And I did not buy the CD for Zoology either. As I prayed about it and thought about it, I realized that she can read the science book fairly well and I agree that she should. I think you hit the nail on the head - those pictures are just too enticing! She also did read a bit faster with the science book last week too.

Last year I feel like I had the same thing happen about 10 weeks into Preparing as well. It seemed like one day were struggling to get the reading and writing volume done and then all of the sudden, the next day she was getting finished with time to spare. Even my son is recently at a point where I feel like he is finally in the groove of Bigger and we are in unit 12 this week. So maybe for us it just takes us about 10 units in to get into the groove.

[my3sons]

Hooray!!! What a great update, and I am so glad to read this! You are such a hard working, attentive, loving mother. I am glad you are seeing the fruit of both you and your dd's hard work! Ten weeks into a guide for 25 weeks or so of harvest ahead... good stats if you ask me - way to go MOM!

In Christ,
Julie

[MelInKansas]

I too am glad to hear things have gotten better and are moving more quickly for her! Sometimes just a little bit of focus is what it needs, and how thankful you can be that that was all that was needed (at least for now).

Definitely storing up some of these tips for when my DD starts CTC in a few weeks! It will be like last year, we finished Bigger in November and started Preparing in December but just due to December being what it is, I think we got through about 2 units before Christmas and then hit it hard after Christmas was over. Of course, this year, we will be having a baby in January so we will just see.... I know God will provide.

[Nealewill]

Melissa - You could always go 1/2 speed for a period of time. My dd went 1/2 speed for the first 3 units. I usually start the kids during the summer, August, and then we all just go 1/2 speed at first. Once everyone gets the groove, we speed it up. I know lots of people staggar start but for whatever reason, that stresses me out LOL. I found that I am a little OCD about my school starting in August for whatever reason. But I do love gradually moving into the school year. So going half speed for a month or two is a great fit for us. I wonder since you are having a baby in January if going slower would be good for everyone. All I can say though - is you are amazing since you are running 3 levels, prego and probably tired now, and have a toddler running around the house! I am sure you will do great even once your new precious baby comes.