Here is the story of how a homeschooler discovered The Hobbit and improved his reading.

How This Homeschooler Discovered The Hobbit and Improved His Reading

One of my sons has dyslexia. Learning to read was a nightmare. Although he was a patient, good-natured workhorse and we plugged along diligently, it took him until third grade to read competently. Even then, every word was a chore.

I had resigned myself to the thought that he would never be able to love reading. So sad in a family that thrives on books.

Resigned, that is, UNTIL the year my son turned 12 years old and we had the great blessing of stumbling upon an audiobook of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion stunningly read by Martin Shaw. It took a long time to listen all the way through that tome as we drove back and forth to church, sports, and homeschool co-op. By the time we finished, all my kids were die-hard Tolkien fans.

It was then that my son made a life-changing decision. He was going to read another Tolkien book- The Hobbit. All by himself.

Determination. Dedication to the cause. Diligence. He did it on his own- and his imagination was on fire- he wanted to read and write and create.

When he was 13, he read The Lord of the Rings. All by himself.

He has never stopped reading since then. He has graduated college now with a double major, is teaching and still reads constantly. He keeps audio books running in his car and when he’s not immersed in graduate-school coursework.

The dyslexia is still there. My son works harder than a lot of folks his age to get his reading done, but he does get it done. He was empowered for a lifetime by discovering Tolkien and the little book, The Hobbit.

Your homeschooling high school student can have an inspirational experience with the 7 Sisters Study Guide for The Hobbit ($4.99).

How This Homeschooler Discovered The Hobbit and Improved His Reading