Reading readiness at 2 years old. What to do?

[kalusignan]

I am new to the board, so I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere.

 

I was looking at this checklist for reading readiness today.

 

http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/is-your-child-ready-to-learn-to-read?utm_content=11772491&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

 

My 2-year-old dd passes this test easily, which would mean she's ready to learn how to read? This is new territory for me since my oldest dd wasn't ready until at least 5 years old. Also, I haven't done any work with my youngest dd to get her to this point; she just picked up all this on her own. I was as surprised as anybody when she suddenly knew all her letter sounds. She's known all her letters, upper and lower case and their sounds for over 6 months now.

 

Should I go ahead and start to teach her how to read? Obviously only as long as it was fun for her (she LOVES anything to do with letters, so I don't see that being a problem). Or, do I just continue to read aloud, play rhyming games, etc. and wait and see what happens? I just don't want to be holding her back if she's ready.

 

What are the pros and cons of teaching her blending of CVC words starting now?? At this point, I'm not willing to spend money on a reading curriculum since I already wasted money on a pre-reading program before I found out she basically knew everything already.

 

Or am I just thinking about this too much?

[JenneinCA]

With a two year old, unless they are demanding to learn to read, I would not do any structured lessons.

 

I would read to her and play in the sand. And cut and color things. And just plain have fun.

 

Structured lessons are for later.

[Laura Corin]

The two things I did with my early reader were to run my finger under the words as I read, and to give him letter fridge magnets.  He would ask me what the letters were and I would tell him.  If he hadn't asked, I would not have pursued it.  He learned his letters pretty quickly, but blending took a lot longer.  So we carried on playing with sounds casually and waited.  There was a couple of years' lag between learning his letter sounds and starting to read.  I suspect he had the idea a bit earlier though and kept it secret.

 

All that to say: it's fine to make materials available, but I wouldn't do much more.  Physical skills are very important, however: hand strength (clay, scissors) and gross motor strength (playground, swimming, etc.).

[historically accurate]

I have one that read at early 3 years old.  I didn't do any formal lessons; in fact, I never used a reading program until my 3rd child.  She loved to use fridge magnets while I cooked -- "Oh, look, you spelled fradjet!"   I made sure that I read lots and lots of books to her, often running my finger under the print.  If she pointed to a word, I sounded it out for her.  I think the one thing that worked for her:  I read the easy, easy readers (BOB books, etc.) to her before her quiet time, and she worked it out instead of napping.  

[kalusignan]

Thanks for your feedback!

 

Just for clarification purposes, my general educational philosophy for pre-school is to read aloud, play a lot, arts and crafts, etc. with no formal work until kindergarten. And even in Kindergarten I only did reading, handwriting, and math with my oldest dd. Soooo, we do lots of that. ;)

 

We have the leapfrog fridge magnets, which she loved, but is getting bored with since she mastered all the sounds. I also read to her A LOT. She'll even sit for long periods of time with us as I read aloud to my dd7. She can go through about 20 library books on the couch 'reading' them to herself while putting her finger under the words. She is also very advanced in her language development FWIW.

 

My goal in education is always to meet my children where they're at, which is why I'm even considering reading instruction with her. I think if I let her be, she would read on her own in the next year with little to no formal help from me. BUT, I also think she would be tickled to pieces if I decided to teach her now...

 

Am I missing something? Is there harm in starting now?

 

Thanks!!!!

[Laura Corin]

You could start, but be prepared to step back before there is any sense of failure.  As I said, it's a very different skill to know sounds from being able to blend.

[Incognito]

Since you like leapfrog, there are the talking words factory DVD and its follow ups.  They are a very easy way to "teach" your child the next step.  It's pretty easy to see if they actually understand what is going on with the reading or if they are just enjoying the story.

 

[SeaConquest]

With my oldest DS, I just bought Montessori sandpaper letters and a tray, and we made a moving alphabet. After that, he got hooked on Reading Eggs (a video game) for awhile. 

