Reading Our Way Out of the Circle

Today I started reading a simplified version of The Swiss Family Robinson to the kids as a bedtime story. This book was given to H for Christmas, and he has been struggling to read it over the past week but it’s beyond his present skill level.

Falling behind in reading skills is really tough on kids. The only books you can read on your own are so simple that they're boring. I mean really boooooorrrrring! You remember See Spot Run? But, being older than the average kid reading about Spot, you recognize how boring it is and can’t engage in the story (because there isn’t one) and so are easily distracted and, ultimately, just learn to hate reading. It’s a horrible vicious circle.

Maybe by reading to H from the same book he's trying to read himself, he will become engaged in the story and break out of this circle.