If you have an early reader, is it because of anything YOU did?

[LibraryLover]

I do agree with you, but I think there's a fine line there. A child who is capable of learning to read, and yet is perhaps a bit lazy (see my other thread on this if you want to), should not be allowed to call the shots forever. How do I know that at some point he'll say, "I'm ready to learn to read now" ?

 

And I'll repeat what I said in my other reply- I'm not going to torture him. The lessons are short and I try to keep it fun.

 

Good luck. I am sure you will know what to do. My hackles are always raised when someone calls eager 5 yr old boys lazy.

 

They are not the least bit lazy; they just want/need to keep moving and book work and sitting down is torture for a good number of perfectly lovely, smart boys. Many parents know this to be true.

 

It doesn't have to be water-boarding to be torture. Especially when you are 5. :) There are many ways to learn to read and become excited about the printed word without this. It's not even a matter of making it 'fun'. It's having right expectations and thinking about how to bring information to children in developmentally approriate ways. It's somethimes about waiting, too.

 

It's not at all about sitting around waiting for him to say "I am ready to read now" because every single thing you do in your everyday interactions with him have value and will help him learn what he needs to know. Discovering print for a 5 yr old doesn't have to be sit down and be still lessons, or involve workbook pages of any kind.

 

Think of him as busy, as curious, but no more thinking of him as lazy. :) It will help you, it will help him.

Edited April 9, 2010 by LibraryLover

[lotsofpumpkins]

I promise you I don't use the word lazy to his face. As was mentioned in the other thread I have going, it is perhaps a discipline issue (which I know some of you would argue shouldn't matter at the age of 5).

 

What has me perplexed is that my super wiggly short-attention-span boy (the 6 year old) actually enjoys sitting down to do schoolwork (since before he turned 5) more than my current 5 year old. You would think the opposite to be true, based on their personalities.

 

It helps to chat about all of this, and I certainly hope no one out there thinks I'm a horrible parent because of the terminology I used.

[LibraryLover]

Of course you're not a horrible parent! You're a thoughtful and caring parent.

 

I am sure you don't say the word lazy to his face. That's wonderful, and now I want you to be kind to yourself, lol, and stop thinking it. He's your sweet baby who is busy and acitve and interested in this world. That's your boy. That's the boy your mother's heart knows.

 

I promise you I don't use the word lazy to his face. As was mentioned in the other thread I have going, it is perhaps a discipline issue (which I know some of you would argue shouldn't matter at the age of 5).

 

What has me perplexed is that my super wiggly short-attention-span boy (the 6 year old) actually enjoys sitting down to do schoolwork (since before he turned 5) more than my current 5 year old. You would think the opposite to be true, based on their personalities.

 

It helps to chat about all of this, and I certainly hope no one out there thinks I'm a horrible parent because of the terminology I used.

Edited April 9, 2010 by LibraryLover

[lotsofpumpkins]

Of course you're not a horrible parent! You're a thoughtful and caring parent.

 

I am sure you don't say the word lazy to his face. That's wonderful, and now I want you to be kind to yourself, lol, and stop thinking it. He's your sweet baby who is busy and acitve and interested in this world. That's your boy. That's the boy your mother's heart knows.

 

I do appreciate all of your input on this. I chatted with ds a bit ago and he doesn't like ETC because he might mix the words up. I still don't know if he is perhaps a bit of a perfectionist, or just doesn't want to do the challenging work. Either way, I told him we can use a markerboard for phonics for a while (with PP) and put the ETC away until he's more ready for it. He was happy with that plan.

 

I know I'm just making excuses for myself, but pregnant brain does make it hard for me to express myself, and I tend to get defensive/emotional. I KNOW that my use of the word lazy was inappropriate, but it DOES describe some of his behavior at the school table. Regardless, I am going to stop using it and actively find ways to teach him that are fun for him.

[LibraryLover]

I would probably die if I had all of those tiny kids and was pregnant & hsing right now. I think pretty much anything you're doing is gravy.

 

I do appreciate all of your input on this. I chatted with ds a bit ago and he doesn't like ETC because he might mix the words up. I still don't know if he is perhaps a bit of a perfectionist, or just doesn't want to do the challenging work. Either way, I told him we can use a markerboard for phonics for a while (with PP) and put the ETC away until he's more ready for it. He was happy with that plan.

