Fill in the blank: If my young preschooler wanted....

[warriormom]

(After using the leapfrog DVDs and fridge phonics)

 

If my young preschooler wanted to learn how to read, I would use.............because............ Feel free to elaborate!:)

[JudoMom]

Phonics Pathways because it's easy to use, it's reasonably priced, and it works (at least for my boys :001_smile:).

[JessReplanted]

My 4 year old learned to read this year. (We also have the leapfrog videos).

 

I had experience using Abeka's method of blending letters, so I used that again, and my daughter picked it up quickly.

 

*Combine consonants with vowels and make blend ladders, and then

we would 'sing' them together: ba, be, bi, bo, bu

And once the child can recognize the blend sound, you just add the third letter to make a word.

 

 

We also have "I Can Read It!" Readers from Sonlight, which I started using once she could read 3 letter words. I love how those readers progress - it just makes a lot of practical sense.

[Wee Pip]

Is this your 2.5yo? If so, then a cookie tray & refrigerator magnets. I'd have a few letters on the cookie tray, we'd remember the letter sounds, & then drag the letters together as we sound them out. If letter sounds are down well, then you can start teaching blending, which doesn't require a book. We used to blend with fridge letter magnets on the cookie tray. I also played a silly blending game with the kids throughout the day. I'd say something like:

"/c/ /u/ /p/ .Can you set the /c/ /u/ /p/ on the table?" and then I'd ask them, what word did I say? They would have to figure out what word I was sounding out. I did this with many 3-4 letter short vowel words. Blending tends to be tricky for many kids, so playing this auditory game helped them to develop an ear for the blending (which later helps them know what they blended when they read a book). I was always talking weird to help them with blending:) ("Oh, look - there's a /f/ /r/ /o/ /g/. /f/ /r/ /o/ /g/ what animal did I just say?") My dh probably thought I was nuts!

[Farrar]

* The letter magnets game mentioned above (we did something similar back then)

* Starfall and Progressive Phonics, because they're free.

 

I would be hesitant to commit to a whole program for a really young kid. After all, they can lose interest just as easily as they gain it. If it was an older preK'er I might do something more formal... though we didn't at the time, I must admit.

[Diana B]

Starfall for fun activities & songs.

 

Letter magnets or blocks or other letter manipulative.

 

Basically what Wee Pip said.

(I love the blending idea - excellent!)

 

Make it fun and not stress it.

 

When reading to your child, make sure you are following the words you read with your finger. That way your child can see the word as you say it.

 

Good luck!

[SweetMissMagnolia]

In the beginning,I used printable phonics worksheets from online--when he had learned all of those we moved onto spectrum phonics/reading/spelling workbooks--of course in between we were reading starter books too....

 

http://www.dltk-teach.com/

 

http://www.first-school.ws/INDEX.HTM

[warriormom]

I am planning on starting once she turns 3. We use the fridge phonics set right now.

 

Any other suggestions?

[shinyhappypeople]

(After using the leapfrog DVDs and fridge phonics)

 

If my young preschooler wanted to learn how to read, I would use.............because............ Feel free to elaborate!:)

 

Happy Phonics, because it's fun, effective and can be as gentle or rigorous as you want it to be.

[MelissaMinNC]

Ruth Beechick's "A Home Start in Reading" because it's simple and you can make it as gentle as you want, and make each phase of the "learning-to-read" process as simple as possible.

 

When ready for a little more structure, I'd move on to MFW K (not before age 4.5, in my house) and take that at a nice, leisurely pace.

 

I'd read lots and lots of stories, over and over again.

 

:)

Melissa

[kchara]

We use Funnix, but it has writing with it. You could definitely skip the workbook, though. We started a month before my PreK turned 4. We had to take a break while I had computer issues :glare:, but we're getting back to it today, in fact. He's really looking forward to it.

[Crimson Wife]

Hooked on Phonics (this is the set I have)+ library easy readers + a bit of Starfall. HOP is easy to do with a non-writing child and the readers are very engaging.

 

All About Reading is very tempting but pricey, and Marie Rippel has only finished pre-level 1.

[Wee Pip]

If I really wanted a book to follow, at that age, I'd probably go with Reading Reflex. Most likely you can borrow it from your library and give it a try before making the (small) investment.

Hooked On Phonics is a bit more intense (my 4yo was not able to handle it at the time), but if a child were truly ready for it, it should work & you can probably get a used set for cheap.

BJU Preschool (K4) might be a good one to try, too.

[Jennay]

See if you can get Rime to Read books from the library. I've used them with three kids around 3 years old. Here's a site that has a little more info about them but their main website seems to be down/expired.

http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com/homeschool/productguide/rimetoread.shtml

[~Kirsten~]

Honestly? I'd get The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, and see what happens. You can easily set it aside, repeatedly if necessary, and pick it back up after a break. It's an outstanding program to own for the future anyway, IMO, and you can cut the lessons into pieces for smaller chunks. The first 26 lessons review each letter sound, with a particular emphasis on the vowels. But I'd be prepared to stop at the slightest sign of boredom or frustration.

 

I definitely second playing with lots of letters on magnets, continuing with Leap Frog videos, and possibly trying some Starfall together.

[eloquacious]

I am in a similar situation, though my son has already begun. We have HOP levels 1-5, Teach your child to read in 100 EZ lessons, the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, and Phonics Pathways. As of now, my favorite is Phonics Pathways though I really appreciate the how tos and whys of OPGTR, and would recommend getting that from the library.

 

The reason I love PP is that it emphasizes the process of moving from reading single words to phrases and sentences, and helps to work on eye tracking, with which my son (with eye coordination problems) has trouble.

 

To add free stuff, use Starfall and Progressive Phonics, or the reading lists from Word Mastery or Blend Phonics from the Don Potter web site.

[Tracy]

When my dd6 was 3yo, I just started her on the Nora Gaydos books. She already knew her basic phonics from Starfall and SuperWhy. She was an intuitive reader, and I never used a formal program. This year, I started using SWR with her, and now I am using it with ds3. He enjoys the flashcards, and I really like that he is learning all of the phonograms up front rather than a little at a time like most other phonics programs do.

[twoxcell]

I would first practice blending with alphabet magnets by building cvc words and sounding them out together. If and when said child can blend easily I would move on to a phonics primer and practice for 5-10 minutes at a time.

[Erika]

I used Abeka phonics blend cards to begin blending. (sa, se, si, so, su).

[mom31257]

I had experience using Abeka's method of blending letters, so I used that again, and my daughter picked it up quickly.

 

*Combine consonants with vowels and make blend ladders, and then

we would 'sing' them together: ba, be, bi, bo, bu

And once the child can recognize the blend sound, you just add the third letter to make a word.

 

 

Both of mine were reading at 4 and used A Beka's method and only with their K4 materials. It is the only thing I've used from A Beka, but I think the beginning blend approach is great.

 

My dd did the program in a 3-day a week program, but I homeschooled ds. It was no time before he started trying to add a 3rd letter to make a word he knew, so he was reading 3 letter words before the program intended.

 

I will say that it did vary the order of the blends, which I think is important. You could get this book, and begin by teaching the short vowel sounds then add a consonant at a time. The book has blend ladders with the consonants in the order the program teaches them, one for each consonant, then moves into longer words.