Bradley is a cute curly-haired boy who had a rocky start. But with much love and dedication from especially his mother, he is now a real bookworm and the best reader in his class. This is his story.
Disclaimer: All names has been change for privacy reason and images are for illustration purposes only.
The Early Years
Bradley was a ‘place of safety’ placement, meaning he would only stay with us until his adoption was finalised. I fetched him from the hospital when he was only four days old.
From the beginning, he struggled during feeding and didn’t sleep well. He also achieved his development milestones later than usual.
At eight months, he was placed in our foster care due to complications with his adoption process. We have already applied to adopt him as our own at this stage.
At age two, I took him for occupational therapy because I was concerned about his depth perception. He also avoided activities at the playgroup he attended once a week. The occupational therapist, told us that he was behind with his speech development and experienced problems with his sensory integration. His treatments constituted of sensory input, problem-solving, and music therapy and lasted about a year.
The Start of Bradley’s Reading Journey
Bradley liked being held and wasn’t a very active boy, but he did enjoy playing outside and loved water games. He was only a few months old when we started reading to him. His favourite book was about the sounds of cars, tractors, and trains. He enjoyed cuddling on my lap while I read to him. Since too many sensory inputs (sounds, movement, and light) tend to upset him, he self-regulated by paging through his books in his quiet room. I’ve ensured that he always had books available. Since I love reading myself, he often saw me reading.
We enjoyed reading a story or two (or a complete book) as part of his bedtime ritual every night. He always sat close to me, which was a precious time of day for us. He progressed to a point where he could recite a book “Klein Konyn’ at three and a half.
We found that Bradley wasn’t emotionally ready for school and decided to let him repeat his pre-school (Grade R) year. His school used the whole-brain approach to learning. The children play a lot and learn practically, like making pictures with clay snakes or building pictures with blocks. Only in the last quarter do they start with ‘book’ work. And then only tracing of forms and listening exercises. For example: ‘colour the walls of the house purple and the roof yellow.’ They are also introduced to letters but are not yet learning to read or write.
Grade 1 and Grade 2
Bradley tends to get obsessed when he is interested in a subject. Early in Grade 1, Bradley developed a keen interest in aeroplanes. I found many second-hand books for him. His other interest was cars. As he got to know all the vehicles on the market, he started with incidental reading. Shops and familiar beacons then followed.
In March of his Grade 1 year, Covid hits, and they started learning online. His teachers used videos, and we’ve done the ‘book’ work at home. His teacher tells a story for each letter of the alphabet, and they don’t even know they are learning.
Reading started with sight words that Bradley mastered quickly. He started reading with great confidence from the ‘Tippie’ series. We made videos of him reading and sent them to his teacher. By the time he returned to school in July, he could read fluently, without any struggle. He also started reading his aeroplane books in English because he was curious about fantastic facts. Fortunately, he had a friend who shared his interest, and they could talk endlessly about the miracle world of aeroplanes. At the end of Grade 1, he was one of the best readers in his class.
Bradley’s great school has a no homework policy in the foundation phase. The children are not given any homework but are expected to read twenty minutes daily. I’ve made it thirty minutes a day, but Bradley never complained.
Bradley’s school host a ‘Speak your Language’ evening every year in August. When his teacher suggested in his second Grade R year that he should recite a poem, I thought she was a bit over-optimistic. Still, he was prepared to do so (participation is voluntary), and it went exceptionally well. He stood close to his teacher while she held the microphone for him, and he recited his poem confidently in front of all the parents!. In Grade 1, he participated again but had to record his recital since Covid regulations prohibited gatherings.
Early in his Grade 2 year, Bradley could comfortably and with much enthusiasm read thicker ‘chapter’ books and even English books! It was a battle to keep him supplied with new reading material. Although they had a ‘media’ period once a week, his teacher didn’t believe that he could read thicker Afrikaans and even English books. Thus I had to often visit second-hand book stores to provide him with reading materials. But it was a great problem to have! He was chosen for the Grade 2 ‘speak your language’ evening to participate in a prepared reading. Thus the cute piece about Tarzan by Jaco Jacobs.
Listen to the original recording (in Afrikaans) of Bradley reading Tarzan by Jaco Jacobs
Bradley Loves To Read
Bradley is a real bookworm. When his eyes open in the morning, he immediately looks for a book. I give him breakfast in bed to give him time to read a while before his day starts. He always asks if he can take his lunch to his room in the afternoon and then reads while he eats. I think it is also a way for him to regulate en destress after a busy day at school, so I allow this with pleasure.
I miss reading to him since he now wants to read himself. But fortunately, he often lays close to me while reading and likes to share pieces with me he finds funny. Although I still read his Bible study piece every night and treasure every moment, since this will also end. I often battle to get him to put away his book and sleep, but I don’t complain about it too much!
Listen to the original recording (in Afrikaans) of Bradley reading Tarzan by Jaco Jacobs
I know Bradley and his mom personally, and when I saw the video on Facebook of him reading at school, I knew I had to share his story. There are so many children who struggle with reading. I hope that Bradley’s reading story will give other mothers hope that their children can also learn to read.
Follow this link to read Bradley’s story as told by his mom in Afrikaans.
Do you have a special story to share about your child’s reading journey? Drop me an email and I gladly share it on my blog.
Hi! I am Susan
Welcome to my adventure
Why Read or Rot?
I have started reading at the age of four. I can remember how I often read under the covers with a flashlight when I was supposed to sleep.
During my early school years, we visited the library once a week. I couldn’t pick out my new book fast enough! By the end of the period, I would have finished it already, leaving me with nothing to read for the rest of the week!
Growing up, Fridays was the highlight of my week. Dad would pack the whole family into the car, and off we go! You guessed right – to the library! We were a family of readers.
In my adult years, I’ve developed a variety of interests like technology, photography, gardening and even writing. But reading was and will always be a part of my life!
Reading for me is like breathing. If I cannot read, my soul will quietly rot away…