If your child was reading at 3 years old (X-post)

[jkl]

***Cross posting this here and gen board

 

I feel sort of ridiculous asking this question but I'll ask it anyway :) My 3 year old is reading CVC and CVCC words. I guess she picked it up from listening to her big sister's phonics lessons??? My question is, should I be doing something beyond continuing to read aloud to her a ton? I am doing OPGTR with my 6 year old dd, and ds and I did OPGTR when he was 6 too. I can't imagine doing it with a 3 year old, though! Any words of wisdom? What did you do?

[Jackie]

I answered on the other board, but we used Bob Books. I found that since my daughter didn't need much in the way of phonics instruction, but she did need help with some of the more complex rules and I could do that on the fly with Bob. Once she was wrapping up the Bob Books, I switched to library books - Elephant and Piggie, Clifford, Little Critter. She took off from there.

[kathkath]

Provide time and appropriate books. As you read to him periodically point out phonic elements such as th sh, syllables etc. No need for formal lessons, just feed him good books. My ds read at 3yo and my other 2 at 4yo. This was our method.

[Crimson Wife]

My oldest figured out how to sound out CVC words on her own at 3 and was getting frustrated, so I did an adapted version of WRTR with her (using fridge magnets since she couldn't write yet). My 2nd and 3rd kids used/are using HOP, which is more user-friendly than WRTR. I am glad for the background of WRTR, however, because it helped me better teach HOP.

[EKS]

Once my son knew some basic phonics, I had him read aloud to me every day.  We started with Bob Books and I gradually increased the reading level from there.  Alongside, we worked on higher level phonics, like silent e and vowel digraphs and so forth, which just took a few minutes a day.

 

[Donna]

I read to my dd a lot and played games with letters (magnetic or bathtub letters)...making a word, then changing a letter and reading the new word. I didn't use any program with her. She memorized books very young, every book I read to her, and I didn't realize she could really read until the day she told me it was her turn to read the chapter book I was reading to her and did so fluently at 3yo.

[1053]

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[Dmmetler]

My DD taught herself to read early. Like, before she could walk early.

 

What I used was the Leapfrog fridge phonics and those silly frog videos occasionally, lots of books that were picture-word (she LOVED these, and taught herself a lot of vocabulary from them), and, as she got older, introduced Starfall and Between the Lions. Plus stacks, and stacks, and stacks of books.

 

She was reading on a 2nd grade level at age 2 1/2, when she was tested the first time, and had decoding and vocabulary and comprehension ranging from 5th grade to post high school (basically, if it was a science book about animals, she'd get it, but if it involved people, her comprehension wasn't nearly as high) when she was tested for early K entry.

 

I did do a phonics based spelling program with her really, really quickly when she came home at age 5 for 1st grade.

 

 

 

 

[Maela]

Once my son knew some basic phonics, I had him read aloud to me every day. We started with Bob Books and I gradually increased the reading level from there. Alongside, we worked on higher level phonics, like silent e and vowel digraphs and so forth, which just took a few minutes a day.

I did this with both of my kids. We also worked through OPGTR in a very relaxed way.

[Kathy G]

I had early readers like this.  We didn't do anything more than provide books and the opportunity to go to the library.  I certainly would advise against pushing her, and it seems like you are not.  Make it fun- have her read whatever she likes.

[Tanikit]

I worked through only the word lists of OPGTR with both my children at 3 (my now 3 year old started long A (ai and ay) today) - we just did 4-8 words a day which took less than 5 minutes and then I pointed out other examples in books I read to them or on starfall. Both were reading easy books by 3 which meant I could point out the phonics in there too. Both had a high degree of sight word reading by 3 so the phonics was there to make sure there were no gaps.

[imagine.more]

I used OPGTR when my 2.5 year old was begging to read. I held him off for 6 months (he started asking at 2, no joke) and started just after Christmas when he was 2.5. He already knew the letters so we skipped the first lessons and started in with the first real reading lesson. He enjoyed it and learned well with it. We just did 5-10 minute lessons a few times a week over the next 2 years. By Kindergarten he was reading on a 4th grade level. Now in first grade he's reading on a 7th grade level. I suggest starting there, double check that she knows ALL the basic letter sounds (sometimes they miss X or some obscure one early on) and then if she knows them all then start with lesson 27 in OPGTR. Bob books are fun for that age too, Tobias was very proud when he got his first Bob Book to read on day one :) 

