How do some children just "know" how to read...

[Sue G in PA]

while others have such difficulty? I was just pondering this tonight while reading with dd6. She is reading through the Emerging Readers set that HOD schedules in Beyond. Those books, are in fact, very easy for her. She reads with fluency and expression. Even words she has never read before, she just seems to "know" them. We have never done formal phonics with her, with the exception of ETC that we just started a few weeks ago...and she is flying through those books. I just don't really "get" how some kids can just READ while others struggle (like my ds9). Both children have been read to since birth...frequently. Dd6 has always like books a bit more...asking for more and more stories while ds9 was content with just one or sometimes none. Preferred to be running around..typical boy. With the exception of a known disability or delay, what would make the difference? I know that God gifts us in different ways. But besides that? I guess I just want to know what I am doing wrong that ds9 has such difficulty while dd6 doesn't. And fwiw, my ds10 was an early reader as well...just sort of "knew" the words w/out any other phonics instruction. His spelling...:glare: Not so great. :( Ah well...

[mom31257]

I believe some people's brains are just wired for it. I remember seeing a documentary about brains and reading. If I remember correctly, it takes 17 different parts of the brain working properly and together to be able to read. Each child could definitely have their own time table on when those 17 parts are fully functioning and cooperating with each other.

 

Dd was wired for it from birth. She begged us to read to her from as early as I can remember. I taught her all the consonant sounds and short vowels at 3. I brought home Bob books thinking I would then teach her to read (blending and such). She read almost everyone of them the first day. I didn't even know she could read. I remember her at 5 years old walking over behind her daddy while he read the newspaper, and she read "What's more important, your company's health or your employees' health?". She didn't have to sound out a single word.

 

Ds had to sound things out for quite some time. He is reading great now, but still will take longer than she ever did to figure out a new word. He's a math kid, though, and his brain was wired for numbers from birth. Any question involving the words how much were answered with a random number.

[GoVanGogh]

I recently read "The Good School" by Peg Tyre and she addresses this to a degree. She was citing research done on children and their brains and how they learn to read. She said 1/3 of children "just know" how to read. Another 1/3 acquire it with little problem and the remaining 1/3 struggle and need very specific phonics instruction. I don't recall if she went into more specifics about "why" some children do learn seemingly by osmosis while others struggle.

 

My son was one of those children that started reading on his own. He was such a late talker so it was startling to us that he started reading - out loud and with expression - within a year of starting to talk. We are still amazed, six years later, and have no idea how or why he started to read as he did.

His spelling is awful, though. We recently started phonics along with spelling rules and it has helped his spelling so much. I assumed since he was a natural reader he would be a natural speller. Not so. He can point out misspelled words with ease and can memorize spelling lists, but can't actually spell.

[GoVanGogh]

She begged us to read to her from as early as I can remember.

That was my son, too. He always carried around books, even at a young age.

One of my favorite photos is of my DS holding a book properly and staring intently at the page and pointing at a word, as if he is indeed reading. He was 10 months old at the time, though less than 8.5 months adjusted to his due date.

[kidsnbooks8]

I don't know why. But I have quite a variety in my home too. MY oldest just knew, the next 2 a girl and a boy had a much harder time. That is actually why I started homeschooling. My next 2 a boy and then a girl, just knew too. Then the next 2, both girls have had the hardest time of any of them(they are now 9 and 11 and doing better everyday) My next is a 6yob and he is almost reading as well as my 9yod. My baby is 4 and he has not got a clue:001_huh: They just like to keep us on our toes, or our knees;)

 

 

 

ETA: All of my girls are now readers and love reading(even though the younger 2 have a harder time) My boys are just not "into" reading. They read very well, but only read when they need/have to.

Edited February 4, 2012 by kidsnbooks8

[DaffodilDreams]

I was an early reader - taught myself at age 4 and by K was reading my dad's college lit book (we didn't have much in the house). Looking back, I think it was probably because there was no one around to read to me when I wasn't at my grandparents and books thrilled me even at that young of an age. I have always been the sort who prefers losing myself in a good book over any other activity.

