imcl1084tx Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 HI all, My 3 YO LOVES books. He memorizes the ones that we read the most and when we read a new one then after we are done he takes it and wants to read it to me. He asks me to help him "say something" for each page if he doesn't have it memorized to "read" back to me. The other day he asked me to teach him how to read and say something. I am very much of the don't push it mentality and letting him play as much as possible. He loves to play but he again, has asked me to teach him to read. He watches Leap Frog letter factory and knows about 5 letters and can point them out. He can sit still when he wants. He is a little speech delayed but he has had his hearing aid know for over a year and making huge progress. So my DH and I were talking and he feels that we should "teach him to read" since he is asking and i'm like he doesn't know his alphabet yet! So i at least agreed to start teaching him his alphabet. If we start and he isn't interested i can put it away. So my question is more of, what are good tools to teach the alphabet and pre-reading skills. I have started to buy rhyming books too and his new favorite book is "Rhyming Dust Bunnies." I figure we can sit and learn the alphabet together and go from there and if he still wants to "learn to read" after that we will cross that bridge later. He knows the alphabet song too. Also, i need ideas for teaching it w/out writing. His fine motor skills are not there yet. Thoughts?? TIA. I looked at All About Reading pre reading but its a little expensive. We had also been doing Simply Classical A from MP and he had a huge leap. Now we just use the book list since he made that leap. I am just not sure he is ready for the fine motor skills in Simply Classical B and thinking i am not ready for a whole package yet either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I taught my 2yo son how to read by making PowerPoint slides with giant letters on them and teaching him the sounds. He loved sitting on the lap and "doing the letters" and he was reading (simple text) before he was 3. We spent at most 5 minutes at a time on this, though he would sometimes ask to do it several times each day. He thought of it as play. I do suggest that before you try something like this that you learn how to teach a child to read (if you haven't done so already). I had already taught my older son to read so I could wing it like this with the younger one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 One common suggestion is to teach the basic sounds the letters make instead of their names. You don't need the names to read, but you do need to know what sounds they make! There's no need at all for writing to teach reading. Though if you want to do tactile letters, filling a ziplock bag with pudding or shaving cream (use a big one if fine motor is an issue) and then he can write them really big on the outside of the bag with a finger. Squishy fun! Sandpaper letters where they trace the shape are okay too, but harder to make in your kitchen. Working on rhyming is good. Lots of short nursery rhymes, then playing games with rhymes. ("I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with BAT. It starts with 'mmm'" Mat! "Yes, honey, that's right!") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Some resources: Letter Recognition Activities Rhyming Picture Books Teaching Rhyming to Preschoolers How to Develop Phonological Awareness Have fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imcl1084tx Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 I taught my 2yo son how to read by making PowerPoint slides with giant letters on them and teaching him the sounds. He loved sitting on the lap and "doing the letters" and he was reading (simple text) before he was 3. We spent at most 5 minutes at a time on this, though he would sometimes ask to do it several times each day. He thought of it as play. I do suggest that before you try something like this that you learn how to teach a child to read (if you haven't done so already). I had already taught my older son to read so I could wing it like this with the younger one. No. He is my first. So i have no experience. :) My friend recommended pinterest but i have to say that i am not a crafty pinterest mom. :) Any recommendations on books i can read that talks about teaching a child to read? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imcl1084tx Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 One common suggestion is to teach the basic sounds the letters make instead of their names. You don't need the names to read, but you do need to know what sounds they make! There's no need at all for writing to teach reading. Though if you want to do tactile letters, filling a ziplock bag with pudding or shaving cream (use a big one if fine motor is an issue) and then he can write them really big on the outside of the bag with a finger. Squishy fun! Sandpaper letters where they trace the shape are okay too, but harder to make in your kitchen. Working on rhyming is good. Lots of short nursery rhymes, then playing games with rhymes. ("I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with BAT. It starts with 'mmm'" Mat! "Yes, honey, that's right!") Those are great ideas! Especially the ziplock bag ideas! Thanks! Some resources: Letter Recognition Activities Rhyming Picture Books Teaching Rhyming to Preschoolers How to Develop Phonological Awareness Have fun! Thank you for these resources! They are great and i love the booklists. i can start getting some of those at the library. Thanks to all of you for the wonderful ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 No. He is my first. So i have no experience. :) My friend recommended pinterest but i have to say that i am not a crafty pinterest mom. :) Any recommendations on books i can read that talks about teaching a child to read? I used Reading Reflex but others are just as good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drjuliadc Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 (edited) I would continue to teach letter sounds with Letter Factory, but also get the DVDs Meet the Letter Sounds by Preschool Prep and Phonics Farm by Leapfrog for letter sounds. I have lots of alphabet books and I say the letter sounds instead of the letter names when I go through them. I also got the flashcards for the alphabet from Preschool Prep (not the flashcards for the letter sounds) and go over the letter sounds, not letter names, with the flashcards. All of my kids love flashcards though. Two of the 4 of them Love, Love, Love flash cards. I also learned the letter sounds myself (it's not like I knew them exactly) to sing the alphabet song with the letter sounds instead of the letter names. Once he knows letter sounds, do the free program for blending readingbear.org. That did so much for my oldest son's speech. My kids found all of this fun and if they didn't, I wouldn't have done any of it. My 16 month old twin likes flashcards, but only a few at a time, so that's what he gets, his twin sister wants ALL of the flashcards I have EVERY day and I try to keep up with that, but I never actually hold out for that many. One tip is to go super super super fast through flashcards. That is what keeps their interest. I only allowed 30 minutes two times per day after age two of DVD or TV screen time for my oldest two, so I'm not talking about giving extra screen time. They are only allowed screens for educational things, not entertainment. Edited February 4, 2017 by drjuliadc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlpardo Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 My son was around three when I started teaching him his letter sounds. We basically became alphabet obsessed, in a good way. We read a ton of alphabet books, played alphabet bingo, made alphabet art, watched The Letter Factory. I did use the advice I received here and focused on the letter sounds rather than teach the name. Another thing we used a lot was refrigerator magnet letters. It was fun for him to play with the letters. I once read somewhere that boys respond better when you say "let's build a word" because most boys like building. So, we used the magnets to build words. I still remember once he learned his letter sounds I taugh him up, cup, and pup first. He built the words on the fridge and was so proud. So many good memories. Enjoy this special time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 There is an app called Starfall ABCs. My dds used this (on the computer, before it was an app) to learn the letter sounds. My youngest also used Hooked on Phonics' preschool program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Here is my pre-reading skills playlist on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJLxBWdK_5l3aBN-qowg2u8BdGYM64pTi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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