[Jackie]

I did do direct instruction with my daughter when she was two. She has always loved books dearly and she had expressed occasional frustration at not being able to "read them right" herself.

 

We started by trying 100EZ, which is the most boring reading book on the planet. I showed it to her and told her that it was for learning to read and we could try it when she wanted. She wanted to give it a shot. I left it out on the table in the living room and she would ask for it frequently until about lesson 12, then she just stopped asking. Those first lessons were a lot about learning to blend.

 

A month or so after she stopped asking for it, I asked her if I should put it away and she told me it was "boring". On a hunch, I flipped it open and asked if she would do it with me for just a couple minutes. I flipped way ahead and she could happily sound out the words there. Turned out that it was going way too slow for her, which turned her off. We switched to Bob Books and she read those to me with phonics help from me along the way. She would sometimes fly through the books, sometimes slow down, sometimes get stuck or bored with them and take a break or reread the earlier ones. It was never what I would call structured, I would just leave the book she was working on out where she could see it and sit with her when she wanted to try it. There wasn't any harm in it. About a year after starting the reading instruction, something clicked and she went from "sounding out" to "reading".

[lizbusby]

With my oldest DS, I just bought Montessori sandpaper letters and a tray, and we made a moving alphabet. After that, he got hooked on Reading Eggs (a video game) for awhile. 

I second getting a moveable alphabet. This one is great and was a huge hit with my son at the same age: http://www.amazon.com/Montessori-Small-Movable-Alphabets-Box/dp/B003BGYB8C

 

Play together at making (somewhat silly) words. Spell names of favorite people. Give them flashcards with their favorite words on them so that they can build them by themselves during quiet time. Just to clarify--I'm not advocating drilling with flashcards. Just treat them like "word toys," similar to alphabet magnets, but for words. My oldest DS had a large collection of his favorite words. He could arrange them to make his own sentences or use his moveable alphabet to recreate them.

 

Montessori style teaching is really appropriate for this age and can allow them to develop reading skills without drilling and direct phonics instruction, which really don't work except with the most focused of 2yos. See this blog for lots of great Montessori language activity ideas: http://livingmontessorinow.com/category/activities-language/

 

I also highly recommend writing letters on your sidewalk with chalk and jumping around on them to spell things. This is still one of my 6yo's favorite activities.

[EKS]

I made PowerPoint slides with giant letters on them and taught my son (at age 2) the letter sounds that way.  He'd sit on my lap for a few minutes and we'd go through them.  He loved it.  After a little while I made slides where one letter appeared and then another next to it--"on" or "red" for example--and that's how he learned to blend.  

[quark]

I made PowerPoint slides with giant letters on them and taught my son (at age 2) the letter sounds that way.  He'd sit on my lap for a few minutes and we'd go through them.  He loved it.  After a little while I made slides where one letter appeared and then another next to it--"on" or "red" for example--and that's how he learned to blend.  

 

This is very similar to how we did it too. We added some photos of wild animals because there was a wild animal book he was gifted with as a very young toddler and he loved "reading it". We eventually added the animal names to the slides and pointed them out and read them out to him and he would clap his hands in so much glee.

 

When a child is ready and willing, I don't worry about age.

 

[rwilk]

I had a similar experience to Jackie.  Around age 2.5, my kiddo started wanting to read.  And not just sit and flip through books (though she enjoyed that too), but actually read the right sounds. We took 100EZL from the library, and she got angry with it somewhere around lesson 9 or 10.  We also tried Bob books around that time, but she could memorize the words fast enough that it wasn't reading as much as it was remembering.  So we stopped, put it all away, and played with other things. 

 

Then, around 3, she started not just memorizing books, but memorizing lots and lots of sight words. I didn't like that method of reading.....it was how I learned to read, and I still cannot spell or understand phonics.  So once she started doing that a bunch, we started in on phonics instruction. We use logic of english foundations, and have found that it is REALLY age appropriate for her.  Not to fine-motor demanding if you allow for alternatives to handwriting.  And she's making great strides. AND loves it.  