 

Dd8 is NOT like that. She's a very active, creative child. She's very much like Dh in that respect, and he just isn't a person who likes to read. Dd8 does love stories and easily "becomes" characters from books we read, but she just doesn't want to stop moving in order to read them herself. I didn't think she would ever learn to read, but close to turning 8, her brain threw a switch and things started happening in that area. She reads well enough to not scare me now, but I still don't know that she'll ever be one who just sits and reads because she wants to do so. (Though I'm not giving up all hope just yet!) We're just slowly plugging away at Phonics Pathways, easy readers, and I've recently added mandatory D.E.A.R to our days. D.E.A.R so far shows promising results. I went through our shelves and created a pile of books I knew to be at her skill level. All she has to do when I call out DEAR is pick a book or two from the pile and start reading. We have so many books on the shelves that I could see how it might be a bit daunting to dd to try to find something to read w/o this small-ish pile.

 

ETA: had to leave before i could finish. Anyway, yes, based on what I've seen among friends and family, some people really are just natural readers and others have to work much harder at it.

Edited February 4, 2012 by kimmie38017

[jar7709]

Such a good question. We read constantly to both our kids from infancy. DS was a natural and one day just started reading, he knew all his letters and everything but we never actually tried to teach him to read IYKWIM, he did it on his own, somehow. DD I'm actually having to teach. I keep having to remind myself not to push too hard since she is not actually behind and most 5 yos can't read yet, and not to compare her to her big brother. :blush:

[boscopup]

It is amazing how different even siblings can be. My oldest taught himself to read. He went from not reading at all to literally picking up Go, Dog, Go! and reading 30 pages of it in one setting one day - his first book to ever read - correctly getting words such as "like" that I didn't expect him to know. Frankly, I was in shock! He was 4.5.

 

Then along comes DS2, who could blend at age 4 before he even knew all his letter sounds - this was earlier than DS1 could blend. BUT... we're still just blending. He can sound out CVC words, open and closed syllables, all that. He just learned silent 'e' and understood it (though I haven't practiced it since then, so I doubt he'd read it correctly in a sentence), but we are still very painfully sounding out each.and.every.word, even if the word was already in that same sentence. :tongue_smilie: If it doesn't click by time we start "K" next year, hopefully working on a daily basis will help. Right now we work in spurts, so it's really not consistent. This child is definitely wired differently than DS1 in just about every way though, so I'm not too surprised at the reading difference.

 

I'm crossing my fingers that DS3 will be like DS1. So far, he's developing along a similar timeline with things like letters, numbers, etc. He's also our most verbal child. I could see him picking up reading quicker than DS2. At least, I hope so. DS2 is making up for the lack of CVC stage of DS1. :D

[Mergath]

I read somewhere that, when it comes to reading, some people are wired so that their brains kick out chemicals appropriate to what the person is reading about- adrenaline in a scary situation, hormones during a love scene, etc- so that they really feel what's happening in the book. The rest of the population has no chemical response whatsoever to books.

 

Okay, so I have no idea if that ties in to early reading or not, but I've always thought it was fascinating. :tongue_smilie:

[cherylw]

I hope this doesn't hijack your thread but I've talked to a mom of 12 kids whose has hsed all of them and some are in college now. This lady is very intelligent, owns a used curriculum store, writes books, teaches government classes, and so on. I told her my ds10 is REALLY struggling with reading. She could be considered an "unschooler" in her hsing philosophy. She told me not to have him tested and that he will eventually learn how to read. She said boys can be delayed a long time and claims one of her sons was barely reading until 13 and then just suddenly started reading 500pg novels.

I caved in a couple weeks ago and did have him tested..don't know the results yet. There is just so much pressure that kids should be reading at a young age. Maybe some are just not ready. But then we have to ask where is that point where we have to ask...is something wrong???

[staceyobu]

I read somewhere that, when it comes to reading, some people are wired so that their brains kick out chemicals appropriate to what the person is reading about- adrenaline in a scary situation, hormones during a love scene, etc- so that they really feel what's happening in the book. The rest of the population has no chemical response whatsoever to books.

 

Okay, so I have no idea if that ties in to early reading or not, but I've always thought it was fascinating. :tongue_smilie:

 

Maybe this is why I like to read so much!

