Teaching by the Books
Reading to young children is critical for their development. Check out the list of benefits…
- supported cognitive development
- improved language skills
- preparation for academic success
- developing special bonds with your children
- increased concentration and discipline
- improved imagination and creativity
- cultivating a lifelong love of learning
*As a parent with now grown and nearly grown children, a homeschool co-op teacher, a librarian, and a lifelong reader myself, I can attest to each of these. You will never waste a single moment that is spent reading to your child or listening to them read to you…no matter their age. It is beneficial to hear books read aloud even when we are older. Our kids are more likely to grow up strong readers which leads to strong leadership and emotional/social awareness and becoming readers themselves, which keeps the literacy growing with future generations! Model reading! Let your children be surrounded by books in the all the rooms in your home as well as seeing you with books, newspapers, magazines etc in your own hands. Our world sometimes discourages adults from being creative and imaginative by telling us to “grow up” and “act our age”, but the reality of it is reading allows us to travel to places we may never otherwise visit. It allows our minds to imagine what people and places look like instead of relying on others telling us in visual movies. Reading allows us the opportunity to know there are others like ourselves, with similar backgrounds and issues that we may struggle with in life. Reading is connection and we are relational beings. Reading is for ages 0-99 and beyond. We now have the ability to have large print, audio, graphic novels, and so much more. Never stop reading!
Exciting Things are Coming Soon…
Literacy has been a passion of mine since I was in elementary school. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Gerhardt, noticed that I was struggling to keep up with reading. She pulled me aside after class one day and said she wanted to give me a special class that would help me not only catch up but excel in reading. She even had me assigned to the elementary school paper, The Pony Express. At first I was hurt, but after I started reading more and more, I got excited! I even earned an undeclared minor in writing, just for fun!
Fast forward to having children of my own, I chose to homeschool and read as many books to them as I could. My family has always teased me about having more books than furniture in our home…I wouldn’t have it any other way!
After a few years, I began teaching literature and writing at a homeschool co-op. I LOVE reading and I LOVE teaching!
Having experience working with kids that have some reading and language challenges has made me grow as a teacher and learn creative ways to teach outside the box!
Having the farm and a couple of horses brought new interest! I wanted to help give our semi-retired Arabian a side-job! He is fantastic with kids and incredibly patient. Our pony is learning lots of new things; she is not only adorable but very brave about new adventures!
Stay tuned for more details on how tutoring and horses are coming together to bring joy and learning…