Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Your Baby Can Read update #6

Ok, so since we started this program almost a year ago I can't even count how many times I have been asked "does it really work??"

I normally refuse to give a straight answer. It's just not a simple "yes" or "no" that answers this. First of all I always want to know WHY their asking--if they're interested I feel they should understand more about the program before going any further. If they're interested in the program or considering it I'll give them a much longer answer than someone who's just heard of it & is just looking for a "yes" or "no" answer. I honestly can't just say "yes it works, get it!" The age of the child & so many other factors have so much to do with it all.

But the reality is that you "really" can't answer that question if the child isn't yet speaking. This is usually the answer I give people who are just curious about the program. And I sometimes, in the end, give this answer to those who are actually interested in the program. The bottom line is that it's a REAL answer. How can you really know?

Now I have to admit that I don't follow the program like they recommend. It appears to me to be designed for those parents that are overachievers with their kids. I would love to see my son get a head start on a very important skill in life, but he's also a kid & should be allowed to just "be" a kid. I refuse to make this program our whole life. I also feel that there are actually more important things (as well as other equally important things) in life. The Bible is definitely more important than reading in my opinion & so it is the Bible that we visit daily, every single day. Reading & Spanish we visit frequently, but not as much as Bible.

Now I did for the most-part follow the video plan guideline they give for the program. He viewed it twice daily for a really long time. Once it became optional to view once daily we did that, but only because lil J was becoming a bit bored with it & wouldn't watch it when he had to see it that often. And now he only views the video once or twice a week, otherwise he gets bored & won't pay attention.

But I did not do the flashcards & books "several times each day" as the instructions say to. I just felt like that was tooooo much, at least for us. But I could definitely picture other people going full force with the program & I assume that those are the types you see on the infomercial.

And it tells you that once you finish the video plan you should go visit libraries & sit & read as many books as possible together. I did not do this either, simply because lil J refuses to sit still & read a book with me. Up until very recently just me reading out loud to him was very difficult. He would try to grab the book, try to close the book, try to turn the pages from the one I was reading, or just sit his bottom in the middle of it all so I couldn't see to read it. And even though that has recently stopped he still runs all around while I read out loud to him. He absolutely will not sit & look at the words as I read. He's a boy, & a very active boy at that. There's only so much you can do & I'm not going to FORCE him to sit & read with me. In my opinion that would only create a negativity towards reading books for him.

Having said all that in review I must say that lil J is now starting to get verbal. He still likes to sit & look at his books by himself & flip pages, etc. I've been watching him closely, but I still cannot tell if he is able to READ. But I have noticed for the past couple of days when I put him in his highchair to eat. Long ago I customized the tray of his high chair & it has a lot of stickers on it, mostly pictures, but also has his name spelled out. He has always pointed to the stickers & enjoyed looking at them. But the last couple of days I have noticed him pointing & very quietly verbalizing something. As I listen I swear he is trying to sound out what it says. I can hear the "j" sound & the "s" & I clearly hear that there are 2 syllables. I do not think he realizes this is his name, but I do think he is trying to pronounce the word that he sees. And he has to be going off of what he has learned in his videos.

So at this point I guess I would have to answer "yes, it does work", but only time will truly tell. My guess has been all along that it will give him a head start, but how much of a head start is still the big question.

1 comment:

Sondra said...

I feel the same way about homeschooling~it's not my goal to have my children go to college when they are fourteen unless they are naturally wired that way~LOL! (((((HUGS))))) sandi