 

I know I'm just making excuses for myself, but pregnant brain does make it hard for me to express myself, and I tend to get defensive/emotional. I KNOW that my use of the word lazy was inappropriate, but it DOES describe some of his behavior at the school table. Regardless, I am going to stop using it and actively find ways to teach him that are fun for him.

[KrissiK]

Regarding the original question, my kids aren't early readers, but I know that my reading aloud to them their whole lives has tremendously helped them by increasing their vocabulary so that when they sound out a word, they know what that word is. A child who doesn't know what a cat is is really going to have trouble making sense of "c-a-t". I don't know what goes on in the brain to cause a child to learn to read, but I know as a parent that when that light goes on, everything we've done previously can help them out a lot!

[lotsofpumpkins]

Regarding the original question, my kids aren't early readers, but I know that my reading aloud to them their whole lives has tremendously helped them by increasing their vocabulary so that when they sound out a word, they know what that word is. A child who doesn't know what a cat is is really going to have trouble making sense of "c-a-t". I don't know what goes on in the brain to cause a child to learn to read, but I know as a parent that when that light goes on, everything we've done previously can help them out a lot!

 

That's a good point.

[Karen in CO]

My first two both learned to read when they were 4. My youngest, still isn't reading. I didn't do anything different with them. I have always read a lot to them. I have always encouraged reading and a love of books. My youngest is very aware of the fact that she is reading much later than her siblings. However, she has visual processing problems that she is supposed to outgrow (typically around age 7). I'm working with her on phonics in the meantime, and she can sound out words, but she is not reading outside of our phonics lessons.

 

 

The first two learned to read, and then I taught them phonics. This one is learning phonics instead of learning to read. None of it really had anything to do with me.

[Ritsumei]

We're still in the early stages of teaching my 1st to read. He's 3.5, and just getting the hang of CVC words & the first 3 Bob Books. I found that the phonics programs that I could find to preview, such as OPGTR, and there was another one that I looked at, but can't remember which one it was, were not at all age-appropriate for such a little guy. In fact, OPGTR about put me to sleep, it was so dry! Though I may yet buy it because I wasn't taught with phonics, and I don't know the rules myself, at least, not to be able to say them, and it's definitely got them in there, which would be useful for when we run across words that use rules he doesn't know yet.

 

But Monkey asked me when he was 1 if he could use my mouse, so I took him to Starfall and suddenly had to limit his computer time! :lol: By 2 he knew all his letter sounds, because he loved clicking around Starfall. I certainly wasn't doing anything specific at that age, other than the usual talk talk talk, read read read routine that so many people have already spelled out. I'd say that by approximately 2.5 he was getting bored with the letters section of Starfall, and starting to branch out, so I started looking for more games for him to play. Happily, we found Happy Phonics right about then, and started it somewhere just before his 3rd birthday. It's all games, so it's very age-appropriate, yet it still gave him the "next step" toward reading. Blending has been a tough step for him to take. He's getting pretty good at CVC words now, but it's still clearly work for him. Oddly enough, reading the words individually on cards for our games seems to be much easier than reading those same words in the Bob Books., where there are picture clues. I haven't really figured that one out yet!

 

There has been some resistance as I introduced the Bob Books - they're harder work than anything I'd asked him to do to date. We backed off the books and went back to the games to practice some more. But I really like what SWB says in WTM:

 

"Don't ask, 'Do you want to do your reading now?' (They always say no.) Plan it as matter-of-factly as you would plan toothbrushing and bedmaking." (Page 34)

 

I find this to be excellent advice. However, I also recognize that Monkey is an exceptionally compliant child, and very eager to please, so maybe it won't work for everyone. But it works beautifully for us. We keep it short, often do our phonics as games, and when he's doing books I'll have him pick a book (a favorite, if I happen to grab it), and we'll trade: he reads to me, then I read to him. We snuggle under blankets, and generally make it as pleasant as I can manage. And if it's one of those days where it's Just.Not.Working, then I praise him for trying and we move on.

 

Good luck!

[momofabcd]

I do appreciate all of your input on this. I chatted with ds a bit ago and he doesn't like ETC because he might mix the words up. I still don't know if he is perhaps a bit of a perfectionist, or just doesn't want to do the challenging work. Either way, I told him we can use a markerboard for phonics for a while (with PP) and put the ETC away until he's more ready for it. He was happy with that plan.

actively find ways to teach him that are fun for him.