 

Reading is a weird thing. My seven year old virtually taught herself. I think I taught her an e on the end makes a long vowel sound. I can't remember teaching any phonics rules besides that. She made incredibly rapid progress. I bought etc 1 and after a few pages she was so far past it she refused to do it. I skipped to etc 4. By the time she was halfway through that, she was far beyond the rest of the series. I didn't do anything but watch. So, it's definitely not necessarily the teacher that makes a good reader. Because I didn't really teach...

[wapiti]

I hope this doesn't hijack your thread but I've talked to a mom of 12 kids whose has hsed all of them and some are in college now. This lady is very intelligent, owns a used curriculum store, writes books, teaches government classes, and so on. I told her my ds10 is REALLY struggling with reading. She could be considered an "unschooler" in her hsing philosophy. She told me not to have him tested and that he will eventually learn how to read. She said boys can be delayed a long time and claims one of her sons was barely reading until 13 and then just suddenly started reading 500pg novels.

I caved in a couple weeks ago and did have him tested..don't know the results yet. There is just so much pressure that kids should be reading at a young age. Maybe some are just not ready. But then we have to ask where is that point where we have to ask...is something wrong???

 

I think she gave very bad advice. I'm glad you did the testing - hope it yields some helpful information!

[Mergath]

I think she gave very bad advice. I'm glad you did the testing - hope it yields some helpful information!

 

:iagree:

[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

You're not doing anything wrong--this is just something that has a wide difference in how easy it is for children to learn.

 

My daughter needed little repetition.

 

My son needs a lot of repetition. Today he told me he didn't know how to read or spell the word "no"--he was joking but I believed him! (We have been doing syllables for 1 1/2 years but he still occasionally forgets a sound that is a basic short or long vowel sound in a syllable.)

 

Many of my students need even more repetition than my son. My apraxia student especially needs a lot of repetition and explicit teaching of the littlest things, small points that most phonics programs gloss over and most students pick up on naturally, but he needs to be taught explicitly.

 

But, my son needs a lot less repetition in math than my daughter. Also, she reminds me of this post, but my son figured out how to do it on his own a few months ago. (She eventually did get it and is doing very well with her current math, for some reason she gets decimals--maybe because you can explain them with money! :001_smile:)

Edited February 4, 2012 by ElizabethB

[Vida Winter]

My first two dd's had a hard time learning to read (eventually got caught up but it was a long hard struggle). I always thought it was something I did wrong even though we did a lot of phonics. My third dd comes along and teaches herself to read before I even get a chance to teach. We still do phonics but she knows it before we even go over it. The nice thing is that it makes teaching all other subjects easier.

 

I absolutely believe it has something to do with the way the brain is wired. I was reading at 4yo with very little instruction.

[Laura Corin]

One interesting thought. Calvin was tested for LDs when he was four. His figure-ground perception (ability to pick out details from a background) was at the level of an 8yo. He was one of those 'just knows how to read' children, and I often wondered if it was because he could just see the individual words better.

 

Laura

[sewingmama]

I was just wondering the same thing this week. I got my DS4 the beginning ETC books thinking I needed to get him started on learning his letter sounds. He blew through the first book without me teaching him anything (so I guess he knew more then I thought). This week he insists he can read - so I humour him and get out one of his sister's phonics readers. He reads it without help from me - and then he reads the next 7 only needing help on 2 words!! So I decide to give him formal lessons and pull out phonics pathways - in one week he is now only a couple of pages behind my DD who has been learning to read for 8 months :001_huh:

 

He just gets blending -and it seems he has an excellent memory - I only have to help him with a word once and then he remembers it every other time he sees it.

 

My DD on the other hand has been learning for 8 months and although she is slowly improving -still doesn't have a handle on blending and although she can remember sight words easily she can't remember CVC words that she has sounded out at least 50 times in previous books :glare: She just does not have the confidence that DS does that if the word is spelled the same it must be the same word -she has to sound it out to make sure.

 

My DS will be flying past her very soon - and I feel bad for my DD. She likes to play teacher and will pick up a reader and "teach" DS how to read and helps him with the words -but they won't be playing that game much longer once she discovers the words the DS is reading she can't read herself.

