What do you do with a 3 yr. old girl who WANTS to learn to read?!

[mama2cntrykids]

I'm kind of like :confused: this guy. I'm working through simple readers with her 6 yr. old brother and she is trying to do it too. She's been saying for a few weeks now that she wants to read too.

 

Let me say that I'm of the she's too young camp, but she's really driving her brother crazy because she's trying to read what he is. I need to add that she does't really know any letters/sounds. She knows that letters MAKE sounds, but beyond that, nothing really.

 

Should I just continue reading her tons of books and introducing letters/sounds to her and let her continue to drive her brother nuts OR what...??

 

Oy! :001_huh::lol: Help!

Edited June 11, 2009 by mama2cntrykids

[littleWMN]

My oldest started reading at 3 - her interest, not mine. We did Starfall together. Later she enjoyed the Leapfrog videos.

 

My youngest is 3.5 and wouldn't know a letter if it hit her over the head. They are all so different!

[newbie]

Both mine read by four. They love to read.

[mollies73]

I'd go ahead and start working with her. My daughter really wanted to learn when she was 3 1/2 - 4. I went ahead and got "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," and taught her when she asked. Then when she was 5, she went through a time where she just wanted to learn science and refused to read. Boy, was I glad she was ahead. I say take advantage of her eagerness.

[musicianmom]

Well, if you're determined that she should not be allowed to learn, I don't know what you can do.

 

My vote is to try teaching her and see how it works. She may lose interest after a few lessons, or she might really be ready to do it.

 

I love having a young reader! She's able to entertain herself for long car rides (which we have quite often). And nothing's sweeter than seeing her read to her baby sister or to her grandparents.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My 3yo is starting to read. She taught herself all the letter sounds using an electronic ABC toy. It's a bus that has three frogs inside, and ABC buttons all the way around. Each letter button plays a song, to the tune of "A Farm in the Dell", that says

 

"A" says /a/

"A" says /a/

Every letter makes a sound,

"A" says /a/

 

"B" says /b/

"B" says /b/

Every letter makes a sound,

"B" says /b/

 

Etc.

 

I had no idea she was doing this, but within two or three days of getting that bus, she knew every letter sound.

 

I tried Phonics Pathways with her when she said she wanted to learn to read (because that's what I used with her older siblings), but she was having trouble distinguishing between the /e/ and the /i/ sounds. She got frustrated with that, so I put it away.

 

We recently got the first set of "Bob Books", and I have started going through them with her. She has read through the first three books. I'm not pushing her at all, and we stop when she gets tired/frustrated. But, she's very excited that she's able to blend the sounds to make little CVC words. The first few books don't use /e/ or /i/, so we haven't had any problems, so far.

[Heather in AL]

I agree with the others...don't hold her back.

 

I also second the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. When my son was considered 'behind' his first grade class, I was told by a homeschooling friend to get that book to help him. He was 6 years old. His little sis was newly 4 years, and wanted 'lessons', too. Darned if she didn't learn to read before lesson 30! She then gave up the 'lessons' and started on simple readers. She did hit a roadblock (not of her doing, though----she was in PS and was held back from reading advanced materials~~~one of MANY reasons we homeschool now!), but she became a voracious reader and is often spotted with her nose in a book.

 

So, all that to say....assist, but don't push. It will be fine. :001_smile:

 

As an aside, when I was young I wanted to be like my parents, in that they read the paper every evening. I taught myself to read the paper at 'just turned 4' and freaked out my parents. They thought I was just pointing to words and talking (pretending to read), but soon realized I was reading words like 'a, and, the, soon' and other easy words.

 

I feel that if it's child-led, then it's not too soon.

 

Good luck!

[dhudson]

Teach her if she's asking. All mine could read at 3 yr and it's worked pretty well. I don't think it's a great message to say, "No, you are too young to learn.". If they didn't want to learn at 3 yr it would be equally wrong to force them to.

[katilac]

You don't need a program or textbook to teach the letter sounds, so I'd start there. There's no great advantage, imo, to teaching a 3 yr old the letter sounds via 'curriculum' versus just teaching them in a more casual way, as you read, etc.

