童书非童书 Book Review

(This is a review of a Chinese book...and I was contemplating if I should write this in Chinese or English...finally I decided to write it in English so that those who can't read Chinese can at least read what I have learned from this book. )

童书非童书 (book title direct translation: About children's books and yet not a children's book) is a good book in introducing how to choose and read children's books to children. Even though most of the book the author introduced in his book cannot be found over here in MLY, the principle applied. I believe our church library carries this book.

After these 2 years of homeschooling, I have to say the best way to teach a child is to read to him/her. One of the reasons I choose Sonlight instead of another homeschooling program is because it emphasized on reading aloud. In fact, parents are expected to continue to read aloud (until Lever 7, which is around 13-14 years old) even after the child learned to read. The child will read at her grade level but will listen to stories that are way above her reading skill. That way the child will continue to improve on her vocab.

Sometimes I see parents wanting to teach their kids to read as early as possible so that they can read book themselves independently. I think that is very sad because then they lose out on the fun and enjoyment of sharing a good book together.

Of cause, reading takes lots of time. It can get rather boring when you have to read the same old story again and again and again. Isn't it better if the kids can entertain themselves with their books while we as parents can do something more productive than reading to them? I used to think of it that way too but after using Sonlight, I changed my mind.

The books that I have been reading to Den are in the reading level of std 2-5. Yet, she has no problem understanding most of them. I might need to paraphrase some or explain some words but most of the time, we just enjoyed the stories together. There was so many time, after reading a great story, Den and I just looked at each other and enjoyed the magic moments together. Those are the moment we will treasure forever. I never want to miss out on those moments.

The book has listed lots and lots of benefits of reading books - learning to categorize, logical thinking (event sequencing), observation skill, EQ, practical skills, etc, just to name a few. It also explained which type of book can help to improve which type of skill.

It also helped answer some of my questions about reading aloud:

1. should I read straight from the book or paraphrase? - depending on the books.

2. Den always cried after a sad story, should I stop reading stories with sad endings for her? -No. The author thinks the beauty of reading is it can provide different emotional experiences for kids, so let her laugh at humorous stories and cried at sad stories. A relief to me, since the next level of Sonlight includes 2nd world war stories.

3. Den refused to tell story even though I kept encouraging her (she claimed she can't 'read' the words). I even bought books without words to encourage her to tell a story and yet she refused - telling a story actually only comes in a later stage when she is 6-7 years old!! Ok, now, I understand.

That's all for now. Read the book if you have not. Every chapter is very short and very easy to read.