[3peasinapod]

I read somewhere that, when it comes to reading, some people are wired so that their brains kick out chemicals appropriate to what the person is reading about- adrenaline in a scary situation, hormones during a love scene, etc- so that they really feel what's happening in the book. The rest of the population has no chemical response whatsoever to books.

 

Okay, so I have no idea if that ties in to early reading or not, but I've always thought it was fascinating. :tongue_smilie:

 

This is fascinating. My DH could care less about reading, yet I have such an emotional response to them.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Interesting isn't it? Both my kids were reading by 5 and I feel I had very little to do with it. I am pretty sure the Clifford Reading Game did it for them. We always read to them and with them but they were easy.

My little one's two best friend though? Still don't read well and they are in 5th grade now.

[Outdoorsy Type]

My earliest memories include words that I read. I don't know how I learned to read, but it seemed to come as easy as walking.

 

I have two children who are the same as me. They learned letters and sounds at 3-4 and were blending and reading words at 4-5.

 

On the other hand my middle child just turned eight, and I am thrilled that he is now reading Henry And Mudge and Amelia Bedelia. :001_smile: He just isn't wired the same way. I spend 45 min. or more every day on phonics, reading, and spelling activities with him, and he could probably still use another 20-30 min a day of practice.

 

The statistic some one posted about 1/3 reading effortlessly, 1/3 with instruction, and 1/3 struggle seems about right.

[leeannpal]

I have wondered this myself. We read a lot to dd as a baby and toddler. She had so many books and seemed to like them. But her attention span was nil. By the time she was 5, she still wasn't reading fluently, and I was a little concerned. Because of her birthday, she was 6 for most of kindergarten. During the first few months of kindergarten, something clicked for her. She went from sounding out basic words to reading whole sentences fluently. Now, at 9, she tests at a 7th grade level in reading fluency and comprehension.

 

I would love to claim credit for teaching her to read, but I know I can't. It just seemed to be something she picked up almost overnight and has run with since.

[Ester Maria]

For the same reason that some people have perfect pitch and can individuate just about any sound, while others cannot do it for life of them. Or for the same reason that some people just can calculate things mentally and effortlessly, while others struggle with acquiring even the most basic skills in that. We are just different. :001_smile:

 

I was one of those kids who "just knew" too, and my daughters picked it up naturally too.

[Dmmetler]

How do some babies just sleep through the night easily and early? Why do some kids potty train easily and are night trained about as soon as they're potty trained, while other don't?

 

I think it's the same thing-developmental and based on internal wiring, not so much on what parents do. I'm convinced that I can take no credit for teaching DD to read or toilet training her-in both cases, it was simply a matter of presenting the opportunity, and when she was ready, she did it. And if I COULD have taught her to sleep through the night, I would have. She regularly woke me up in the middle of the night for YEARS (and I'm not sure she's slept through the night without waking in her entire life without being sick at the time) although she did, about age 5, get to the point where she could usually get herself back to sleep.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

zach caught on fast-I still can't believe he reads so well and that I taught him KWIM?

[skirch]

 

My son was one of those children that started reading on his own. He was such a late talker so it was startling to us that he started reading - out loud and with expression - within a year of starting to talk.

This was my daughter too. She taught herself to read at 3 and by 4 could read just about anything that was put in front her. I get asked a lot what I did to teach her but I can't take any credit - I had nothing to do with it.

[Donna]

I agree that some kids are just wired to be able to do it. I read to all my kids from birth. My oldest and youngest loved books and to be read to. Books were their favorite things and I'd often catch them sitting in the middle of a pile of books when they were babies. Libraries and book stores were better than toy stores to them.

 

My oldest was taught to read early and learned easily so by 4yo was reading well past a 4th grade level. My youngest just brought me "Little House in the Big Woods" one day at 3.5yo and read it fluently (no sounding out and no errors on words) without any formal reading instruction...just being read to and playing games with magnetic letters occasionally.

