Reading Instruction Advice (3 year old boy)

[WIS0320]

I've posted about my 3 year old son previously in the accelerated learners board but I think this is a better spot to ask questions b/c more posters here have little ones.

 

My oldest child is right on track for her age, we are very happy and content with her progress. It became clear about a year ago that my son is much more capable of picking up "academic" concepts quickly without instruction. He can count to 100 now, count to 100 by 10s and is starting to count by 2s. He can do basic addition and subtraction (though wouldn't understand if he saw it written with symbols in a book) and has mastered upper and lower case alphabet and letter sounds without any instruction from me or my husband. I figured he was interested b/c I was working with my oldest but at this point he wants to do more workbook work and I am not sure where to go from here.

 

He is a young 3 and cannot hold a pencil well yet but he regularly is trying to write letters on his own. I don't want to necessarily start with a formal handwriting or phonics program b/c he is so little but at the same time I am not sure about letting him continue on his own and having to correct mechanical issues later on?

 

Does anyone here have experience with a child self-teaching reading and writing at an early age? Do the kinks just work out? I'm a little puzzled by what to do, I am actually pretty hands off in the early years and have been relaxed with my oldest's K program this year and I don't want to push too much. I did get the ETC Primer books and he already had all that content mastered (without me realizing it) and I'm not sure where to go from here.

 

Help, SOS, please! We are at the point where he spells out lots of words in books by reading off the letters as we read through (for instance, today we read The Big Red Barn so he had to read each letter in each word in the title before I could actually read the book, so he would say, "B I G spells Big" and so on.

 

I think he is going to be reading soon no matter what I do or don't do, I'm just looking for info on whether or not to actually work with him with a program or leave him alone? Is AAR a good program? Should I move up into the next ETC books? My oldest and I have been working slowly through PR1 this year and that is way too much for him at this point with the markings and so on. I'm happy to take any advice.

[IsabelC]

I would suggest you try a reading program and just see how it goes. Either he'll like it and take off, or he'll resist, in which case you can back off and start again a few months later. My 2yo started learning her letters when she was 1, and has known them all for ages, but when we tried actual reading, she wasn't very interested.

 

Writing, well I've heard the theory that you shouldn't let kids "practice in" mistakes, but it doesn't seem to have happened with any of the kids I've seen who teach themselves to write. You might want to gently encourage "correct" pencil grip, and see if your child is interested in writing or prewriting copywork.

Edited May 5, 2011 by Hotdrink

[jennynd]

My dd seems on similar track,, She is also a young 3. she does write letters. probably because seeing her big brother writes and she read most 3/4 letters words. The only thing I do is when we are reading if I see a small words. I will pause and ask her to try to sound it out. I don't use any reading program with either my children. My son was a self taught reader, but I did teach my dd how to put sound together and we also love starfall.com

[MyLittleBears]

I think no matter what program you use, you should still teach phonics.(whether you do it now or later) SWB talks a lot about children who self teach at an early age. If they are not formally taught to read it catches up with them at about the forth grade when the word in books are longer and more complex. Phonics are also important for spelling, since they are the same rules applied to writing. I think there is a youtube video of this someplace:confused:

[Mrs Twain]

My 3 year old wanted to read like her older siblings. She knew all of the letters and letter sounds, and at 3.5 she kept asking me if I would teach her to read (we use 100 Easy Lessons). I started the book with her, going through it slowly and thinking she wouldn't get it. I thought she would give up and I would put it away for later when she got older. Quite the opposite happened, and she loved the reading program, asking to do it every day. We did as much as she wanted per day, and she finished to whole book by the time she turned 4. After that, I told her that she could read "real" books, and I started checking out books from the library. Ever since, she has been devouring books, even picking up her older siblings books and trying to read them to me though they are above her reading level. After 100 EZ Lessons, I go through a phonics book to review and continue practicing. I also continue to help learn how to sound out words and test for reading comprehension.

 

I just share that because I have seen my reading program work with great success for our 3.5 year old, so I don't see why you couldn't start a reading program with you son, especially if he is so interested to learn. IMO if he is starting to learn things on his own, I think it would be good to give some instruction to steer him in the right direction, especially learning some phonics, how to sound out words, checking reading comprehension, and begin to write properly.

[Critterfixer]

I don't think you would need a formal handwriting program at three. But--I set both my boys to tracing letters by four because they wanted to learn to write. And I was able to monitor things like grip and technique. There is less I have to correct now because some of the muscle memory is already there.

 

For reading I would go ahead and start teaching phonics so that he will be able to sound out more words on his own. If he wants workbooks to do you might get the Explode the Code books for him to use as his phonics workbooks.

 

Also, this would be a really good time to have him start basic narration. He should pick the majority of the stories for it and can illustrate them, maybe even tracing the narration if he is up to it once or twice a week.

 

I'd also consider getting him a math program that is manipulative based to keep him working on his math concepts.

[Dinsfamily]

My 5yo taught himself to read just before he turned 3. He didn't need any instruction, he just did it. There really wasn't a need to formally teach him if he was capable of learning it by osmosis. We will start SWR for his K year to fill any phonics gaps and teach spelling. Unless your ds really wants to start "a program," you don't need to start anything. He seems like he's doing great without one.