 

So I guess my point is to try if you want, but like others have said, back off if your kiddo shows signs of resistance. I think instilling a LOVE of reading is way more important than early reading. 

[Arcadia]

Just let her tag along when you are teaching your older kids reading. My older was keen on learning to read so I bought the materials that he wanted and he help himself to them. He learned blending himself.

[Guest]

I had a similar experience to Jackie. Around age 2.5, my kiddo started wanting to read. And not just sit and flip through books (though she enjoyed that too), but actually read the right sounds. We took 100EZL from the library, and she got angry with it somewhere around lesson 9 or 10. We also tried Bob books around that time, but she could memorize the words fast enough that it wasn't reading as much as it was remembering. So we stopped, put it all away, and played with other things.

 

Then, around 3, she started not just memorizing books, but memorizing lots and lots of sight words. I didn't like that method of reading.....it was how I learned to read, and I still cannot spell or understand phonics. So once she started doing that a bunch, we started in on phonics instruction. We use logic of english foundations, and have found that it is REALLY age appropriate for her. Not to fine-motor demanding if you allow for alternatives to handwriting. And she's making great strides. AND loves it.

 

So I guess my point is to try if you want, but like others have said, back off if your kiddo shows signs of resistance. I think instilling a LOVE of reading is way more important than early reading.

Foundations is my absolute favorite for young or struggling kiddos! I'll be starting my four year old here in a month. We are in no hurry with academics for him but he's ready and it's perfectly suited to a wiggly little boy :)

[purpleowl]

She is getting bored with the fridge magnets because she knows letter sounds?  Then put B and A next to each other and explain how their sounds together make BA.  See if she jumps in with "like bag/back/bathroom!"  Then try C and A next to each other and see if she can figure out the "together sound."  If she's catching on to that blending, do more, and then start adding final consonants to make words.  If she's not catching on right away, wait a while before you try again.  

 

In my opinion, it's worth giving phonics instruction to a kid who's likely to teach herself to read by sight.  I believe phonics is important for developing spelling skills and for figuring out what more complex words mean (because how the word is put together can indicate etymology).

 

/advice from someone whose oldest child is 6, so take it with however many grains of salt you'd like ;)

[imagine.more]

The two things I did with my early reader were to run my finger under the words as I read, and to give him letter fridge magnets.  He would ask me what the letters were and I would tell him.  If he hadn't asked, I would not have pursued it.  He learned his letters pretty quickly, but blending took a lot longer.  So we carried on playing with sounds casually and waited.  There was a couple of years' lag between learning his letter sounds and starting to read.  I suspect he had the idea a bit earlier though and kept it secret.

 

All that to say: it's fine to make materials available, but I wouldn't do much more.  Physical skills are very important, however: hand strength (clay, scissors) and gross motor strength (playground, swimming, etc.).

 

This is similar to our experience. Fridge magnets and drawing letters on the magna doodle were favorite activities for awhile. When he had known his letter sounds for at least 6 months I started seeing if he could blend them if I wrote 3 letters on the magna doodle. Just very gradual work on it when he asked to play with letters. At 2.5 he was able to blend on the magna doodle a bit and so I bought OPGTR. I pulled it open to lesson 27 I think (the first one after all the letters are introduced) and pulled out a Bob book (a Christmas gift for him). He read his first word that day, right after Christmas. We did OPGTR lessons for fun on his bed in lieu of nap time (he was starting to drop the nap early) just like Jessie and Susan suggest and they were like 10 minutes max of oral 'lessons'. We did it 3x a week on average. He loved them and took off with reading. 

 

I found that my kids tend to make leaps in understanding every 6 months, often right around the birthdays and half birthdays. My little play attempts to blend with Tobias didn't catch on until he hit 2.5 in December, then it clicked. He is like this on all skills whether he's ahead or behind, he makes those big leaps around the birthday or half birthday mark. So if your DD has known the letter sounds for 6+ months then I think it'd be totally reasonable to start blending letters with magnets or by writing CVC words on the magna doodle or in sand. Keep it 3D and fun at first for at least a few months and then see if she's ready to try it in a real book like a Bob Book. If she's not ready no big deal. 