 

My middle ds rarely sat for books but would play nearby and remember the story even though it appeared he wasn't listening. He was my latest reader and struggled with learning to read. I tried a number of different reading curriculum with him, took him to reading specialists for evaluation, etc... He reads well now but does not read for enjoyment. He picks books to read based on chapter length and font size rather than based on content. :glare:

[Trish]

while others have such difficulty? I was just pondering this tonight while reading with dd6. She is reading through the Emerging Readers set that HOD schedules in Beyond. Those books, are in fact, very easy for her. She reads with fluency and expression. Even words she has never read before, she just seems to "know" them. We have never done formal phonics with her, with the exception of ETC that we just started a few weeks ago...and she is flying through those books. I just don't really "get" how some kids can just READ while others struggle (like my ds9). Both children have been read to since birth...frequently. Dd6 has always like books a bit more...asking for more and more stories while ds9 was content with just one or sometimes none. Preferred to be running around..typical boy. With the exception of a known disability or delay, what would make the difference? I know that God gifts us in different ways. But besides that? I guess I just want to know what I am doing wrong that ds9 has such difficulty while dd6 doesn't. And fwiw, my ds10 was an early reader as well...just sort of "knew" the words w/out any other phonics instruction. His spelling...:glare: Not so great. :( Ah well...

 

Son #1 learned the traditional way (he was in school at the time), and learned pretty easily in Kindergarten into first grade. Son #2 (two years younger) would sit with us as Son #1 would read his beginner books to us. After a few times through, Son #2 was reading as well as #1.

 

I have no idea how that can happen. I remember learning to read the traditional way.

[hmschooling]

while others have such difficulty? I was just pondering this tonight while reading with dd6. She is reading through the Emerging Readers set that HOD schedules in Beyond. Those books, are in fact, very easy for her. She reads with fluency and expression. Even words she has never read before, she just seems to "know" them. We have never done formal phonics with her, with the exception of ETC that we just started a few weeks ago...and she is flying through those books. I just don't really "get" how some kids can just READ while others struggle (like my ds9). Both children have been read to since birth...frequently. Dd6 has always like books a bit more...asking for more and more stories while ds9 was content with just one or sometimes none. Preferred to be running around..typical boy. With the exception of a known disability or delay, what would make the difference? I know that God gifts us in different ways. But besides that? I guess I just want to know what I am doing wrong that ds9 has such difficulty while dd6 doesn't. And fwiw, my ds10 was an early reader as well...just sort of "knew" the words w/out any other phonics instruction. His spelling...:glare: Not so great. :( Ah well...

 

No idea, but I have the same wondering questions! My DD is our oldest and at the age of just turned 4, we started to homeschool with a K program. I tried to teach her phonics and before I could even spit out what the letter sound was, she would tell me...this happened for a few letters, one letter per week that I'd bring out...after a few weeks, I decided to check out the whole alphabet to find what she didn't know. She knew them all. I pulled out a book and she read to me. She was 4, we didn't even have tv so it wasn't some PBS show that taught her. We did have LeapFrog fridge phonics, but that was it. By the time she was a late 5, she had an interest in Chronicles of Narnia and read through the whole series at the age of early 6. Probably a book a week from reading at night. I knew it was advanced and when I had to put her in 2nd grade public school a bit, there was a book exchange for Christmas so I got a book that was well below her reading level, wrapped it, and sent her to the party with it at school. She came home with both the book I sent and her book, "The Cat Has Mittens", which was given to her. It was a I Can Read level 2 book. Oops...mine I sent was a short chapter book like one you'd see in the end of the emerging readers for HOD. LOL. I didn't know!!

My son is 8, smart kid, haven't done a whole lot of formal schooling with him but have worked on phonics some and he's in the emerging reader set doing wonderfully. He needed explicit instruction. I kept feeling like he was behind though, b/c DD would have read through those in K as a 4yr old. She has really skewed my idea of reading levels for each age/grade.

 

The only down side to this is I didn't do phonics with her b/c she was already reading, so her spelling suffers. She can ace spelling program placement tests, and in 2nd grade placed in most program's grade 6 books. We started HOD that year and have been doing studied dictation...I still did the spelling programs too, which she aced every week. I finally gave those up and see the most progress and crossover from HOD's dictation :)

 

Just relating...that's all...LOL. Fun to remember, thinking back to her little days. Oh, and I must admit since I didn't teach her to read and can't take credit for it, I was scared to death to teach my 2nd child to read...it was like he was my first to teach and I had first time jitters!

