Peter Legrove

When I start teach reading I plan my lesson around a couple of phonics sounds and just let it build from there. When I use groups in the classroom I try and arrange it so there is at least one good reader in each group and they can help the other students.

Cursive or longhand writing seems to be a dying art, but learning to write in cursive is relatively easy using the Montessori Method. With the proliferation of the keyboard and the computer it seems there is no need to start learning to write in cursive.

Teaching reading is not rocket science so you can teach reading at home quite easily. All you need to a roadmap on how to do it. There are many approaches to teaching reading but they way I like to go is with phonics. Now you have to decide if you what an internet based phonics program or an offline program that you have to teach your children.

By the time most children get to high school they should be able to read so you have to concentrate on reading comprehension. There will be a few kids who have fallen through the cracks and you might have to spend some time with these students.

Most kids start to learn to read at kindergarten but they are also learning lots of other things to do with communication. They are still increasing their speaking vocabulary, which is very important. As the more words a child can say the more they should understand when you read to them.

If your children are having problems learning to read you have to intervene as reading is very important. And if your children have problems with reading they will have problems throughout school. So you must do something so your children get ahead in reading. Usually reading problems are phonics problems. So you have to start teaching phonics.

Phonics are very easy to learn, they are nothing to be intimidated about. We use phonic sounds every time we speak. When teaching phonics we have to match the phonic sound we say with the written phonic sound. It is that simple. When you are learning how to teach phonics you will need a phonic chart so you can work out the phonic written sounds and how to say them.

Even though the pencil looks like it is going the way of the dinosaur we parents need to know how to teach kids to write. Anyway we learnt to write many years now it is our turn to be teachers. If your kid is having problems with writing it could be as simple as a weak hand. And a few hand exercises will possible cure it. But if you are not so lucky then you need to try a different approach.

Homeschooling in America is making a big comeback with all the problems that seem to stem from the education system. What people in American don’t seem to realize is this country was made by homeschooling. It was one of the few times in America when most children could read and write and they were taught in covered wagons trekking into the wilderness.

When America was first colonized it was mother and father teaching the kids in a sort of homeschooling setup. Schools have been around for a long time but they were mainly for the wealthy and elites of society. In the history of teaching reading there was a very big step about 100 years ago when Maria Montessori started teaching learning and mentally disabled children in Italy.