Hello friends, my name is Jackie, welcome to my Azy Reading Journey website. I hope that the information you find here will help you to make the right decision in choosing a program or system to help you to teach your child to read.
MY STORY
I am the mother of two adult children. I grew up in the Caribbean and we were sent to Basic school (not daycare), from about two years old. So, I was accustomed to seeing children writing, and hearing them reading from an early age. At four years old, a child would be capable of doing the school work of a first grader in Elementary school.
When we came to America my first child was four years old. She was more than ready for elementary school because she had gone to Basic school.
She had also attended private school for a while but she was too young to start.
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Thinking of ways to teach her while we find a private school, my husband and I did some research and decided on using the Hooked on Phonics program to continue teaching her at home.
To keep the learning interesting and exciting, we also included other materials including educational programs that were designed for computer use.
The Hooked on Phonics program that we bought had flash cards, reading materials, work books, key booklet and audio cassettes. That was a long time ago guys because DVDs are now being used.
The program did a very good job in holding her attention and keeping her active. That was a good sign, plus the additional materials really helped because they were new to her.
We eventually found a private school for her and we also continued with teaching her at home. She loved the school and was doing very well.
However, we had some unresolved issues with the school and we sent her to another one. I will say more about the second school later.
When my second child was born, the program was there waiting for her. We decided that we would start teaching her when she was two years old, because we had seen how well that had worked with the first one and other kids that we knew.
We continue reading to her and introducing her to age appropriate materials. However, as she grew older, she was being introduced to the program as we taught the eldest one, because she was hearing and seeing what was going on.
When the time came to start teaching her, she was ready. We used the same methods that we were using with the eldest one, and I can truly say the program really worked. She learned to read before she was four years old.
During their growing up years, the kids were sent back to Jamaica for summer holiday, and they attended school while they were there. Getting the opportunity to learn and interact with kids her age opened my youngest child’s appetite for learning.
When they came back home, she started saying she wanted to go to school. We started looking for a school, because we were not going to send her to the schools that the eldest one attended.
In asking around for a good school, we heard about the Montessori school, we checked into it further and then enrolled her. She stayed there until she went to elementary.
In elementary, she always went to a higher-grade level for reading, and she was always a high achiever. We continued to use the program for a long time because there was so much material, the teaching could go on and on.
You might be wondering what happened to my eldest child, since I have not mentioned much about her achievements.
Unfortunately, the second private school that we chose for her was not a good fit.
Instead of placing her based on her potential, they placed her based on her age. Considering that as a four years old, she was well able to do 1st grade work.
However, she was now going back over things that she had learned before, and being told to take naps did not work well for her.
Her learning foundation was a bit shaken and she got discouraged for a while. At times she did not want to go to school because she said it was boring. She asked me several times to home schooled her, but I could not afford to stop working.
We talked with the people at the school but they would not put her with the older children. We did not want to move her again, and we regretted not moving her from that school.
Had we known about the Montessori school; we would definitely have sent her there. We did our best to encourage her and continued to teach her and eventually she got back on track.
Now I have a grandson, Azy, who will be four years old in January and after trying several methods, his mother is looking for a program to teach him to read because what we have tried so far is not working like we thought they would.
Maybe, we are using too many activities instead of allowing him to focus on one, then moving to another.
Azy also has a Tablet, but we think he is seeing too many things at once, so he just keeps moving from one thing to the other.
I heard that boys learn differently from girls, I do not know if that is true. Hopefully, I will see as I travel with Azy on his reading journey.
WHY I WANT TO HELP PEOPLE
My grandson is going to daycare, so I do not think it will be that difficult to teach him how to read. He can count, sometimes he counts to 20.
He is also learning to recognize letters, colors, numbers, shapes, his name plus other little things. His mother has done some research, and has decided on a program. She ordered the program and is waiting for it to be delivered.
So, I think it would be a good idea to follow along and see how he interacts with the program and how effective the program is.
When he starts using the program, I will be able to provide some feedback and hopefully help parents who are looking for information about the program. In addition, I will also get the opportunity to help with the teaching.
