SO…Homeschooling! There is always something going on that will drive you crazy or have you screaming to the rooftop! Well as of lately, homeschooling has been having me doing the later! A few weeks ago, I decided while doing some lesson planning that it was time to really start teaching Duce how to read. He knew all the phonetic sounds of the alphabet, and I would catch him trying to read words he would see whether outside on a walk, reading a book, watching a show, or reading something off a toy, box, or game. So I told myself for March we would focus HEAVY on learning to read. Not just our reading 5 books a day, but active learning to sound out and blend words to read.

Now let me go back a bit. For almost 5 years I taught ESL with VIPKids. Some of you know that, but for my new momma crew…yes!😍🇨🇳🧡 Teaching English to Asian students virtually in China was my jam! I loved the relationships I built, and it was always such a joy seeing the light bulb turn on when they finally started to read independently. One of the recommendations I always gave parents outside of our class time, was to purchase B.O.B. book by Bobby Lynn Maslen. They were great for children learning to blend with CVC, CVCe, and sight words, as they learned the skill of mastering reading English. Parents loved them for their kids, and I was happy to provide yet another resource for them.

Fast forward to today…or a few weeks ago. I knew if Duce was going to start reading, it was time to order our B.O.B. books! So I did and I have to admit I was a tad bit more excited than Duce was! 🤗So for March, we have been reading them consistently for the last two weeks. We started off with 2 booka a day, then moved up to 5 books a day. Mainly because Duce thoroughly enjoyed reading them so much! They are short, funny, and effective. The simple sentences and illustrations really get the children interested and engaged. Before they know it, they have read a whole book, and feel accomplished. For Duce, it was like, “Wow! I am smart! I can read all by myself! Let’s read another one! And another one!”

Check him out, y’all!

What I also love about this new journey with Duce, is that he is inspiring his 2-year-old brother to read too! He grabs the books and says, “Okay. My turn!” It is definitely an exciting time for us all! We are a book-loving family so I am excited for the days when we all can sit around a read books together independently and enjoy them to their fullest!

One thing I will say about this reading journey with the boys is, we started teaching them phonetic sounds early. E learned them earlier than Duce! It is more important that they know the sounds the letters make than the names of the letters in my opinion. Once they get the phonetic sounds down, then they can start blending words together. And with repetition, they begin to hear the word they are slowly and phonetically pronouncing. So if you want to start somewhere, start with learning the phonetic sounds of all the letters of the alphabet! It truly is a game-changer!

If you are interested in giving these B.O.B. books a try, click below! They are affordable and come packaged well so you can store them and keep them safe from the roughness of children with books! 😂 I hope you have just as much success as we are having with them. If you decide to try them out, please leave a comment and let me know how they are going for you and your littles!

🌟Shine Bright!🌟

~Da’Quisha💜

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