Advice for boys?

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Ok, I am reading post after post with girls who are very good readers at 5. My daughters were the same way. Now I have my boys a 4y/o and a 5 year old who just dont want to. I bought Itchys Alphabet phonics for when my 5 y/o starts kindergarten next year. We tried OPGTTR this year and he HATED it and panicked every time I went to grab the book. So I stopped because I figured he wouldnt learn when he panicked when I got the book.

 

 

So any advice on homeschooling boys who are ALL BOY ALL THE TIME???:auto:

 

My girls have me spoiled! They are easy, my boys are my challenge!!! Thanks

[Homeschooling6]

 

So any advice on homeschooling boys who are ALL BOY ALL THE TIME???:auto:

 

My girls have me spoiled! They are easy, my boys are my challenge!!! Thanks

 

Patience:D None of my boys have been up & running with reading at age five. My dd yes, my boys no.

[Mopdop]

I have very little advice for you since I have only been doing light pre-K work with my eldest - a wiggly, squiggly boy! All I know is that he needs hands on things to do, and loves when we play the alphabet game - a movement for each letter: B - bounce around, D - dash around the room, etc. When he gets too fidgety I yell out a few letters, he does the actions and then we settle down again.

 

My ds had that same reaction to 100EZL so we tried OPGTR for a while last fall. He did ok with it - was reading 3 letter words - so I backed off until ready to start K, which will most likely start in a few weeks.

 

One of my good friends switched from Sonlight to MFW this past yr b/c she didn't think her 2nd dc who was starting K - a boy - would sit through the Sonlight RA's like her dd did. While she misses Sonlight, MFW is working for them all now. She also incorporates random times of running around for her ds, mostly when she is working on something with her dd.

 

So, it seems like adding in lots of movement and physical activity helps!

[Homeschooling6]

One of my good friends switched from Sonlight to MFW this past yr b/c she didn't think her 2nd dc who was starting K - a boy - would sit through the Sonlight RA's like her dd did. While she misses Sonlight, MFW is working for them all now. She also incorporates random times of running around for her ds, mostly when she is working on something with her dd.

 

So, it seems like adding in lots of movement and physical activity helps!

 

FWIW Josh, Caleb & Brent could sit through lots of reading but my last two have a bit more trouble. Short session yes, but longer than 15 minutes than they are asking to be excused. But the older ones could sit for hours.

Amazing how different they all can be.

 

With Josh who is now 11yrs. He does not like too much clutter for his brain. I didn't know that when he was five. By too much clutter I mean things like manipulatives for math. With phonics it was too much for him. Long 'a' short 'a' those were all so confusing for him.

 

Now at age 11 he reads at grade level. Even reads G.A. Henty books.

[zootle]

I have three boys and all of the were ready at different times. Does he have difficulty with doing anything else related to school? Most of the time it is just a not ready to sit still long enough to do it. I have one boy who is dyslexic. He actually had the patience to sit still for the lessons but couldn't seem to recall anything we did related to written words but if things were done orally he had excellent recall. Keep an eye out. But mostly go with your gut. If he seems to be really wiggly and fidgety and on the go he may not be ready yet.

Cindy

[robsiew]

Your boys are so young! I wouldn't push it at all... especially the 4 y/o! You will probably see a difference in attention span as they near age 6. Even then, short short short short short lessons are best! Alternate sedentary activities with active learning. K in our house is about 1 hour worth of work and that's it.

[StartingOver]

I have taught 2 older boys, 1 learned to read very early. The other was about 6, he just had no interest.

 

My youngest is now learning, I am using OPGTR this time, I don't ever bring out the book. What I do is write the new words on the white board, we read these together. I write the sentences in alternating colors, he reads on color, I read the other.

 

Once a day he must read to me from one of our beginning reader books, we are working on fluency now. Then I will read from any book he chooses, he follows along with my finger.

 

Every child is different, if they aren't interested I don't attempt to teach them to read. One of my tricks is to find a subject they are really interested in and keep tons of books around, but never read them. :D They have to learn to read them, themselves.