 

If your ds is anything like my dd, he will truly love the white board. It is the best $4 investment I've made. I even teach her reading lessons on it. I was using 100 EZ with her, and she balked any time the book came near. So I secretly used the lessons on the white board. She can blend any word I give her now. I put 100 EZ away around lesson 30 because I could see that she was getting stressed out with the sentence reading. We are now using a mixture of Blend Phonics on the white board and Abeka's Handbook for Reading (she likes the colorful pages) and it's going wonderfully. What I'm trying to say is it may not have anything to do with him not liking challenging work. It just may not be the right method for him. It will be interesting to see how Phonics Pathways goes for you and him. I personally don't like ETC, neither did my two older dc. I know it's raved about, but not in this family.

Edited April 9, 2010 by momofabcd

[msrift]

I'm positive my early reader is one because I had pneumonia when he was barely 2. The DVD was the babysitter for a couple of days, and after numerous repetitions of the Leapfrog Letter Factory series he was ready to read.

[Lori D.]

What has me perplexed is that my super wiggly short-attention-span boy (the 6 year old) actually enjoys sitting down to do schoolwork (since before he turned 5) more than my current 5 year old. You would think the opposite to be true, based on their personalities.

 

 

Just as each child has a unique personality, each child also connects better with one learning style over another. (Learning style has to do with how we best / most easily or naturally take in information, while brain dominance has to do with how we best / most easily or naturally process that information once we've taken it in.)

 

Sounds like your 6yo connects with systematic, organized workbook types of learning (can be a sign of a visual learner). You may find that your 5yo, with a really different personality more easily and enjoyably takes in information by doing (hands-on/kinetic), or listening (auditory).

 

While it's really too young for either of these children to know for sure (learning style tends to more clearly emerge by around age 9), and young children naturally tend to be much more hands-on, it is not catering to (or not expecting discipline from) to provide the initial exposure to new school material in the learning style that makes it most easy for them to take in, and THEN, reinforce by presenting that material in other learning styles to help strengthen the "weaker" learning styles.

 

BEST of luck in your homeschooling journey with your wonderfully unique little individuals! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[lotsofpumpkins]

Sounds like your 6yo connects with systematic, organized workbook types of learning (can be a sign of a visual learner). You may find that your 5yo, with a really different personality more easily and enjoyably takes in information by doing (hands-on/kinetic), or listening (auditory).

 

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if my 6yo is a visual learner. Does it have anything to do with handedness? The 6yo and I are both lefties, and I am very visual myself. My 8yo seems to be more auditory in her learning, and she's right-handed. Maybe all that is just a coincidence though!

[Shelly in the Country]

I wouldn't be surprised if my 6yo is a visual learner. Does it have anything to do with handedness? The 6yo and I are both lefties, and I am very visual myself. My 8yo seems to be more auditory in her learning, and she's right-handed. Maybe all that is just a coincidence though!

 

*shrug* I am a visual learner (I cannot process auditory information unless I take notes.) I'm a rightie. My dh and dd are both auditory learners and are both righties as well. My mother claims I used my left hand to write when I began writing, but that she "trained" me out of it. I don't think that is possible though, is it?

[Karenciavo]

No, unless you consider leaving then ds3 to his own devices with lots of Leap Frog products while I schooled then ds 10 & ds12 me doing something. He taught himself to read, very convenient by the way - I highly recommend it. :D

[Ester Maria]

No, I'm very confident that I didn't teach my daughters how to read. I DID, however, read to them A LOT, and they were always around books, growing up in a very "literate" surrounding, interested in inscriptions around them, etc., so they had lots of opportunities to be figuring things out, and I never prevented them from doing it.

 

I remember they were playing with letters and all, but I never sat down with them to do any kind of instruction. When we started homeschooling, they could read Italian perfectly, were maybe a little bit insecure with some English words, but could also read it, and they also happened to be natural spellers, both of them.

 

It has nothing to do with anything I purposely did, it just clicked for them. My husband and I, though, were the same. I could also read since ever, and I don't remember when and how exactly I learned it, my mother swears nobody taught me.

