My 3yr old wants to read

[Paige]

I'm not sure what to do with my 3yr old. She really wants to read but she's not the profoundly gifted kid who is sitting down and teaching herself so I can't stop it and don't have to do anything or think about it. She carries her sisters early readers around, demands to sit in on their lessons, and begs for "her turn" to read and is not content to be read to or to pretend to read. She cries and cries if I tell her she's too little or that those books are too hard, she sits on the toilet with them trying to figure it out, and she wants to sleep with the Pathway Readers! She knows all of her letters and their sounds and knows that you put them together to make words but she is not in any way reading on her own unless you count "A" and "I" as words. I'm not even sure she could learn right now if I tried to teach her. She just turned 3 last month and is very bright and curious but not a prodigy.

 

Should I put her off and try to distract her with something else, or go on and do a little phonics with her? I'm more of a better late than early type and I don't want her getting frustrated with something she really wants but may not be ready for and then end up hating reading or thinking she's a failure later. I'm also hesitant to have her go along and become a dedicated sight reader as she memorizes books and words. She's an excellent memorizer and I can tell that she will soon be not only memorizing books she knows but also recognizing those words in other books and contexts. She can read exit in books and everywhere now because she knows what the signs on doors say. What she wants is for me to sound each word out for her in the book and then she'll repeat it as she "reads" the book. I don't like the thought of continuing that for another year or so (not to mention it takes a long, long, time!) but I can't picture her doing phonics lessons and Bob Books either. I've put her off for a few months by having her read the alphabet for her lesson but she is tired of that. :confused:

[StartingOver]

My son was the same way. We started with Leap Frog Video's and Starfall. Then as he wanted more, we started OPGTR. He is now working on fluency and taking a little break. But worked straight through the first 154 lessons. My daughter now at 2.5 is starting to ask, but I am going to wait till she is 3.

 

I see no reason to hold them back, if they want to learn to read. I take breaks when they need them. Stop and read a while to build fluency along the way. Play it by ear, move at her pace and have fun.

[MyLittleWonders]

My now-four-year-old ds#3 started wanting to read when he was about 3 1/2. He's not "gifted" in the sense you described either, but he is also very determined like your dd (and stubborn!). So, I started doing Phonics Pathways with him whenever he asked. I also pulled out our K level Hooked on Phonics workbook, and the first four BOB books. He doesn't always ask to read now, but sometimes I offer and sometimes he asks. He also likes to take his brothers' books and "read" them. We just go with him on it all.

 

It did take a week or so to get him content with learning his books rather than his brothers' books. He was all pumped on starting the 2nd grade level of HOP. ;) But, now he's enjoying learning to read. We make a big deal when he reads - either from the PP or HOP workbook or from a BOB book, so now he's satisfied with learning on his level.

 

Personally, I'm a big believer, at least in terms of this young of a learner, to take their lead. Ds#3 is not forced to do school ever. There are days (and times) when he asks to do school and times when I offer, and there are times when he says he's all done. But when he does ask, or when he accepts my offer, we go with it as long as he's interested.

[ElizabethB]

You can start with syllables and 2 letter words in be, in, on, see, bee (ok, that is 3 letters, but it is 2 sounds.)

 

Here is a book that has fun games and ideas for teaching a young child using phonics:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Minutes/dp/1412015545

 

You can also read my latest Webster Speller thread for ideas, it shows how I am working with my 5 year old through the syllables.

Edited September 9, 2010 by ElizabethB

[kamom]

My oldest two kiddos both learned to read at four yrs old. I think they both knew letters and sounds when they were three.

I did a very simple learning to read program with them. Beginning Steps to Reading and by the time we were through, they both knew how to read. Only about 15 minutes a day is all it took. We took breaks if they didn't want anymore. I didn't make them do all the writing, as they couldn't write very well. Did a lot of tracing and the lessons out loud.

yes, she could learn how to read early if she wants to!

[SBP]

I had a 3 year old like that, so I just taught her. I was teaching her brother using "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons," and she insisted she wanted reading lessons from the same book. No amount of trying to fake her out with storybooks or cuddle time was going to satisfy her. So, we started 100EL, hit a wall around lesson 20, started 100EL AGAIN, hit a wall around lesson 30, backed up a bit, and finally she took off reading and was reading the Pathway Readers and Abeka early readers by the time she was 4. So it took a little longer and required a bit more patience, but as long as she was using the same book her brother was, she was happy, and in hindsight I was incredibly glad she learned early.

 

She is not gifted, btw, and is not even a particularly passionate reader these days though she's certainly a very capable one. I think she's too extroverted and social to find much pleasure in such a solitary activity as reading :).

 

Good luck with your DD!

 

SBP

[kmacnchs]

I don't see the point of holding a child off when that child is ready. It's not like it takes that much time - 5-15 min at the most (and then 15 min of them reading to you once they get to that point). I recommend OPGTR and a dry erase board or magnadoodle.