[ubermomto5]

same story here, girls reading 2nd grade by K, boys not that interested. i've learned that once i teach them all the letter sounds, they are excited for a few weeks to put them together. then they completely loose interest for a time, even months. we read a lot and i let them be. then suddenly, they are reading bob books on their own. the next thing i know, they are asking for encyclopedia brown and reading dinosaur books from the library.

actually, we do read scriptures as a family every day and they have never balked at reading their own verse. maybe because we all take a turn? but they don't show any other interest for a while.

[FairProspects]

I really needed this thread today! Thank you! After seeing pages and pages of girls who read well by 5, I am often so discouraged by ds's progress (or lack thereof). Teaching him to read has been one of the hardest things I've ever attempted and we are still in the struggle.

I get so sick of everyone saying that teaching reading is simple and/or easy. Sometimes it is and sometimes it is impossibly hard!!

[ABQmom]

I just had to post to give you encouragement. I too thought my kids should be reading fluently at an early age after reading about so many who do. I'm teaching my fourth and last child how to read now, and we take it SLOW. NONE of my dc were reading at age 4 or 5! They all four have taken the exact same path, and I have three girls and one boy. By age 7, they begin to pick up reading better. By 8, they are doing even better. I think around fourth grade, they have all just taken off with reading. My oldest three are now very good readers. My ds, who turned 9 in October, is just this school year doing really well. My oldest dd's LOVE to read.

 

The best thing for our kids has been to 1. not stress about it. 2. Plug along and take breaks from phonics when it starts to make us crazy. 3. Read, read, read, read to the kids. 4. Surround them with great books. 5. Let them see you reading and enjoying it.

 

I personally think you were just lucky to have your girls reading at an early age! Mine certainly didn't. ;)

 

HTH and good luck! :001_smile:

[JudoMom]

Ok, I am reading post after post with girls who are very good readers at 5. My daughters were the same way. Now I have my boys a 4y/o and a 5 year old who just dont want to. I bought Itchys Alphabet phonics for when my 5 y/o starts kindergarten next year. We tried OPGTTR this year and he HATED it and panicked every time I went to grab the book. So I stopped because I figured he wouldnt learn when he panicked when I got the book.

 

 

So any advice on homeschooling boys who are ALL BOY ALL THE TIME???:auto:

 

My girls have me spoiled! They are easy, my boys are my challenge!!! Thanks

 

-I found when they are younger I can either require they sit still or I can require they do the lesson. If they are concentrating on sitting still, they cannot focus on the lesson. If they are concentrating on the lesson, they cannot sit still. I require their head be above their feet at all times, but that's about it.

 

-I require them to do their lesson. Formal lesson start here when you turn 5 (before that it's optional). I try not to tell them how much we're going to do, so that I can adjust the content based on how well they're doing. If it's a day when they're full of concentration, we do more. If it's all they can do to remember what their name is, I cut it short, but I always end the lesson on my terms. If they think they've successfully weaseled their way out of a lesson, then they'll do it again.

 

-Slow and steady wins the race. Just keep plodding forward, and eventually it will click.

[homeschooltoone]

You need shorter lessons and lots of review. They'll get it.

[texasmama]

My youngest son didn't really "get" phonics/reading until he was closer to 6. I started kindy with him the August before he turned 6 in December. I started with Bob books (he had a phonics background from preschool so did have some knowledge, just wasn't reading yet). At that point, it just clicked with him. He enjoyed the Bob books and liked our reading time. By April of kindy, I tested him using borrowed public school reading tests and he tested at a third grade level. I think that with some kids, it is developmental and at some point things just click with them. That is what appeared to happen with my son.

[Spy Car]

Do you own the 3 Leapfrog DVDs (Talking Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory I and Talking Words Factory II)?

 

If not, GET THEM!

 

It pains me (greatly) to be recommending a "cartoon" HOWEVER, these are absolutely fantastic teaching tools, and are especially valuable when you have a resistant boy-boy. These are a MUST HAVE IMO.

 

I, father of a boy-boy, had quite good success alternating between Explode the Code (including the 3 primers) and reading Bob Books.