Therefore, in seeing how the program works I will be able to see how long it takes for him to start understanding the materials. Then I will be in a better position to help parents determine if it is a good choice to help them teach their child to read.
THE GOAL OF MY SITE
I know that many parents are busy with work and other activities, but I also believe that it is very worthwhile for kids to learn to read before they start Pre-K. I have seen it both ways, children who could read and those who could not.
I remember one child in particular who had a hard time when she started Pre-K because she could not read. In speaking with her, you would not know because she is very intelligent for her age.
Her parents bought a lot of learning materials, but they did not spend enough time to teach her and they really regretted not doing so.
When she started going to school, she was at the bottom of the class and they had to spend a lot of money on tutoring.
They also saw how stressful it was for the child and it made them feel bad. I do not want to see my grandson struggle to read.
We might be busy, but if we can spend an hour or less per day to teach our kids, we will not regret it and they will be happy.
Sometimes we can get help if we asked. Thankfully, my husband and I worked as a team to help with teaching our children. So, ask other family members for help.
If older children are in the house, you can get them to join in the learning process as well. After a while, my children were learning together.
We also allowed the eldest one to help with teaching the younger one and they enjoyed learning together.
Remember, the goal is to help your child learn to read. You will not regret it. I hope I have provided enough information to spark your interest.
You can learn more about Azy Reading Journey on:
Thanks for the visit.
More to come.
Jackie
Founder of Azy Reading Journey.
Hello, my name is Jackie. My family members and I are teaching my grandson Azy to read and I am writing about the challenges and the joy that comes from doing so. My goal is to write articles that will encourage and help parents and others who want to do the same for their kids or other children. Thanks for travelling along with us. Blessings, Jackie
Thanks so much for sharing. Your story has caught my eyes to read it on.
As a mother of two young kids, it is quite a challenge to nurture their reading interests.
Also, agree with you that it is important to find a ‘good fit’ program for kids instead of the well-reputed one.
You are welcome Vincy, thank you for reading on.
Yes, it can be challenging to get kids interested. That is why we are using different material at this time to see what will help Azy to settle down and focus.
Yes, I believe that finding a program and activities that works for them is better than just buying anything that is available.
Thanks again
I have a daughter almost 3 years old now. I am amazed at how kids these days learning so fast. You sometimes teach her the alphabet and sing the ABC songs, now she can sing the whole songs on her own. Yes, I believe kids can learn faster these days and given a good learning process will help them improve tremendously. Thanks for your post, and I hope to see more of your story.
Thanks John
Glad to hear that your three years old daughter is singing the alphabet songs. I believe that the songs pull them in and once they start interacting with the material, they are ready to go.
I am with you in believing that kids can learn faster these days.” I also believe that the different programs that are now available plus technology help makes it easier to teach them. Maybe the hardest part is getting the learning process started.
Thanks for reading my post, looking forward to seeing you following Azy on his reading journey.
Take care
Dear Jackie, let me start with saying that you seem a terrific grandma! Congratulations are in order!!
I love your passion for teaching kids in an early age to read and I am sorry that the school system hasn’t helped and sometimes even put a stop to the natural desire of children to learn.
I think it is a beautiful way of caring for your children if you teach them in the little spare time you have and use the right programs based on age and interests. Not only do you get to spend quality time with your children, you also get to open up a world for them which they will thank you for.
As older kids teach younger kids it makes everybody feel involved, the elder can be proud of what they have achieved ant test if they really understood by teaching it to the younger who will feel so much more encouraged being taught by the elder one, whom they look up to and usually try to imitate.
Last note is on Montessori. My sister attended elementary with the Montessori method, I didn’t. I could see and feel the difference. She had some hours every day to organize her own learning according to her interests, I didn’t. I felt stuck and bored, she didn’t. I wish I had gone to a Montessori school which helps children to learn how to learn and sparks their interest instead of telling them what they should be interested in all the time.
I love your article and the journey you started. Even more so as it involves your little grandson and you can provide us with first hand experience. I am looking forward to learning more about learning,
Thank you for sharing.