[Guest]

Ooooh! I forgot one of my favorite resources. If she is showing readiness, PLEASE do her a favor and start verbally doing the Noah Webster's Syllabary with her. Getting verbal recitation of those sounds will help her immensely, and when she is a bit older you can pair the verbal phonemic awareness with the written phonogram.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/webstersyllabary.html

[imagine.more]

 

 

In my opinion, it's worth giving phonics instruction to a kid who's likely to teach herself to read by sight.  I believe phonics is important for developing spelling skills and for figuring out what more complex words mean (because how the word is put together can indicate etymology).

 

 

 

I agree, sight reading can be a bad habit to break and impacts spelling and can contribute to that 4th grade slump where the words they're reading aren't always words they already know so they need to be able to sound out unfamiliar words and names. This impacts comprehension and just comfort with reading. I never had much phonics instruction as a kid and I really ought to have, I have a photographic memory for print so I got away with it but most of my peers taught without phonics can't spell at all, lol! Anyway, this was why I went ahead and taught my son using phonics. He could recognize the word "veterinary" in context and tell us randomly in the car but I wanted him to be able to sound out ANY word he encountered even in an unusual or new context, not just parrot stuff out that he's already seen a lot. 

[EKS]

In my opinion, it's worth giving phonics instruction to a kid who's likely to teach herself to read by sight.  

 

This is exactly why I taught my son phonics at 2.  I figured that his amazing ability to remember the names of everything around him would extend to words if I wasn't careful.  

[kalusignan]

Thanks for all your input! I now feel confident that I can start and still keep it very age-appropriate and fun!

[Tsuga]

On a phone. Lots of good advice here.

 

When I think reading readiness milestones generally apply to typical development. Some children meet those milestones and don't read for years (mine wrote CVC words in two languages for three years before she read fluently. Still others never seem to show "readiness" but apparently spontaneously start to read, which I did. Yet others start early and stop. I am sharing this to give context for atypical development. You just never know!

[fourisenough]

I knew it was time to teach my 2.5 year old to read when she wrote "apo" on a Magna-Doodle then handed it to me and told me she wanted an apple. I was aware that she knew the letter sounds, but didn't realize she had figured out how to blend.

 

I say go ahead and teach her. Sounds like she'll figure it out on her own soon anyway.

[reign]

Go for it. In a fun, no stress way of course! My youngest could blend at the youngest age of my three. She is taking the longest to become fluent. You just never know! We loved leap frog movies.

[horsellian]

You could start, but be prepared to step back before there is any sense of failure.  As I said, it's a very different skill to know sounds from being able to blend.

 

Agreed, but some two-year olds can blend; you can find out by playing at blending orally.  DD could turn 3 or 4 sounds into a word at that age: I would say "can you find your h -- a -- t ?" And she would shout "hat" go get it! "We need to go to the sh -- o -- p" etc.   After a while it also turned into a good game for driving ("I can see a t -- r -- ai -- n").

[Tanikit]

Like horsellian said, just blend for your child. It is an auditory skill, not a visual one - so with both my two year old I just used words they liked and blended them for them - "let's play with your d-o-ll doll" Let's eat an a-p-il apple, are you eating ch-i-p-s chips and so on... within a month of blending for my children at age 2 when I paused for a second after saying the sounds they would usually fill in the word and when they were doing that I introduced them to words where they could say the sounds and blend it themselves. My eldest liked to run so I would put some letters for her at the top of a hill and tell her to fetch me the sounds that said in (initially saying i-n in for her and then we could build the word and read it. I had sh, th and ch also for her as she knew these sounds too. The youngest was not interested in this though so we didn't.