 

ETC very worked well for us, fit our style, and was "fun" enough (just) so complaining was minimized.

 

Whatever phonics program you chose, I'd suggest short lessons teamed with easy readers. We used Bob Books. The "I read it myself" factor was very reinforcing.

 

Whatever you do, if you don't have Leapfrog DVDs, get them!

 

Bill

[creekmom]

My 6 year old just recently (within the past couple of weeks) figured out he could look at a word and just say it instead of painfully sounding out each sound in the word!!! I truly wondered if he would ever be able to look at a word and just read it! I think what has made it "click" is doing reading time twice a day- morning and evening for about 15-30 minutes. I think for my son, who is very visual, OPGTR would have never worked because he LOVES pictures. I've been doing Hooked on Phonics with Explode the Code workbooks and Happy Phonics for games. I've recently added some Abeka 1st grade readers and the AAS reader as well. I think boys typically take a little longer to catch on to reading. Also, I recommend not taking a break over the summer with reading! I didn't have him read very much last summer, and we lost a lot of ground and spent the first 2 months of school doing a lot that he had forgotten.

[LindaOz]

I have a 5yo boy too, who is so very different after having five girls ;) .

 

He is really still doing basic phonics. We are working SLOWLY (oh so slowly...) through Alphaphonics and a pre-reading/phonics book as well. We sit together on the couch to do this for the grand total of about 10 minutes per day. BUT, I do make sure it happens every weekday, because I still believe that those little short, but consistent, sessions will eventually win through.

 

Then, we do handwriting practice for a couple of minutes, maybe some math on the computer, then he is FREE to go and play. He is ready for it by then. Later in the day, we read together. I read, and he has a go at an easy reader or some words in the book I am reading to him. That's about all, other than being in the room SOMETIMES while I do history/science/read-alouds with older siblings. This is enough for him right now.

 

HTH

[Halcyon]

I have 2 boys, one read well by about 5 1/2 to 6, but didn't truly ENJOY reading until 6, and another who is 4 and reads quite well and enjoys it.

 

I think trying to teach kids to read is a pointless venture unless they're GOOD AND READY. I don't have girls so I can't compare, but I do think if you read aloud a lot to them, have books around, let them take books out of the library "just for them to read" etc etc it can only encourage them.

 

That said, I do think Headsprout is great for the reluctant reader, particularly boys. Both my boys really enjoyed it, and I loved that there is no time limit on its use, so if your child needs a break, they can take it.

Edited March 18, 2010 by Halcyon

[Sophia]

My oldest, a boy, was reading at five.

We used SSR&W which includes a lot of singing to teach the phonics rules, and I would play it all day and take it outside with us so he could listen to it then too.

 

It also has games which appealed to him and also has drawn in my 3 and 5 y.o. boys now...who are as rough and tumble as they come :ack2:

 

I learned not to push the writing at this age, but my oldest and my now 5 y.o. didn't resist reading at all once they had learned the songs and games.

 

Oh, and I didn't tell Eli we were going to learn to read...I just told him I had a new song/game for him to learn.

[coffeegal]

'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...' :lol: My youngest ds didn't want to read, so I gave him a snack after his phonics lesson. He got M&M's, chocolate chips, cookies, cheese, raisons, or whatever we had available in the house. He'd actually request a phonics lesson when he was snackish, lol. Ds was reading at 5, and reading well by 6. :D

[Amy C]

My younger ds didn't learn to read until he was 7.5, but then he picked it up very quickly. I found this book pretty interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Gender-Matters-Teachers-Differences/dp/0767916255/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268876873&sr=8-1. It talks about some of the differences between the way the average boy learns and the way the average girl learns.

 

Also, I second the recommendation of the Leap Frog videos.

 

Amy

[Homeschooling6]

'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...' :lol: My youngest ds didn't want to read, so I gave him a snack after his phonics lesson. He got M&M's, chocolate chips, cookies, cheese, raisons, or whatever we had available in the house. He'd actually request a phonics lesson when he was snackish, lol. Ds was reading at 5, and reading well by 6. :D

 

I tried this too but it didn't work for my kiddos :glare:

 

 

Edited March 19, 2010 by Homeschooling6

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Do you own the 3 Leapfrog DVDs (Talking Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory I and Talking Words Factory II)?