[Mommy22alyns]

No. I just supplied the girls with books, read to/with them, and helped them along. I didn't do anything, really.

[kmacnchs]

I wouldn't be surprised if my 6yo is a visual learner. Does it have anything to do with handedness? The 6yo and I are both lefties, and I am very visual myself. My 8yo seems to be more auditory in her learning, and she's right-handed. Maybe all that is just a coincidence though!

 

if it does, we break the mold - dh is a leftie & very auditory while I am a rightie and am completely visual...

[Guest Cindie2dds]

My oldest started reading at 4, just because she asked to learn. She would ask what letters made what sounds, how did I know when to stop, etc., when I would read to her. She taught herself. I merely handed her books and answered her questions. To think, this was the one thing that scared me most of all when we were considering home schooling. :D

 

My youngest is a lefty, artsy, musically inclined and not the least bit interested like her sister. I think it depends on the child.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Cindie2dds

[peacefully]

.

[musicianmom]

Yes, I worked with my dd to help her learn to read early. She picked up the letters and sounds herself, though.

[Hedgehogs4]

i did a reading program with my ds (100 EZL) when he was 4-5 and other reading when he was 6. i read books to him all the time. he was evaluated by a ps K-1 teacher (big mistake) and she told me he would fail first grade, because he couldn't read a Jan Brett book. She suggested that perhaps I ought not be homeschooling him. :blink: i was devastated.

 

long story short, this year (he is now 8) he read the original version of Alice in Wonderland, several Marguerite Henry books some The Henry Huggins series by Beverly Cleary (more "on his level" very quick reads for him), the Black Stallion, and a kid's version of Oliver Twist (in about two days). I know there are others, too, but i can't remember. He reads to his little sister a lot, and he is keenly interested in reading and can't put a good book down.

 

I am doing the same thing with my dd4 (5 in a few weeks), though I am using OPG. We have been working all year on reading and she's doing great. it's clicking much better with her, and I expect her to be reading independently very soon.

 

it's the child, imho, and may even be gender related to some extent. i expected my kids to be like me (exited the womb with a book in my hand) and they aren't exactly, though my daughter tends more in that direction.

[Barb_]

I think that there are alot of "experts" and others who would say that it's something someone does to cause a child to be an early reader. But I have found that by beginning early with both of my children, one of them read as she was turning 4 and the other couldn't really read until age 9. I used multiple teaching methods so that each child could learn it in their own way. So that says to me that it may be a little more inborn than some people are willing to recognize.

 

Yup, same type of experience here. There are so many different things going on here. Words are simply squiggles on a paper. It takes a giant leap to go from c-a-t to a mental picture of the word cat. First there has to be an understanding that letters represent sounds. A child who has learned the letter names first can have a hard time making that transition. Rather than looking at a "c" and thinking /k/, the child has to look at "c" and think, "oh that's the letter "c" (concrete picture of the letter named c), and let's see...the "c" says /k/ (symbolic representation of the sound c stands for)."...and so on for the rest even before thinking of blending the sounds together. So the first step would be, make sure the child learns his letter sounds first, or at least concurrently.

 

The second step is blending those sounds together...tougher to master than you'd think. I play the word stretch game with my preschoolers, usually in the early morning time just after they've crawled in bed with me and I'm trying to buy 15 more minutes before I have to stand up and stretch the kinks out of my back. I learned it from Reading Reflex. You think of a word and then s...t....r....e....tch out the sounds with one or two seconds between phonemes. The word "window" would sound like w.....i.....n....d....(long)o. Then the child must guess the word. The word stretch game gives the child practice blending sounds long before they are developmentally ready to sound out words on paper. Since blending is usually the biggest hurdle to clear for a new reader, this can really help to flatten the learning curve.

 

I also love the show Word World (on PBS and DVD) for the way it helps pre- and early-readers to to make the leap from abstract squiggles to concrete pictorial representations.

 

One more observation. While it's true that early readers are usually guaranteed to be great lovers of books, later readers aren't doomed to lagging permanently behind. Help the later reader to bloom by creating a language-rich environment. Often, they will hit a point around 8-10 years old when their ability to decode will finally come close to matching their interest and comprehension level and their reading skill will just take off. My later readers have all turned into book lovers by that age, jumping multiple grade levels in a year. Childhood development is rarely smooth and linear.

 

Barb