This is part four of an article I wrote for an unschooling list. It was written to show how one child learned to read without the typical reading lessons.
This article was subsequently published in an issue of Live Free Learn Free magazine, back when they sent that magazine out in the mail.
If you haven't read part one yet, please go here to read it: Part One
by Cheryl Carroll
2005
Alex once again got interested in computer games. One game he really liked was Runescape. He was always calling me to read the screen. Sometimes this required quite a bit of reading. When I was not available to read it when he needed, he would spell out the words for me.
After the first few days, I noticed he had stopped asking for my help. I thought he was getting familiar with the game and skipping parts he knew he didn't need to read. I was wrong. As I watched him play one day, he read everything he needed to read all by himself! I had problems pronouncing some of the character's names myself and here he was doing a marvelous job of sounding them out.
So that was it. One day he was spelling the words out to me and the next day he wasn't. One day he could only read simple or familiar words and the next day he was reading words ten characters long.
Not long after this, we were out eating when he said a word I didn't understand and asked me if I knew what it was. I didn't. He said another and another and I finally caught on. He was pronouncing words backwards. It started because he was reading signs that were facing outside and by two days later had blossomed into saying whole backwards sentences and talking in our own code! "I ma ruoy dneirf" was his most used sentence.
I found this incredible because it's hard to say a word like "sandwich" backward, but he figured out an accurate way of doing it, so that I had a fair opportunity to guess the word. We played this game for months.
Alex is now a very good reader. Although I have told many people that when he was grown, no one would care at what age he learned to read, I hope I was mistaken. I hope the age at which he started reading (eight and about ten months) will somehow be of help to others. Whether you're going the same route as us, thinking about it, or you're just trying to understand it, I hope our story will help you to trust it will all turn out okay.
Thanks for reading!
Free printables for multiplication, roman numerals, state capitals, parts of speech, and more.
Math exercises. Multiplication and roman numeral resources. Posters, charts, converters.
Quizzes including world capitals, presidents in order, the elements, state flags, and more.
Armour, castle games, recipes, quizzes, fashions, music, old world maps, medicine, and more.
Alphabet flash cards, printable high frequency words, and printable parts of speech chart.
Spanish numbers to 20 and the Korean alphabet. Printable flash cards and charts.
Science games and quizzes, posters, science experiments.
Free Experiment of the Week from Robert Kramp's Science Education Co.
Posters, printables, the Lifeboat Game, fifty states resources, quizzes.
Reading systems, flashcard, worksheet and test makers, game creators, percentage calculator, timeline template.
Grade school and accredited high school, online public schools, foundational phonics, more.
Stickfigure animations, build a web page and a website template for kids.
Printable guitar and keyboard charts, ukelele chords diagram.
Free books, posters, videos, software, kits, curriculum, courses.
We're finding the good out there and sharing it.
Easy extra money! Lots of info here.
Food intolerance, night flying wasps, and more.
Maille armor pictures, ninja and camouflage pictures, and more.
If you have comments, questions, or would like to report a broken link, please send an email to Cheryl at byclc@live.com
© 2000-2024 Nicholas Academy
site map | privacy policy | by CLC | Micro-Ways