 

If not, GET THEM!

 

It pains me (greatly) to be recommending a "cartoon" HOWEVER, these are absolutely fantastic teaching tools, and are especially valuable when you have a resistant boy-boy. These are a MUST HAVE IMO.

 

We used Bob Books. The "I read it myself" factor was very reinforcing.

 

Whatever you do, if you don't have Leapfrog DVDs, get them!

 

Bill

 

I do not have these videos but I sure will be looking for them! I did order the Bob Books (just got them tuesday!) Thank you!!!!

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I really needed this thread today! Thank you! After seeing pages and pages of girls who read well by 5, I am often so discouraged by ds's progress (or lack thereof). Teaching him to read has been one of the hardest things I've ever attempted and we are still in the struggle.

I get so sick of everyone saying that teaching reading is simple and/or easy. Sometimes it is and sometimes it is impossibly hard!!

 

Im not alone!!! THANK YOU!!!!

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

You need shorter lessons and lots of review. They'll get it.

 

 

I will try that! Thanks!!

[Spy Car]

I do not have these videos but I sure will be looking for them! I did order the Bob Books (just got them tuesday!) Thank you!!!!

 

Here is a link to the Letter Factory on Amazon.

 

These could be your salvation. Really. That good!

 

Bill

 

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Factory-Roy-Allen-Smith/dp/B001TKUXUC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Edited March 19, 2010 by Spy Car
forgot the link

[bethben]

My third ds learned all his letter sounds with the Leap Frog letter factory. VERY painless. Love that video. We have done very short lessons. 10 minutes tops unless he chooses to read more. He liked hiding his reading sentences around the room and then getting them one by one to read. It was sort of a game that he made up.

 

With my 2nd ds, he was a wiggly/had to move kind of boy. I would write all the words he was practicing on paper and play a sort of musical chairs with it. Where you stopped, you had to read that word. I would also put them on one end of the room and he would have to run and get a word and read it to me. We also did sight words on cards and tried to get them through a hoop when he read them correctly. It's all about the game...

 

We did Alpha Phonics by the way - no bells or whistles. No writing.

 

Beth

[johnandtinagilbert]

Slow is your friend. Fun is also your friend. Early does not equal better...keep telling yourself. My last son received the benefit of his brother's tears. I SO should have waited with the first one and didn't and you know what I got....tears and little love for reading. I made the struggle about things it wasn't -- he simply needed a bit more time and I blew it! For The Ax Man, I waited and he LOVES books, even though he wasn't reading fluidly until 7 and some change. He has grown so much in the second half of second grade I can hardly recognize the same little boy who had to work so hard can only work a little now and offers to read aloud. It comes...you really have to give them the tools in fun and when their ready, they'll apply them. You'll see......totally different from my 2 girls, btw....TOTALLY!

[lulubelle]

I started to homeschool my first son the day after he finished a year of preschool when he was nearing 6. He had picked up his letters pretty easily from that and I started with Pathway Phonics and methodically went through it. It went smoothly.

Boy #2 is a very different story. After a year of preschool 2x a week, he could not recognize his letters or numbers for the life of him last year at the age of 4. I began working with him in late fall of last year when the teacher informed me he was having a difficult time. I have tried many things to see what would help him retain his numbers and letters! He has needed an incredible amount of repetition. It has been almost a year and a half and he is now great with numbers and almost half way through with recognizing his alphabet. He will be 6 in less than a month. Slow and constant is what he had needed. Progressive Phonics has become our primary teaching tool for word recognition! It is free on line and he really likes the stories. Good luck to you!

[Hedgehogs4]

Do you own the 3 Leapfrog DVDs (Talking Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory I and Talking Words Factory II)?

 

If not, GET THEM!

 

It pains me (greatly) to be recommending a "cartoon" HOWEVER, these are absolutely fantastic teaching tools, and are especially valuable when you have a resistant boy-boy. These are a MUST HAVE IMO.

