Readers in the House

A few years ago I heard Carole Joy Seid, a popular homeschool speaker, encourage us eager moms not to teach a child to read until their 7 years old. At the time, I was still in the throes of teaching two of my big kids to read and I loved that advice! I determined then and there that I would not be over-eager to teach my twins to read. I would wait!
And wait I did.
A couple of months before Daniel and Lydia turned 7, I was offered a three month free trial of Reading Eggs. I set it up for Lydia and thought: I'll just have her play these games every day and she can get a head start. A couple of months later, she had learned how to sound out words and had learned a lot of sight words. She was reading! What we love about Reading Eggs is that it ISN'T BORING! It changes up every day and is never the same. Thus, it holds their attention. I can't tell you what a difference this makes!

We jumped right into our beloved Pathway Readers and she took off reading. I was on cloud nine!!
Can I just tell you what a thrill it is to have a child read easily after working your tail off to teach 4 children who struggle to read? I had started reading lessons to soon with all four of my big kids and paid the price.
You may not believe me as I certainly didn't once upon a time, but reading, like potty-training, is developmental. If a child isn't ready, they're not ready. You lose nothing by waiting. And you may just lose your mind by not waiting.

Trust me. I know.