READING FOR 5 TO 6 YEAR OLDS
It is assumed that the home school student at this age will be working on reading as a separate, isolated program while doing 1st Step™ Starter Curriculum.
Reading at this young age can be "undeveloped", according to some rather arbitrary standards. It's very possible that a student will be unable to study much, if at all, if reading well is a prerequisite for a study program at these ages.
The idea that a student must read well before he can learn
forces parents and teachers to place a huge amount of
attention and energy (and, dare we say it...money) into
programs which will help their student improve their
literacy.
While we very much believe that a student must
eventually become very literate, we do not at all accept the
idea that
all
learning potential is locked into this one skill, and
certainly not for very young students. Too many students
are set up to fail at an early age by the universal
acceptance of the idea that literacy alone equals an
education. Certainly there are students who can and do read
well at a young age! But not every student will easily
accomplish this. Should a student struggling with reading
be deprived of an education, forced to invest all their
educational energies into this one effort? We don't think
so. Accordingly, our Starter Courses are designed to work
on a "pre-literate" level. Assuming the student
studies reading as a separate program, we feel that the four
courses we offer will provide much of the rest of his or her
needed education, excluding mathematics. We would like to
see every student "win".
(We offer a very effective Reading Program enhancement to you which will help teach the student to read, regardless of his level of literacy. We'll also recommend a math program for the age group, if contacted. We do not offer mathematics.)
