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Early Reading Help


Jeani
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Hey Everyone,

 

I'm new here, and new to hs... I'm sure these are rookie questions, so I appreciate your time. My oldest son just turned 3 last month, and his little brother is turning 2 next month. My dh and I have always been interested in hs, and about 2 years ago we really started digging into some reading on it. We're interested in the classical approach, but are still just getting started. Last September I started "schooltime" with them, and we've been doing a letter each week. At this point, they both know all their uppers and lowers (except bdpq of course) and the accompanying sounds. They don't get stuck on anything anymore. And DS1 is rhyming up a storm. So I'm told at this point they can start learning to read??? Is that crazy? Esp. the baby, no? Any tips or opinions are most appreciated. My library is doing a search for the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Meanwhile, I have a magnet board, letter tiles and a few basic sight words that I'm going over. How long does the bat/cat/hat/pat scenario play out before they can read these words? If I ask DS1 what letter I need to add to "_at" to spell a given three-letter word he can tell me, but if I put a three-letter word in front of him to read, he can sound out all the letter sounds, but can't put them together yet. Am I going in the right direction? Is he too young? Is DS2 too young? Need input. Note: the three-letter word activity is only like two weeks old, and we only do it maybe 3 times each week.

 

Thanks,

Jeani

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Hi Jeani,

I think your kids are a little too young to start such formal teaching! The 3 yo may be ready soon, but it sounds like he is not quite there yet. If he is ready, he will do it. It's kind of like potty training! If you start too early when they are not ready, then it will take longer and you may frustrate him so that he will not want to do it even when he is ready!

I think many will reply and tell you this same hting, just read to them. Read and read and read. I promise they will learn to read almost on their own. Don't push it! (Especially cause they're boys...those little guys need to have time to explore, before they buckle down and do the formal school work. Girls seem to want to sit down and do their work much sooner!)

I reember when I was excited to start homeschooling. We knew we were going to homechool before we married, so I was researching it for years! I started my oldest dd as soon as she could hold a crayon. But we only worked for as long as she wa interested (about 5 min!) My son was not even ready to sit still and listen to me read stories till he was about 5 yo. He is 8 now and is an excellent reader. I didn't do anything other than use the book called "How to Teach you Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons" I am using that now with my 3 1/2 yo dd.

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My oldest was a spontaneous reader. Of course, I taught him basic phonics but he began reading at 3 with fluidity and grace. Amazes me, even to this day! Looking back, I took this as a sign that he was ready for bigger and better. I pushed too hard for the first 6 months or so until I caught a clue. :)

My now 5 yo is starting to learn to read. We spend 10 minutes a day looking over Phonics Pathways in addition to Singapore EB and playing some fun games. If it takes him 2 years to pick it up, that's fine. To be honest, Huck is overwhelming as it is. Two super advanced kids might just do me in! LOL

My advice would be to follow their lead. With my oldest, I had to hide his books so he would play with toys. His motor skills were really behind because he would sit and read or do puzzles all day. Literally. Of course, now he's evened out but I think that had a lot to do with trying not to be outdone by his little brother.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that as long your kids are doing fine and liking school time, go for it! But by all means, slow down if they aren't interested. They have a long time to learn this stuff. It's hard not to be super excited though. ;)

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

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Hey! I'm in much the same position as you - new to Homeschooling and dealing with an Early Reader. My dd, now 4.5, had her alphabet down by 3yrs and was beginning to sound out some words, "p-, p-, pat. Mama, 'Pat' begins with p!" by about 3.5. All I'd done was read to her - my mom supplied various alphabet toys when she was spending time with her, but she didn't get much more than the "Alphabet Song" at home. I decided that if I was going to get in on helping her learn to read, I'd better move and quickly bought a copy of "Ordinary Parent's Guide." It worked great for us! We began about 3 months before she turned 4, allowed any interruptions that might come, but have been working on it steadily and will probably finish it before she turns 5. She's taken to it like a duck to water. I was congratulating myself on how great of a teacher I was (yeah, right!) until one Sunday after church when she was a couple of months past 4 when she picked up my husband's NIV Bible and began reading out of the Gospel of Matthew. She stalled at a couple of place names, but did fine with the rest of about 2 verses. I knew I hadn't taught her anything like the stuff in that text! Obviously, my "teaching prowess" was actually her previous knowledge. <sigh> :) In other words, I haven't been pushing her and she's still reading pretty early.

 

Ordinary Parent's Guide (OPGTR) includes some advice on teaching early readers - it's at the back in the FAQ section. I'd recommend (if my experience actually allows me such an honor :) ) that you begin OPGTR whenever you like but be prepared to keep it very slow and take breaks whenever something else comes up. My girl often gets on my back on Saturdays because we don't do school. If your oldest is that eager, he'll likely eat up the beginning part of OPGTR. If not, it'll come in time. Meanwhile, have fun! I'm all a-tremble with eagerness to begin 1st with my dd, but have been counseled (wisely, I think) to take it slow and steady. It's hard advice to take, isn't it? :) Cheers!

