Yes, you know what usually starts that.
Today is not going successfully. It isn’t going badly as such, it just isn’t going well.
I’ve had in depth discussions with Big about her reading, which isn’t taking off because she thinks she can’t do it and that if she starts doing it she will have to practise it every day, ‘like forever’ and doesn’t seem to understand that if she just reads, then she’s reading. External validation seems to be required – I’m thinking dolch (sp) tests and a big chart on the wall showing how many of the words she knows. A part of me is itching to buy magnetic word lists, but we don’t need more stuff in the house! (And I deeply loathe the idea that they come in packs of girls and boys words, what on earth is that about????) Hah, google comes to the rescue as well, I think this is just what I’m looking for.
(And no, this is not a departure from the hands off approach, this is coming from conversations with Big where she is deeply unhappy with her inability to read, and I need to do something to help her).
eta – we’ve had now done nearly 2 hours of solid word frequency work. I’m bored (and trying not to show it, and trying not to just wander off to do all the rest of the stuff I need to do), she’s loving it! Does anyone know whether stuff like this, Spectrum Dolch Sight Word Activities, Volume 2 (McGraw-Hill Learning Materials Spectrum)
, is worth it, or have any links that they like? Think I’ll have to dig out some lists and take them over to Jan’s to laminate.
Small and I seem to be going head to head rather a lot atm. I’m sure he’s just boundary testing, but it’s tiring. And that’s the problem with my life atm, most of it is a battle. Nothing is easy, simple or straightforward, and I don’t seem to have the energy to attempt to do things that could make it that way. But there’s little to be done except fix it one step at a time, so that’s what I need to do.
Comments
8 responses to “A-doodle-do”
‘And that’s the problem with my life atm, most of it is a battle. Nothing is easy, simple or straightforward, and I don’t seem to have the energy to attempt to do things that could make it that way.’
I wonder how many people *wouldn’t* describe their life as such.
it probably depends on what your percentage of battles is.
But tbh, sometimes I just don’t care what the rest of the world thinks about their lives, and this is one of those times.
((((Jax)))
Let’s organise that.
hugs from here too.
Completely know where you are coming from Jax. The reading thing was difficult here too, with Joe desperate to read, but not willing to actually “learn”. I’d have been happy to just sit back and let it happen, but it was him piling on the pressure, leading to frustration. I’m so pleased that those days are behind us and I’m hoping for an easier ride with Tiegan. Not sure why I’m writing this, other than to empathise.
Jax, don’t know if you still want them, but WH Smith do 3 packs of key stage 1 magnetic words that are not boy/girl type words (they also do them). They’re about £4 a pack, I think.
Jax, I used some of the stuff from here
http://www.theschoolbell.com/Links/Dolch/Contents.html
which is nothing like as pretty as the Jan Brett stuff but ready to print sets of words to play snap etc with (and horror of horrors to stick with blue tack onto the front door so we can put the ones she knows at the top and the ones she doesn’t at the bottom….) and it’s helped.
I remember seeing those high frequency lists about this time last year and Myf could barely get past the first page. She’s just read the whole lot without a hiccup (ok, one hiccup over the word ‘use’ for some bizarre reason).
We’ve had magnetic words on the fridge for ages too – at first she only ever made patterns with them. You never forget the first day you come home and find the phrase “I love Mom” spelled out though. 🙂