Reading Fiction - shocking!

I am a non fiction gal through and through. However, I recently ran into the fiction books by Marilynne Robinson and have really enjoyed them. Okay - one, Gilead and I started Housekeeping yesterday. WARNING: Do not read them if you want action adventure. She is very skilled at developing characters and creating moments and images that just stick with you. (My husband would NOT like them). She is a Pulitzer Prize winner that actually has a Christian faith to speak of. These are not "Christian" books - but rather, she is a Christian who writes good books for a general audience. Her style is somewhat like Annie Dillard - noticing the small details of life. She is not a liberal Christian (like Anne Lammot) - which is REALLY surprising. Her tone is more life affirming than Anne Lammot even though she deals with weightier subjects. Although Lammot does make me laugh.

She has written two non fiction works (which I am hoping the local library will add to their collection). Hopefully I can read them soon since the reviews contend that they are thought provoking and well written.

I also like reading her because it makes me want to write better (although this blog does not necessarily reflect that desire). She makes me think about noticing and describing the little incidents of life. She brings value and a sense of sacredness to the small acts of everyday - which is pretty much all you have when you are a stay at home mom. I appreciate her for that.

So, although these do not support my effort to "read the classics" they are at least good literature. You can listen to an interview about her work "Gilead" from NPR. It is interesting to hear NPR try to deal with deep religious faith.

Update - Little man has now been asleep for 2 1/2 hours. As it nears 5 I think I'll have to get him up so that he will go to bed tonight. He needs it though - he went to sleep VERY late last night.

Reading - step by step

In my search for information about teaching phonics I found the NAEYCs statement outlining the literacy goals from preschool to third grade. I think this is a balanced look at what children should be able to do at each stage. I think I could very easily fall into pushing my kiddo to do more than he can or should do at a certain stage. These markers help me remember it's not a race and that learning to read is a process that takes time and trial and error.

On the other hand, this informaiton is useful if you feel that the school is pushing the academic side of reading too much. NAEYC is the most widely recognized accredidation organization for early childhood centers. If the school is drilling and killing too much you might encourage them to consider this statement and how it should impact the way they teach their students.

As far as phonics goes, it appears that there is no standard way to introduce the letters and sounds. There are suggestions that basically start with the easy sounds and work from there. The research does indicate that a systematic approach to teaching phonics is key to becoming a proficient reader. So, if for some reason the school your first grader attends is still insistent on the whole language approach as the only method - you need to step in on your child's behalf. You can teach phonics at home if need be.

In the end, remember that the goal of reading is inform, entertain, communicate, etc. - not decode. So, we need to make sure that we are reading materials to our kids (yes even when they are older) so that they can learn to enjoy the whole process of reading and see a reason for wading through the difficulty of putting together all those sounds.