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I also started lessons when my daughter turned 3yo and she was ready to read recognizing the entire alphabet. I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, because it does teach child to put the sounds together. I never really used a phonics program, until we began learning spelling rules.

 

I had a friend who used a fancy phonics program and her child at 5yo could sound out c - a - t, but when her mother would ask her the word, she couldn't put the sounds together. It was not that she was not ready, it was that she was not trained in a way to bring about the desired results. After just two weeks with this 100EZLessons, she was finally getting the idea.

 

This is a review I wrote on amazon.com about it over two years ago.

 

Here is how it works:

There is no preparation necessary and the book is scripted. I did not personally care for the some of the scripting. In particular, the phase "Don't get fooled," but this is a minor point that can be worked around.

 

Under every sound and word, there is a line with a large dot as a starting point and an arrow pointing to the right. This helps establish the direction we read, left to right. Under each line is a smaller dot for every sound or blend that will be voiced. The word is sounded out slowly but connected, which is a key point lacking in most phonics programs, and then the word is to be said fast or rather normal speed. The phonetic sounds are emphasized by different fonts. For instance, silent vowels are smaller than the other letters and no dot under the line. "Th" and "sh" have the letters touching with only one dot under the line to point out they are digraphs. Sight words like "the," "was," and "of" are introduced also. The early lessons focus on individual sounds and two and three letter words, later the lessons focus on sounding out whole words with greater complexity as you go, and then reading the words without sounding them out.

 

In the lessons after the phonetic exercises, the child sounds out and reads a story. These stories start with one sentence of three words "see me eat" in Lesson 13 to stories having over a hundred words by Lesson 100. The fonts are very large in the beginning and get smaller as the lessons progress. Punctuation is also introduced. The dots under the lines are not used in the stories after Lesson 49. The font variations in the stories also disappear after Lesson 73, perhaps too abruptly for some children. At this point repetition should have done its job, but some children might not make the change over unless they have been doing some supplemental reading or flash cards.

 

I introduced this book when my daughter was three. Then she could sound out a sentence like "the cat got mud on that rug" and "see that little shack." When she began to struggle, I either backed up a bit or took a break. She just turned four and now her reading skills are taking off like a rocket! She is reading Dr. Suess books to her father at night. She often looks at things I am reading and will pick out a word she recognizes.

 

We did not do the sounds writing mostly because we are using another writing program, and I did not feel that this part corresponded well to what the lesson covered.

 

It should also be mentioned that there are quite a few typo errors throughout the book, but these are in the scripted and instruction areas meant for the teacher to read.

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I'm agreeing with fishnoises here since we didn't _do_ anything to "create" a reader at three except read, read, read, and then read some more. I still have several alphabet books in my memory, esp. Dr. Seuss "barber, baby, bubbles and a bumblebee." Barber Baby Bubbles. Many of the alphabet books cover the phonetics. Then Hop on Pop and "Big Dog and little dog" by Dav Pilkey covered sight words and then there were more of those at the library. Sorry I can't remember more series but they are out there. - Jill

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Thanks for the input. It's funny, I posted this question on the general board and the K-8 curriculum board, and no one there really seemed to think the kids might be too young. But I'll take any insights I can get. Not only am I new to hs, in a sense I'll always be new to parenting my oldest as he's constantly growing into my learning edge. If anything, they are the ones pushing me... My 3yo is bored to tears with letter sounds already and wants to play the "word game." And I'm wondering what I'm going to do with my almost 2yo when he decides he's ready to read. He already wants to do everything his older brother is doing. We'll see...

 

-Jeani

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My 3yo is bored to tears with letter sounds already and wants to play the "word game." And I'm wondering what I'm going to do with my almost 2yo when he decides he's ready to read. He already wants to do everything his older brother is doing. We'll see...

 

 

Feed them ;)

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Jeani..my son came to me at age 3 and asked to learn to read. He knew his letters and their sounds already. I sat down one day and explained how to put CVC words together. He caught on right away, so I made lists of CVC words and would check them off if he could sound them out. I also purchased a few sets of the BOB books and he read those to me. I didn't start a phonics program or anything, just continued reading aloud to him and let him read his little books.

 

Imagine my surprise when about 6 months later, at the grocery store, he says to me, "momma, that sign says 'please do not block this exit!'"

 

He was not quite 4. And he hasn't stopped yet. He just turned 7, is in first grade, and now reads at a 7th grade level. I've never done another thing besides write down those CVC words when he was 3 and then read read read.

 

If your child (ren) is going to be an early reader, he'll read with or without your instruction. I can't explain it. To this day, I have no idea how Ben learned to read. It just clicked with him. That's usually how it happens with very early readers from my experience talking to other moms.

 

Personally, I think 3 and 2 are a little young to begin "formal" school. But that doesn't mean you can't read to them, point things out, answer questions, etc. Mostly just have fun with them. They are still babies. Trust me, they'll grow up soon enough and you have lots of time to do "formal" schooling.

