Read It Yourself
I posted about this series before, but it really is the best I have found to follow up on the success of the Peter & Jane series. Now we have moved on to level 2, and despite a recent attitude change (I can’t read it…), herself pretty much always finds out that she can.
Apart from having some popular characters which adds to the appeal, this series concentrates on the classics. Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man and others are all well known to the sprog, and this seems to make a big difference to the accessibility to the material. It’s a big thing for my young reader who seems to be having a bit of a confidence crisis recently (in more departments than one).
Not much more that I can say here that I didn’t say in the previous post on the subject. Am a little miffed that the young lady will reach for a Japanese book over an English one 90% of the time, but this is not really an unexpected thing. Am just keeping on providing the chances, hoping against the odds that she will find a balance. I think that as an only child she is coming up against some issues that I never experienced and I’m trying to factor a few of these into the equation. It’s a subject I haven’t really delved to deeply into, but I have a feeling that is where the confidence issues are coming from. Perhaps this is best continued in another post.
Happy reading!
Teach The Sprog 
Hi Nick,
I wouldn’t worry yourself too much about the confidence thing. It will come, and the best way I’ve found is to do exactly what you’re doing. Provide the material. A little challenging (the ‘next stage up’), but stuff sprog will want to read (Peppa Pig is an excellent choice!). A child who wants to read what is in front of her will make the effort to do so. Your doing everything just right.
best wishes as always
Chris
Understood and taken on board. The morning routine is really the most important part of the day for us, so I really need to ensure we continue our 10 minutes a day.
Just to follow up Nick. I cam home from work last night to find my younger sprog reading ‘Mathilda’ from Roald Dahl. It’s a book she’s read 5 or 6 times before, but all of a sudden (back to school time?) she’d felt the need to pick up that book. She disappeared most of the evening and finished the book. We were then chatting afterwards, and she said to me “you know Dad, I prefer reading in English”. After a bit of questioning, I found out why. Because she doesn’t see it as being ‘school work’, which is all done in French. She has always been the one who would try to get out of the extra work of learning, speaking and reading English if she could. She’s been the one who has wanted the same stuff in French as her friends. We’ve provided both. I know this can be tough, especially when space is an issue, but the extra language has to be a bit more ‘fun’ in order to get over the extra work and differentiation issues. Keep it light Nick, I know you’re an excellent father. We all have our worries about how we handle being the second language reference, but you’re doing a great job. Did you see the article about the games I sent you? Play with the language itself. Best wishes as always Chris
Hi Chris, thanks for keeping in touch! Sounds like a good escape route to me ;-). I have been reading the entire R.D collection to my sprog at bedtime for the last few months. It’s quite amazing. She quietly listens, occasionally asking what a word means, then falls asleep. Days or weeks later in the car or the bath she will suddenly come out with an impression of one of the characters or an analysis of their situation. Very accurate, and very clear. Amazing stuff. I hope that in the years to come she will be in a similar situation to yours, but as you say we will be keeping it light. Consistency is the most important thing, I believe.