 

I started teaching both of my girls when they were 2. dd1 (4) is reading on a 4th/5th grade level and dd1 (almost 3) is reading bob books (Kinder level) and they are not gifted...it's more about desire and time (which again, is not much AT ALL daily)...have fun! And, imo, it is such a joy to have a young reader! :)

[LaurainMD]

I have a two-and-a-half-year-old who will not be deterred either. And I am a big believer in waiting! I am giving him tons of free play and crafts and outdoor time and all he wants is to sound out letters on the fridge. I've relented to letting him play Starfall and even let him start his own Reading Eggs account. It satisfies his interest for now, but I'm hoping he backs off, honestly. Early does not mean better -- but then again, you never want to squash a child's eagerness to learn!

[Rosie_0801]

So she makes a start, then hits a wall and learns that it's ok to do that because when her brain has had a rest, it will be ready to learn some more.

 

That's a good lesson to learn.

 

From her perspective, you're being mean to her and she doesn't know why. When she hits the inevitable wall, tell her her brain needs to rest for a while because brains are like bellies. When they've had a big meal, they don't want you to eat any more for a while because they need time to digest it. If you word it this way, she should learn to understand that it's not personal. She's not stupid, she just need to accept that this is how her body works.

 

Rosie

Edited September 9, 2010 by Rosie_0801

[kmacnchs]

When she hits the inevitable wall, tell her her brain needs to rest for a while because brains are like bellies. When they've had a big meal, they don't want you to eat any more for a while because they need time to digest it.

 

I REALLY like how this is worded! I don't think the wall is 'inevitable' but if it does happen, I think this will curb some frustration! :)

[tampamommy]

I wholeheartedly agree with Rosie's post! Excellent advice/wording.

 

My "then-3-yo-now-almost-14-and-way-taller-than-me" ds started our homeschooling journey when he came to me and asked me to teach him to read and write. We started at 3.5 yo with 3-5 minutes max of Phonics Pathways. If he was antsy on a particular day, we skipped it. Before his 4th birthday, he was reading above 1st grade level. His younger sister was even earlier.

 

Go for it! And have fun with them.

[scrapbookbuzz]

If she wants to read, let her! She is NOT too little! Some children actually do want and do learn to read that young. A great book to help with that is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

[Guest]

Adrian was 4 when we started an official program. By then he was already reading CVC words in books I was reading to him. We had the full set of Leap Frog DVD's and he loved those. He learned his letters and sounds with those before turning 3 and started slowly getting the idea of how to sound out words by the time he was about 3 1/2. I wish I knew about starfall before that because I would have used it but I did however have many computer games for him (Scholastic's Clifford games and several others) and he started playing on the computer shortly before turning three. When he was 4 I used HOP and was really happy that we used HOP as an intro. I like the way they gradually introduce phonics starting with short sounds and then progressing to consonant blends and long sounds in the later packages. It was perfect for Adrian. He is a tactile/ visual learner and HOP is a program I find that works really well for all learning styles since it has something for every style.

 

I can see with my youngest that we will probably be starting sooner. He is already learning letters and numbers on his own and carrying his books and his brother's books around trying to pick out the letters and numbers that he knows. Since I don't push and just follow their lead I don't feel bad about introducing phonics and reading at such an early age. In your situation I would start as Jana suggested, with the Leap Frog DVD's and Starfall. Starfall especially is fun and interactive. A great place to start I think, and it's free ;).

[Pamela H in Texas]

Some kids just need to learn :) So teach her :)

 

Though I'm really against videos for kids, I wholeheartedly suggest the LeapFrog Letter Factory (I think that is the name of it). She will probably know all the letter sounds within a few weeks of that. It's GREAT. And it sticks (I did it with my friend's son the month he turned 3. I didn't see him from 3.5 to 6 and he remembered the connections for each letter!).

 

Past that, when it was my daughter, I used games, things like:

 

I made buses, stopsigns and cars out of contruction paper and put a capital letter on one, lower case on another, and both on the third. In time, we left out the third. Then we made the letter sound make for the vehicle sounds as they "drove" to match each other.

 

I made ice cream cones and ice cream out of construction paper. On the cones, I put beginning blends (ba, hu, etc). We started with just a couple cones at a time, but in time would fill the livingroom with the size of the circle. She put the ice cream with the pictures on top of the correct cone (bat, bag, hug, hut, etc).

 

I made sight words for BIG words I thought she'd like such as different dinosaurs and such.

 

I made little books with her and her little friends as the main characters (polaroid pics).

 

When she's ready, folder games are a nice addition to allow her to play independently.

 

And the list goes on, of course. She was reading some just before turning three and a couple months later reading chapter books.

 

The only thing I'd do differently if I had it to do over again would be to go ahead and get a program to do some of it systematically, even if only a few minutes per day. And I would have continued well beyond the point she could read well. Yes, phonics have a point even if your 4yo is on a 4th grade level or your 7yo is on a high school level.

 

BTW, I definitely, at the time, was better late than early. Well, I'm still a believer in WAY relaxed while kids are in single digit ages (and we never did get nearly as schoolish as most). I just believe in basics also. I doubt you're gonna hurt her any by giving her what she is begging for 10-20 minutes per day (split up!).

Edited September 10, 2010 by 2J5M9K