 

I, father of a boy-boy, had quite good success alternating between Explode the Code (including the 3 primers) and reading Bob Books.

 

ETC very worked well for us, fit our style, and was "fun" enough (just) so complaining was minimized.

 

Whatever phonics program you chose, I'd suggest short lessons teamed with easy readers. We used Bob Books. The "I read it myself" factor was very reinforcing.

 

Whatever you do, if you don't have Leapfrog DVDs, get them!

 

Bill

 

I have to second this. and yes, it pains me too, but these WORK. My son loved these and by 3 had all his letters and sounds worked out. He was "reading" with me in his curriculum, struggling through lessons and doing okay, but seemed behind what I (who emerged from the womb with a book in my hand) thought he should be able to do. Reading did not CLICK with him until age 7, and now at 8 he's reading on "grade level" (whatever the h-ahem that means) and above.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Slow is your friend. Fun is also your friend. Early does not equal better...keep telling yourself. My last son received the benefit of his brother's tears. I SO should have waited with the first one and didn't and you know what I got....tears and little love for reading. I made the struggle about things it wasn't -- he simply needed a bit more time and I blew it! For The Ax Man, I waited and he LOVES books, even though he wasn't reading fluidly until 7 and some change. He has grown so much in the second half of second grade I can hardly recognize the same little boy who had to work so hard can only work a little now and offers to read aloud. It comes...you really have to give them the tools in fun and when their ready, they'll apply them. You'll see......totally different from my 2 girls, btw....TOTALLY!

 

 

Thanks! That is great advice! Thank you !!!

[cjbeach]

Tagging on with a huge ditto to Bill's post re: Leapfrog vids and ETC. Both seem to work for my little man.

 

I'm thinking if I could somehow turn the Leapfrog characters into Lego Star Wars characters he'd be all over it, but for now Tad, Leap and Lily are going to have to do. And ETC he asks to do ETC.

[lea1]

I have two sons who started watching the Leapfrog DVDs when they were younger. They both knew their letters when they were two and all of their letter sounds when they were 3. They still pick this DVD to watch just for the fun of it. As a matter of fact, they are watching it while I type, even though I tried to get them to watch Word Factory. They like it too but are more likely to choose Letter Factory. We need to give that one away to friends so it is no longer an option.

 

I have been putting the words from OPGTR on index cards. We play a game that if they can sound out the word, they get to keep the cards. We play until all the cards are gone or they get bored. One son has picked up on it faster than the other but the other is more competitive. When I pulled out the cards yesterday, he spent a long time doing them with me, while the one who gets it easier lost interest and went off to play. They can pretty much sound out most of the three letter words now but they are not very into sitting and trying to read through a Bob book or other reader. I'm OK with that for now. We will continue to move forward by keeping it fun and, by the time they are ready, they will be reading and won't even know how they got there! I only pull out the cards once every few weeks or so (probably about once a month or so) but they are still getting it. It is amazing. The Leapfrog DVD's are probably reinforcing it for them, although they don't watch them that often.

 

I just ordered the second Word Factory, the Story Factory and the Sight Words. They are normally allowed to watch one 30 minute DVD per day but we have been making exceptions lately because I have a broken foot, it has snowed yesterday and today and we all have colds. Good time for movies and books. I am reading Stuart Little to them right now and they love it. They begged me to keep reading this morning and we read 3 or 4 chapters before I had to say no more because I was falling asleep.

 

I also just ordered audio books of Peter Pan and Wind in the Willows because they are really into listening to music and books on their little (very cheap) CD players now. This got started on our recent trip to Arizona and we have kept it up since coming home. They really like to do this during our quiet time, although I can't drive right now so it is hard to get more books on CD from the library.

 

This is such a fun age. So much fun watching them learn and figuring ways to make it fun and games for them.

[Caribbean Queen]

My son started reading early. My daughter is 5 and can't read at all. She can't even read the words "a" and "I." Her attention span is very short. She just isn't ready for "school" yet. I am not going to search for the perfect products. I am not going to worry. I just wait.