[SparklyUnicorn]

One thing I did was when I was reading I'd have him fill in the blanks.  For example, "The bug sat on a fancy hat."  I might read with running my finger under, "The bug ... on a fancy ..."  And he'd say the missing word.  Oddly I did that not even thinking about the fact he was reading it.  I'd also play various letter sound type games.

 

He was three, not two.  Some practical difficulties were holding a book and being able to turn pages.  He loved being read to and reading.  He could sit still for an hour if I was reading to him.

 

My second kid was totally the opposite.  It took a long time before he wanted me to read to him and he wouldn't sit for more than a couple of minutes.  He read much later than the first, but when he did he advanced quickly.  My only point being is to follow their lead.  Different kids will do different things at different times.  He knew letter sounds too, but no he didn't want to sit and read. 

[SamanthaCarter]

My DS was like this. He knew all of his letter sounds at 18 months and at about 2 1/2 was trying to learn to read. I checked out 100EZ lessons from the library and we both hated it. I thought it was tedious for him and confusing for me. He wanted to jump all over the place in the book and be in charge of what we were going to do from it, which obviously wasn't going to work. I took the book back to the library and decided that I was not going to teach him to read (I wasn't entirely sure I should be teaching him to read that early anyway). I regret that a bit. He ended up teaching himself, beginning with store signs. Now he has some bad reading habits, even at 3rd grade, and I think it's because he didn't have any guided instruction. 

 

I went through The Reading Lesson with my second child. It's more straightforward and less tedious (IMO) than 100EZ lessons, and we both enjoyed it. Had I known about this book when DS was little I would have/should have used it. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

My DS was like this. He knew all of his letter sounds at 18 months and at about 2 1/2 was trying to learn to read. I checked out 100EZ lessons from the library and we both hated it. I thought it was tedious for him and confusing for me. He wanted to jump all over the place in the book and be in charge of what we were going to do from it, which obviously wasn't going to work. I took the book back to the library and decided that I was not going to teach him to read (I wasn't entirely sure I should be teaching him to read that early anyway). I regret that a bit. He ended up teaching himself, beginning with store signs. Now he has quite a few bad habits, even at 3rd grade, and I think it's because he didn't have any guided instruction. 

 

I went through The Reading Lesson with my second child. It's more straightforward and less tedious (IMO) than 100EZ lessons, and we both enjoyed it. Had I known about this book when DS was little I would have/should have used it. 

 

I bought that 100EZ Lessons and felt the same way.  It was confusing and weird.  I didn't even end up using it because I really could not figure it out!

[Dmmetler]

DD loved picture/word books at 2. She started reading spontaneously at 15 months, and the frogs and Between the Lions taught her to sound out/decode while I was trying to prep for my college classes. We had a lot of books that were just photos and words, and she used those skills to teach herself to read. By age 2 1/2, she was past the level that the private preschool we applied to expected of their exiting kindergartners, and she was reading Magic School Bus and Magic Treehouse at age 3.

 

She also really liked Starfall, and I bought the books, the journals/workbooks, the stuffed animals, stickers, etc. She did them all, mostly independently, at age 2-4 (and then started PS K-where guess what she was expected to do?).

 

I started HWOT Pre-K with her because she wanted to write and was frustrated.

 

We used lots of movable letters on the refrigerator, and she had big foam tiles of letters on her playroom floor. She burst out crying at her 2nd birthday party because she read "ages 3 and up" on her alphabet puzzle and was upset that she couldn't play with it :).

[Donna]

Only read a few posts so forgive me if someone already said this. With my dd, I took the magnets and formed them into a word like CAT. Then she'd switch a letter and we'd say the new word. Then we'd switch another letter....etc... She loved playing those games while I cooked or in the bathtub with bathtub letters.

 

I did not do any formal reading instruction with dd. She knew letter sounds from Leapfrog DVDs. She memorized books so I'm not exactly sure when she was really reading but knew for sure the day she told me it was her turn to read and she read a page of Little House in the Big Woods that she had not heard before. I did use 100EZ lessons with my oldest at 3 because he asked to learn and enthusiastically every day for his lesson.