 

Just don't tell ANYONE you are doing it! Seriously, I don't even tell people IRL that I did it in the past. People automatically assume you're a crazy tiger mom if you admit to teaching your young kid to read, no matter the evidence to the contrary. I was told I was ruining his imagination, pushing him, etc. whenever anyone found out. Which was crazy because these people weren't in my house seeing him begging me for more lessons (I said no a lot) and seeing that these "lessons" were just sitting with mommy on the couch learning a new type of word for 5-10 minutes. Certainly less taxing than preschool. Thank goodness my DH and SIL were early readers so my in-laws understood and accepted DS as normal. And he both has a healthy imagination and loves ready still. 

 

I'm now about to start my 4 year old in OPGTR because he brought me books and said "mommy, you have to learn me to read" about a month ago. When they're ready, they're ready :)

[kiwik]

Provided you don't over push it probably doesn't really matter. Ds5 was sounding out a few words at 3.5 but he stopped there because he got interested in something else.

[jkl]

 

Thanks for the input!

 

 

I answered on the other board, but we used Bob Books. I found that since my daughter didn't need much in the way of phonics instruction, but she did need help with some of the more complex rules and I could do that on the fly with Bob. Once she was wrapping up the Bob Books, I switched to library books - Elephant and Piggie, Clifford, Little Critter. She took off from there.

I think the most I'll do is something like this. Thanks everyone!!!!

[EndOfOrdinary]

Once my son was reading (by 3), we switched over to fluency.  We got a list of sight words and a list of high frequency words.  Ds started at picking three words a week which we would write in big bubble letters and have him color them in.  They were posted on the wall of his room.  By the end of a month he was picking ten a week and asking for more.  Then Dh made a big long pointer out of K'nex and they started playing sentence games where they strung the words together by pointing at them. This vaulted the rate at which Ds read and the fluency of his reading aloud in under six months.

 

Adding the words poop, fart, barf, and butt made the game a thoroughly male pursuit which instilled giggles from both Dad and Son.  I abstained from such delightful antics.

[The Governess]

We spent 9 months working through the Hooked on Phonics program. I will say that it was so great once she was able to read independently! She stopped napping when she was two but after she learned how to read she would spend an hour or two on her bed each day with her books.

 

(She still loves reading and she is 10 now). :)

[Roadrunner]

I would just read aloud and keep my finger on the text. I bet she will pick up on her own. I wouldn't do anything formal at all. Just keep reading to her.

[Spring Flower]

We used Hooked on Phonics. I have no regrets teaching my two oldest to read at 2 and 3. They were so much happier once they learned to read and it opened up a whole new world to them! 

[Maela]

 

Adding the words poop, fart, barf, and butt made the game a thoroughly male pursuit which instilled giggles from both Dad and Son.  I abstained from such delightful antics.

Two of the first words my son learned to sound out - poop and pee. My idea, not DH's. I was so proud. ;)

[Kerileanne99]

Two of the first words my son learned to sound out - poop and pee. My idea, not DH's. I was so proud. ;)

LOL, I got to teach my dd about palindromes at age 2 when she gleefully pointed out that poop was " look mommy, P-O-O-P, P-O-O-P!!!"

[ThoughtfulMama]

BOB books here, though they didn't last long. Our "rule" was that I would never read the BOB to him since he was such a great memorizer, but I would help him sound out words if necessary. Lots of reading and rereading and reading ad nauseum of the favorite picture books, like pp have said, word books (books with things labelled), flash cards (we didn't drill them ever, but he liked the ones that you could see the picture on one side and then flip over to see the word), and eventually Stsrfall. All of it was child-directed since I am completely anti-tiger mom.

 

However, huge amounts of reading learning occurred at the grocery store and out in the world. Recognizing eggs and milk from the signs, holding the grocery list and matching it with the shelves were constant.

 

We were relaxed about it. But some kids are like a speeding train, and you just have to keep up.

[saw]

DDs started reading at 3, and progressed about one grade level every two to three months until they got to the point where they were reading like "normal". I did cvc phonics and the Dolch words with them but no further explicit instruction. I figured that with the sight words and the sounds of the letters they were pretty much good to go. I added a bit of incentive -- "read it have it" -- so they could get a candy treat if they could sound out the name of the candy. Once per candy type. And of course they had access to lots and lots of books and were read to every day etc etc!