Friday, August 25, 2017

In the bad books ;)

My boys are not big fans of reading. Actually, Nicklas is not bad. He has some favourite authors and, if I ask him to read, he does... and willingly. The other two are terrible! Alexander, when he was little, loved books. Suddenly, in grade 4, his love of reading was suddenly over :( Now, it is like pulling teeth to get him to read anything. Oliver is even worse: he has decided that he cannot read and, no matter what I do, he is not changing his mind. All summer, I have been trying to do little 10 minute manageable blocks of reading time and it has just ended up being a form of mother-torture ;) I took him to the library to choose his own books (because the 5 million books that I bought while trying to get the other 2 boys to read were just not enough) and- still- he is not into reading. I try to make it more fun by playing reading games while we trudge through the book. I also try to alternate between me reading a page and him reading a page, just so it isn't so tiring for him. I provide French books (he is in French immersion), English books, comic books, space books, fiction books, non-fiction books, reptile books, cheetah books, dog books, Pokemon books, karate books, adventure books and he is still not into them. I have borrowed reading technique books from friends who have children who are good readers (I guess I was hoping for osmosis?). I guess I just have to accept that Oliver will read when he is good and ready. Or, considering that he tells me that Ninjas don't need to read**, I might have to wait until he changes career choices ;)

**Yes, I do tell him that Ninjas have to be able to read the instructions that come from their Samurai Masters but Oliver tells me that they just know it all by magic. No reading required ;)

Happy Friday to you all xox



3 comments:

  1. I am the bonus mother for 2 girls 39 and 36 years and mother of son of 32 and daughter of 29. The silent bonus girl 36 years read, however, had difficulty in school but she struggled. Elder and the son were super talented in school, but books, no, and yet, the son wanted to get ready for dialogue when he was to confirm, so the Bible and the new testaments were analyzed. Yngstedatter is blind, yet she has a bachelor's degree in education, with a double degree of psychology from a university in Bucharest (Romania) - where ERASmus has been for 1 year.
    Just thought about my son and your Oliver. My son has fought with an inner thought. He should be able to do things before he started to participate, so he read almost before he started school (self-taught). Football, here he could not begin before he showed everything about it, and therefore he read one book after another. Oliver wants to be Ninja, and they do not read, so he does not want to read :-)
    Do not know if my thoughts made sense. Just want to come, some will be ready early, others only a lot later, it's often the systems that help speed up the kids becoming young adults. And our parents are stressed by this pressure, because our children should not stand out, unable to do it, as the demands are made.
    I believe children should be allowed to be children as long as possible.
    Your lovely boys are and will be just as wonderful. They want to be their own lord, but share an equal share of the community.

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    1. Tusind tak, Karin! I appreciate your comments... and am impressed by your children's talents! Great job, mamma xox

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  2. Every child is different and it is as it is. Donald Ducks and comic books are also reading books, even the labels on the muesli are exercise material. Do not put too much pressure on it. My three sons are (high) gifted, but that's not my merit. They walk their own path.

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