book ideas for a 6 y/o girl who doesn't "like" reading

[momsuz123]

Hi all,

My little girl doesn't really like reading. Lots of eye rolling, etc when we read. She is learning, she'll do it, but not like it. She is reading the level 1 books for AAR. The problem that I am having is that I can't seem to find other "fun" books at her level. She can do the Bob books fairly well, but doesn't love them. The Scholastic books level 1 are a little too difficult. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Jay3fer]

After BOB Books, I bought two boxed sets from Brand New Readers! called Winter Fun and Summer Fun. They're NOT phonics-based, but whole-language, so be careful... they shouldn't be your core readers.

But they are very simple books with cheerful, silly stories. And if you buy them new, they come with a chart, stickers, a certificate of completion, and a blank book you can use to write and illustrate your child's own story together.

The Summer Fun set is a bit easier, so I'd start with that as a confidence-builder.

I used the Winter Fun box with my daughter and it was a HUGE boost in her reading - at a time when there was almost nothing she could read on her own besides BOB books, which she disliked. Those plus Dick & Jane (bought secondhand) got us through the slump until she was ready for the first MacGuffey Reader, which she loves.

 

Brand New Readers also has other boxed sets, but I wouldn't invest in those if it wasn't my main reading program. Plus, be careful, because the books in the summer fun and winter fun sets are taken from the other boxed sets, so if you buy any of the other boxed sets in the series, you'll have "repeats" of some books.

[ElizabethB]

The I See Sam books:

 

http://www.marriottmd.com/sam/index.html

 

http://www.3rsplus.com/

 

You can also try my phonics concentration game to get in some fun phonics practice to build up the skills needed to read well and enjoy reading.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[Chris in VA]

Montessori object boxes (make your own) are a fun way to get some phonics practice in. You can play bingo/lotto, too, and the Command game is great fun also! And you can try your hand at writing some very simple stories and making tiny books yourself.

 

I just wrote action verbs that dd could phonetically sound out onto small strips of paper, folded the paper, and put it in a pretty basket. Dd drew one out, read it to herself, performed the action, and then I guessed/cheered/clapped/generally encouraged! LOL It's really fun. Here are some we used:

 

Hug Mom. (substitute the cat, the dog, the gerbil, etc)

Kiss Mom. (same as above...LOL)

Jump up.

Sit.

Stand up.

 

 

 

run

hop

jog

jump

skip

stand

crawl

wiggle

stomp

march

 

For object boxes, get a bunch of small (very small) objects and write a small card out for each, and have her read the card and find the object to match it.

 

For writing your own little books, here is a list of 3 letter words that are easy to sound out.

[morosophe]

The Elephant and Piggie series, by Mo Willems! Okay, these aren't, strictly speaking, phonetic--but they're so fun! Even if you're just reading them to her, the few words on the page might motivate her to learn to read more quickly, so she'll be able to read them on her own the sooner!

 

Or you could check out the Barron's Reader's Clubhouse books. At $4-$5 and eligible for Amazon's 4-for-3 promotion, these seem very reasonably priced. I've never used them, though, so I don't know how "fun" they are!

Edited November 29, 2011 by morosophe