Janie
Thanks Janie, from my experience, and seeing how happy kids are when they are able to read, I am looking forward to hearing Azy reading and seeing how happy he will be. Back then, the school system was not looking at talent, and was doing things based on age. However, I learned that later on as kids continue to come for the Caribbean and they saw how advance they were, they started to test them and place them based on the results. I felt good when I heard that.
I agree that “it is a beautiful way of caring for your children if you teach them in the little spare time you have and use the right programs based on age and interests.” I hope that more parents will see the need to spend time helping their kids learn to read. There are many programs available these days and the time they will be spending together is priceless.
Things will only get better when the older siblings get involved in helping to teach the younger ones. Making it a family affair will make everyone happy.
I am happy to hear that your sister attended Montessori, and sorry to hear that you did not get the opportunity to attend. I believe that it is a very good way to help get kids grounded and continue enjoying the learning experience.
Thanks for loving my article, I will continue to share Azy’s reading journey as we continue to head towards the prize of reading.
Blessings
Hi Jackie,
First of all, I’d like to congratulate you on being a member of the Caribbean Islands (though now you are in America). I personally have an inner love for the Caribbean islands, mainly because of Cricket. I’m not sure whether you love cricket or not, but I follow the game from my heart and Caribbean islands have given birth to a number of legendary cricketers, starting from Sir Garfield Sobers to Brian Lara, and hundreds in between. Besides the place is also the birthplace of several legends from other sports. I personally love the ever cheering environment within this small island. If I get a chance to discover the beauty of this Island I must visit once.
It was great to visit your website azyreadingjourney.com, and reading the about me section. You seem a terrific grandma! Congratulations again on that!
Nowadays the world becomes too busy with respect to the past years. Parents are extremely busy with their own work. I can exemplify the same by our own schedule. My daughter’s parents are also too busy as every morning they have to head for their office job. Even though her mother (my wife) dedicate the whole evening for her, but I get a very limited time unless we head for a vacation away from home. It is really hard to get some free time after my full-time job and online business. But soon I am looking to leave my office job as my online business is running well now. Then I can spend some more time with her, and it is extremely important as you said.
It is absolutely true that kids need to spend time with their parents rather than buy a lots of reading accessories for them. Only parents can teach them the proper way, not a tutor. I absolutely agree with you.
Thank you, Dr SD,
Glad to hear that you are a Cricket lover. My father was one also, and my husband and his brothers are big fans.
I remember those days when Cricket was popular. In the district, where I am from, when a game was playing, the men would walk with their radio, so that they would not miss anything. Yep, the Caribbean produced and is still producing many sports legends in different fields.
I hope that you and your family with get a chance to visit someday.
Thanks for visiting my website and thanks for your kind words. It is my desire to hear my grandson read and see how happy he will be when it happens. It does look like in these times, people are busier. I agree that, “Parents are extremely busy with their own work.” In addition, some parents are working more than one job.
It is nice to hear that despite the busy schedule of your wife and you, you take time to go on vacation. Many individuals are even too busy to take vacation. It is also nice to hear that even though your wife is busy, she dedicates evenings to your daughter.
A full-time job and an online business are not easy to handle. I am not working now, and by the time I finished doing things around the house and otherwise, I can hardly keep up with building this online business.
I hope that things will work out well for you so that you can leave you office job sooner than planned. I am sure that your daughter would love to spend more time with you.
Yep, I believe that it is more valuable for parents to spend quality time with their kids instead of buying stuffs that will be put aside after a while. Spending the time to teach them will be rewarding for both parents and children. I am against depending on teachers to teach our children to read.
Thanks again for taking the time to read my post and leaving such all-inclusive comment.
Blessings
This is very easy to follow. Navigation is terrific. I enjoy that you have made this a family oriented site. You have provided a terrific amount of information about homeschooling and early learning.
The breakdown of phonics is very interesting. This is something I will follow in the future, as you add more posts. I look forward to more. Keep going on this journey with Azy. It’s a very special topic that many readers will enjoy.
Thanks Carson
Glad you found the website easy to navigate. The goal is to provide information that will help parents and caregivers see that family members can work together to help teach the little ones in their household.
Thank you for reading about Azy’s reading journey. I hope that other readers will find the website interesting too. Looking forward to seeing your return.
Take care