 

Writing is a whole 'nother ballgame IMO. I let my oldest go and he taught himself some bad habits. It took awhile to get his grip straightened out and we had to start from scratch to teach him proper letter formation. He made his x with four lines starting from the middle among other things. Because of that, I've been more diligent with my littles. I've been putting comfy pencil grips (called the pencil grip) on ds5's writing utensils since he started wanting to do school with us to force him into a proper grip. Thankfully, he and ds2 have naturally good grips but I wanted to make sure. We've been dabbling in letter formation with a salt box for about 18 months now and will start formal cursive instruction in K. I didn't push him, just made sure that if he was going to write, he was going to write properly. The salt box is a great tool for little ones as they use their finger and learn proper formation without paper and pencil getting in the way. Plus, it's fun.

Edited May 5, 2011 by Dinsfamily

[Carpe]

It can be a problem to let him try to write without instruction on letter formation. It really depends on how he's adapted to do it. Some kids self-teach the correct way, and others do some very strange things. A kindergarten writing program at a slowed pace might be a good idea.

 

As for reading it won't hurt to do nothing, but if he seems receptive you could start with a phonics program. I'm in love with Larry Sanger (in a platonic way and it's probably because I'm in love with wikipedia and just rubbed off on him and Jimmy Wales) so the flashcards he made based on Flesch's book Why Johhny Can't Read would be my first choice for a child that age. You can find them at http://www.mediafire.com/Fleschcards

[boscopup]

My oldest taught himself to read, and yes, it bit us when we got to 4th grade words. I now use a phonics based spelling program, and that has gotten him over that hump. Because of this, I am teaching phonics early with his younger brother. We started around the time he turned 4. He could already blend, but didn't know all his letter sounds (oldest knew letter sounds for 2 years before blending clicked and he took off). We're still at the sounding out stage, but we're using a combination of Webster's speller and OPGTR at a white board. He likes to copy my letters on the board, and I gently help him form them properly. We will probably start a formal program this fall. I need to work on some pre-writing activities, such as drawing zig-zags, which he can't do.

 

I do correct pencil grip early, and I have them play starfall.com around age 3 (that helped teach my oldest, but beware - it's easy to start sight reading if they work ahead at the reading sections before actually knowing how to read).

[Mergath]

I taught myself to read when I was three or four (according to my mom) by just paying attention when she read to me. I went to public school when I was five, and I do think that going through and learning all the phonics rules, even though I could read at a college level by the time I was in second grade, was extremely helpful. It's very easy for me to read new words now because I have a good understanding of the fundamental rules.

 

I don't know if I'd start a reading program quite so early, though. My dd learned all her uppercase letters on her own around the time she turned two, and knows all the lowercase and quite a few letter sounds now, but I can't imagine starting a reading program in six months. At least, not the kind of rigorous thing you'd do with a Kindergarten student. Like many others have said in other posts, just because your kid knows letter sounds doesn't mean they can read. It's quite a big step intellectually, and most kids just aren't ready to make that leap for another year or two.

 

Also, I keep thinking of that study where they found that the later a child learns to read (assuming the lateness isn't related to some kind of learning disability) the more they read as an adult and the more they enjoy it. Even if my dd could learn to read in a year, I'm in no hurry. I'll teach her when she can enjoy the learning and do it more easily, not the second she is intellectually able.

 

My dd is starting to write letters, too. I'll help her when she asks, but beyond that, I'm not going to start a program or anything. She has so much fun trying to write like Mommy :001_smile: and I'm pretty sure a formal writing curriculum would kill that fairly quickly.

[tarahillmom]

If he is that gifted then I suggest you just keep him reading. Kids who self teach to read, that are gifted, a lot of the time pick up the rules of phonics. They just get it. My son, who never had a phonics class, in kindergarten worked with his K5 teacher who quizzed him on very advanced words, and he had figured out the rules. His teacher said that is very common with highly gifted. Not all gifted do, but don't be surprised if he does. (We had to pull him out of traditional school since he was multiple grade levels ahead, and I didn't want him in class with kids much older than he.)

 

At three I would be presenting him with great books, let him read to himself and you, and just instill a love of reading. I would also let him take the lead on this. If he likes coloring books try some workbooks. My youngest did like Ready, Set, and Go for the Code books, and for my oldest I got the big kindergarten workbooks from Sam's Club, and they worked for him.

 

As far as math, you may want to do something like MM. On the accelerated board there have been lots of posts with regard to early math. Once again you don't need to start formal instruction at 3, just have some fun with it.

 

Remember that small children have small hands, and although his brain may be able to take in lots of information, his body is still that of a three year old. The fine motor skills may not be developed enough to really work pencil skills. I had to adjust all 3 of my kids pencil skills later, and it really wasn't that big of deal.

 

 

I wish you luck, a child who is gifted is a blessing, but is also a huge amount of work. They challenge you in many ways. Yet they also help you learn so much about the world around you.:001_smile:

[StartingOver]

I would start a phonics program for the basics. I love Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading for my 3 year old. It isn't fun, but it is thorough. We do it on the white board, or with chalk, or magnets, or any other way to keep it fun. I have an almost 5 year old reading at at 3rd grade level. And a newly 3 year old just starting out. We use McGuffey readers, and Sonlight readers.

 

We also do Singapore Kindergarten math for the little ones. And read, read, read ! Handwriting Without Tears for K is very gentle, done with a crayon. My 3 years olds love these.

Edited May 5, 2011 by StartingOver

[mamachanse]

Check out HWT Getting Ready for School. My sons loved that.