 

I'd simply tell her that this is the first step to learning how to read. When she gets a handle on letter sounds, you can consider something more formal.

 

fwiw, I don't think there's any great harm in doing something more formal or from a book with a child who is interested - - I just think that casual is easier, cheaper and just as effective.

[gevs4him]

If she shows an interest run with it - if you get her interested in her own special reading materials she will hopefully let her brother learn his own materials. I would start with letter sounds,pre-primer sight words, games

and put in some one to two words on a page books.

Lisa wife to Guy

mother to dd 18 and ds 6

[Mesa]

I'd let her go for it. Starfall is a wonderful website for learning to read. My 3 yr old has been on there off and on since he turned 3. (knows most letter names, not yet blending) I let him get on and do what he wants which is usually one letter over, and over, and over lol.

[abbeyej]

Ds was reading fluently at 3. My dd read quite a bit later. Both are excellent readers now who enjoy books and don't seem to have suffered any particular consequences. :) They also play outside and build things with Legos and dance and climb and ride their scooters and draw and dig holes and create elaborate pretend games and annoy each other and all those other things kids are supposed to do...

 

I say, if she's begging you, then teach her! You can always back off if she loses interest.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Teach her to read. And stay relaxed--she may not be interested in a steady pace or even able. Just go with the flow.

 

With my daughter, I just made games:

 

1) construction paper buses with lowercase letters, cars with upper case letters, stop signs with both. The "vroom" of each vehicle was it's letter sound. SHe just matched them.

 

2) word families such as a cat with "at" written on him and a paper slid through him with various letters to make bat, cat, fat, rat, etc

 

3) ice cream cones with beginning word sounds like "ba" and "mo" and ice cream with pictures of things like "bat" "bass" "mop"

 

4) "flashcards" with words of interest such as dinosaurs, friends' names, etc

 

5) using verses and rhymes she had memorized (or was memorizing) to teach her the words that went along.

 

6) homemade books about her life made with construction paper, polaroid pics, and a Sharpie marker.

 

7) We also did silly word games in the car for beginning and ending sounds, vowels in words, vocab, etc.

 

we just PLAYED and she learned. It was easy and fun. She was reading easy chapter books at 3. If they are ready, they are. I wouldn't worry about making it schoolish. They can run through a formal phonics program later in order to learn the rules. But I'd just have fun with a 3yo :)

Edited June 11, 2009 by 2J5M9K
trying to beat the storm by posting a sentence at a time :)

[Dirtroad]

I don't believe in pushing them too early. But if she is ready, do a little each day and let her go for it!

 

Eagerness goes a looonnnggg way!

[bettyandbob]

set up a reading lesson time for her. Let her know that that is her lesson time and she can't participate her big brother's lesson. You could go as far as cancelling lessons on days when she interupts you working with her brother.

 

My oldest was reading by his 4th birthday with no formal instrustion. Over the previous year he asked what sounds various letters made and we told him. It was not daily and it was not any particular method. I did a mixture of things with dd, including 100 easy Lessons. As another poster said, you could use the time for Starfall.com. Pick something she enjoys and go with it. Don't push. If it turns out she's not ready her interest in "lessons" will stagnate or she will be frustrated. If she's frustrated, I would turn the focus of the lesson to another skill you feel developmentally appropriate. If she's truly not ready, one of the reasons she's acting this way is her perception of the attention and importance you give to reading and give to her brother. If that is the case find something to work with her one on one.

[Garga]

Egads, I'm still struggling with my 6 year old in reading, so if you've got a little one who's eager to learn, then go ahead and try!!

 

However, my struggling 6 yo used to be an eager 3/4 year old. So I started teaching him to read and it didn't work. Basically he liked the idea of reading, but had no interest in the actually learning.

 

So, go ahead and try to teach her. If she doesn't really want to do it, stop and wait until later. But if she takes off with it--great!

[PiCO]

My youngest learned to read at 3, by her demand. I used phonics pathways- we did a lesson a day every day she asked. She would be on a roll for a while, then take a few weeks off, then ask again. She's a voracious reader.

 

We also used BOB books and Starfall.com

 

My oldest had no interest in learning to read until she was 6. She was reading 4th grade level within months, and still loves to read. Just to show- either way can work out great.

