6.5yo is sort of a dynamo at some things. Needless to say, those things are the things he loves. He doesn’t have a fantastic attention span, but neither do I, actually. Anyhoo, getting him to try new things can sometimes be difficult, and I don’t like to bribe *all* the time. For goodness sake, some things should just be fun to try, so stop your whinging. Reading falls into the latter category. 6.5yo is a good reader, but math seems to come naturally to him and reading, to my horror and heartbreak, does not. He will try a little but come up short, perceive a problem and stop trying. He does that with other things, too; Husband thinks it is merely a lack of immediate gratification. After catching 6.5yo at a good time and he reading a book pretty easily, I came to the same conclusion. So I am back to bribing, and so far, it has worked really well. On the flipside, having a tub of choc almonds within easy reach is not ideal for me. But let’s not talk about me.
One night during the week and the following morning, 6.5yo read through the whole set of Bob books, without any problem! I was so proud, and also a little relieved that he responds appropriately to chocolate, the lifeblood running through the veins of our family.
The idea is that he will receive 2 chocolates per new book that he reads, and 1 chocolate for rereading something. Afternoons, he can just eat them, mornings, he can save them up like the junior hoarder that he is. If he gets upset about trying new words or stops trying to sound out words, then gets nothing, and having the chocolates has helped him get over a perceived hurdle, or two.
There is a bunch of little books that he has started on today, and when he gets through them, I think he will have the confidence to try bigger and better things. It is my ardent wish that I will come upon him soon, flashlight in hand, hiding books under his blankets when he should be sleeping. It’s good for one, it’s good for all.