 

If you'd like a recommendation for a fun literature-based program for that age, I highly recommend Before Five in a Row.

 

http://www.fiarhq.com

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I also used "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" with both of my dc. I liked the book and would definitely use it again if I had another child. If you decide to use this book, I'd recommend skipping the writing parts. And with my older ds, we often had to "take breaks" for a few weeks because he just wasn't getting it. I'd try again later and he'd say it was easy. My dc are now 8 and 6. They both read well and enjoy it.

 

My other main piece of advice is to continue reading to your dc, even when they learn to read!

 

Have fun,

Jean

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My dd (now 4 1/2) has really confounded me by seeming to advance by leaps and bounds one moment and seeming stagnant the next. Some days she won't read a basic reader to me; the next, she's reading things out of the newspaper over my shoulder. Today she got mad at me for not looking up a website for her and wrote me a note -- "my Mom is Ruwd." So I know she can read a bit and write a bit (even when it's not too polite!), and I think the main thing when they are young is to keep it fun and exciting, and more about the joy of learning and less about feeling like work is involved. They will have lots of years for hard work ahead! Read aloud A LOT. Sound out words everywhere you go, play rhyming games, read poetry together, and add in chapter books with few or no pictures at an early age so they learn to derive some satisfaction from words alone. I don't think there is a magic age or a magic program, just follow your child's cues.

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You know them best. We taught our kids tons before they ever turned four (including how to read). It was all game-type learning. They could identify most major countries on a map (because we played the "point to France" game). They were great memorizers so they learned all kinds of verses and poems and songs and even basic math facts with flashcards. But, it was not a formal sit-down-at-a-desk type of thing, it was just what we did to pass the day. :-)

 

Dd was more than ready to start Story of the World in K, and ds tagged along as a 4 year old, learning right along with her. In fact, he wanted to do narrations like she did, so I would write a couple words for him to trace and he would draw a picture to illustrate the topic. Those days are some of my most cherished school memories and it was before their official schooling ever started.

 

I'm not suggesting forcing them to do something they aren't ready to do at that age, but some kids really are ready and love it! For us, it set a great tone that learning is what we do for fun and they still love learning. (They don't always love math or grammar, of course, but they do it with a good attitude most days.)

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The Ordinary Parents Guide...SWB. You could easily start this, going at their own pace.

 

Agree... I started using it with dd when she was three. Took breaks when she wasn't getting it, played lots of games (got some linked from my blog in siggy), and added in Explode the Code this year - for reinforcement and handwriting practice.

 

The important thing is to use it for yourself. When dd started sounding out words, I got OPG to help me figure out what I should be doing. My dd doesn't see "the book" (OPG) - I write words on a marker board or type them on the computer, play games with them, etc. She is learning but it is all fun at this point. And I have no problem stopping and taking a break if she isn't progressing.

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Thanks everyone... I got the library's copy of OPG and started today... we love it so much that it quickly became a "need to own." He's actually moving more quickly with it than he was without it! I'm a little scared :)

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My 5yo is learning to read with OPG. But, she likes to take things slowly, and she also likes to have some "fun" with her reading. So, a while ago, while we were apparently flush with money, I purchased Hooked on Phonics K and HOP 1st grade. So, what we did was go through the section on short-vowel words in OPG. Then, we did all the stories and books in HOP-K. Then we read the 1st & 2nd set of Bob Books. Now, we're back to OPG, and we're done with the 2-consonant blends and working on the digraphs. Once we're done with this, we'll switch to HOP-1st grade. It gives her plenty of time to take things in on OPG, then even more practice time with HOP (I think there were 41 stories she read). She also learned a bunch of sight words from Bob & HOP that OPG doesn't teach.

 

I haven't had to push much (except to insist that we read first each day, so that she can't put it off because she'd rather do math or something else), and she's really feeling confident in what she's learning. OPG goes really fast, and my kid just got overwhelmed with the amount of material she was learning, and then not getting enough practice with it.

 

Now, my 3yo boy is trying to sound out words. So, we started on OPG today (short-vowel words, because we already know all of our letter sounds). I'll do the same with him as with my daughter, because I am not in any rush and don't want to push them in any way. They'll let me know if it's too repetitive or too slow, and we'll do it more quickly if we need to.

 

As for math, my daughter worked her way through MUS-Primer and we're now on Alpha. My son is not a "workbook" kind of guy at this time, so we just work alongside her, with me writing in his book for him unless he wants to write. He uses the manipulatives, does all of the work orally, and I just don't worry about writing yet. It seems to work, because he sits with us and does his "work" without complaint every day. But, he's definitely done long before she is, and then he's off and running, but still kind of paying attention to whatever else it is we're doing.

 

Just let them guide you - they'll let you know what to do. If they become bored, you're going too slow. If they become frustrated, you're going too fast. I think the younger siblings just come to see homeschooling as something natural, and want to join in whatever their older siblings are doing, and I don't see how this is a problem!

 

Danika

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