[Maria from IN]

I don't think you'll be able to stop her, actually. My brother and sister-in-law discovered my niece was reading in the grocery store. They gave her a little book to look at while she sat in the cart and she just started reading it to herself. At 2 1/2, they never expected her to even show an interest.

[lionfamily1999]

OPGTTR :)

 

It takes a few minutes a day, but she'll be reading in no time :)

[elw_miller]

I think Jessie Wise experienced something similar. If I recall, while she was trying to teach her eldest, Susan came along and said something to the effect of, "My read, too!" :)

[mama2cntrykids]

Thanks eveyone! I had forgotten about Starfall, even though her big brother used it this winter, lol. And I do have 100 EZ Lessons on my HS bookshelf. I was just hesitant about using it with her because it was such a flop with the boys. I will get hopin'!

[Jennifer in MI]

I haven't read all the responses yet. But, my 3 yo is reading a little. Like you, she has older brothers and wants to do what they're doing. She started watching the Leap Frog videos and knew her letters and sounds within a couple weeks. Then, she started playing Starfall. Now, I just sit down with her and write words occasionally. She can sound out the simple ones - Meg (her name), Sam (brother's name), mom, dad, cat, dog, etc. We didn't do anything formal, but she was ready and I didn't push her!

 

I hope you can find a happy medium!

[Firefly]

DS taught himself to read at 2 and half! He started even earlier than that and was very determined. He made the connection very early that the letters on the pages we read (we had read aloud to him from day one) represented sounds and words. I just went with it; all I did was help him out by providing phonetic sounds for him when he pointed to a letter, which he did ALL THE TIME. Especially when we were in the car-- he would point to signs and ask me to sound the letters (STOP signs, etc). It just took off from there. He was reading pretty fluidly by two and a half and by three he was a solid reader. I'd say go for it, just let your child guide you with how much she's ready for. It's a wonderful thing!

[Impish]

Sorry, I don't get it. She wants to read, you teach her to read. period. If she can't do what her brother is doing she might quit bugging him if you have phonics time with her and teach her those letter sounds. You may be surprised. My 7 yo started when she was 3 yo. Sometimes the program that flopped with one kid is perfect for the next kid. Just use what you have and let her learn.

:iagree:Yeah, I have to say that I'm on the same thought process as this poster. I don't for the life of me understand why you'd want to dissuade her from reading. I just don't see the purpose at all.

[Desert Rat]

My oldest read at 2. He loved phonics flash cards. But he went straight to reading regular books by 3. What I would have done differently is use a phonics program with him. Because he taught himself to read, he doesn't know the spelling rules that come along with formal phonics training. Hence, he is an atrocious speller.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited October 30, 2022 by SilverMoon

[Lucy the Valiant]

I was thinking - if you're concerned for your older son's feelings about his little sis reading at his same level - you could buy / set aside some SPECIAL books that are ONLY HIS, and then let her read whatever else she wants. But that might help to maintain his dignity?

 

I have identical twins, and we do this sometimes with different things.

[mama2cntrykids]

Yes, I'd also forgotten about Bob Books, lol. I'm actually looking at them for her 6 yr. old bro. I will just follow her lead and take it from there! I know that each child is different in every family, but this girl is WAY different from her brothers (in many, many ways) lol...

[jujsky]

Teach her. I don't mean to be flip, but that's what I'd do. Some kids are ready at 3 -- one of mine was.

[momsquared]

I have a 4 year old that also wants to learn to read. We use Starfall and a ton of read alouds and easy readers. I recently subscribed to Headsprout and I am SO glad I did. She just loves it and is extremely motivated. She worked through two episodes today and would have done more had I let her. I didn't even know she went on to the next episode! I just like that it has made reading fun her her!

[momsquared]

My oldest read at 2. He loved phonics flash cards. But he went straight to reading regular books by 3. What I would have done differently is use a phonics program with him. Because he taught himself to read, he doesn't know the spelling rules that come along with formal phonics training. Hence, he is an atrocious speller.

 

This is the case with me! I learned to read on my own very young and as a result I cannot spell in English at all. My Spanish spelling, however, is excellent.:001_huh: