The Sweetness of Learning

My husband and I have been "rewarding" (that is, bribing!) our daughters with chocolate chips to get them read - to get my older one to read in Hebrew (she needs no reward to read in English and was horrified to read recently of a girl who read "only" 3 books a week!) and to get my younger one to read in English.  I'd been feeling a little guilty about this practice, as it conflicts with my principle that learning should be its own reward.  But principles and reality are often at odds, especially when it comes to parenting.  Then I remembered the ancient Jewish tradition of dabbing some honey on the alef-bet - the alphabet - when a child first starts to learn his (back then it was always his) letters - so he would know that learning is sweet.  And I felt better.

She Can Read!

I've been pointing to words as I read to my almost-five-year-old, asking her to sound them out.  At first she was very resistant, so I didn't push it.  If she wanted to try, great, if not, not.  But lately she has become more receptive, even volunteering to read and I've noticed that she was able to sound out more and more words with more ease as well as read some words by sight.

However, I have found it hard to find books for the very earliest of readers.  Either they are too hard or have so little content that they are deathly boring.

So last night I wrote two very short "stories" on our whiteboard.  They weren't too thrilling either but this way I could come up with a mix of words I knew she knew by sight, words I knew she could sound out, and words that would be a little challenging.  My funny husband added his own unique touch at the bottom. 

And she did it!  She can read!

Do you have any book recommendations for the just-barely-starting-to-read reader?