[Mommy22alyns]

This was my daughter too. She taught herself to read at 3 and by 4 could read just about anything that was put in front her. I get asked a lot what I did to teach her but I can't take any credit - I had nothing to do with it.

 

 

Same here. Both girls just taught themselves. I did very little but stand back and watch.

[TracyR]

Well, it all depends. There are some that they are just wired that way, BUT most are taught from infancy to read believe it or not.

Many of those families use the Doman method. Programs like Monkisee, Your Baby Can Read, created to teach babies to read.

 

I remember once coming upon a mom at our local Y who's son was 3yrs old. He was reading 1st grade books all by himself. I thought to myself what in the world did you use to get him reading like that. Eventually I worked up the nerve to ask and she said he picked it up when his big sister (who was 6 at the time) was learning to read. So I thought , well my kids aren't like that. That those kind of kids are just wired that way and those weren't mine.

Fast forward to about 12 yrs later and my youngest daughter was 3 yrs of age. She saw the Your Baby Can Read commerical and jumped up and down telling me she wanted to read. I thought no way in the world would I ever waste my money on that stuff. I was all sure it was a scam of some sort. Other then that little boy I never knew anyone who's child was reading at a young age. To me that was a rare thing. At least that was my assumption.

 

When my daughter was 4 we saw the Your Baby Can Read video on the shelf at our local Walmart. Maggie saw it too and insisted we get it. So I got it, with the expectations of that I had just wasted $60. Boy was I wrong! It was the best $60 I ever spent. She got up and reading in less than 2 months. After that I learned about Monkisee and Brillkids. And have those products. Now my 5yr old reads better than my 8yr old any day of the week! She loves, loves , love to read and to be read to. She reads 2nd grade books that my 8yr old comes home with from school. So she's got to be at least a 2nd grade level,, maybe even higher. I don't know. I haven't tested her on her level of reading.

 

In the end , there are some kids who just pick it up and are wired for reading. And there is the other half that are taught very early on how to read from infancy.

 

p.s. If you don't believe me. Visit the Brillkids forum and see thousands of families that teach their babies to read and do it successfully.

[Tigger]

I have no idea - my DS7 needed specific phonics instruction and lots and lots of practice to be able to read, is still a fairly slow reader, but is definitely gaining ground this year.

 

I honestly don't know how I learned to read, I was reading chapter books and 4 and my mom swears she didn't teach me to read, I just got it and started reading when I was 3 - she just kept giving me harder and harder books to read and when I entered K, they didn't know what to do with me, so I never learned phonics (wish I had though - am now since I'm teaching DS).

 

DH read early too, but he was taught to read with phonics instruction by his dad - his dad said until he was almost six it wasn't easy-peasy for DH, but that once it clicked, he took off with reading and was way ahead of grade by the end of K.

 

We weren't sure what to expect with DS and were surprised that it's taken the time and effort it did.....not sure if it is really true, but we've read that kids who don't crawl have a harder time learning to read? DS didn't crawl - never tried to crawl - he just did a walk-crawl for a week and then up and walked at nine months. We've also learned he's left eye dominant as a right hand dominant kid, so that's changed how we set the pages/books up for him to read, so his left eye dominants and that's made a difference in his pace of progressing!

[Lecka]

I am upset by the woman who thought children can learn to read later. My husband's family has many people who are very weak readers as adults, despite being smart and wonderful. It is a difficult skill for them, and they never really got it, ever. They could learn now with a lot of effort but it is something they feel bad about by now.

 

For my kids -- I will follow guidelines for early intervention b/c of this family history.

 

I got some criticism from some family member on my side, where everyone does learn to ready easily, for making him do reading last summer (the summer he was 6 1/2, we worked on phonemic awareness, b/c he couldn't tell what words had the same beginning sounds etc. etc.).

 

Now that these family members have seen a) how good his progress is and b) how slowly it has come, they are not criticizing me anymore.

 

I am afraid some on my side had bought into the belief that if I read to my kids every day, as I do, they would easily learn to read, and that children who don't learn to read easily, are not read to. I don't agree. It is fine for my nieces to be raised with that attitude, but my kids have a different family history to take into account.

 

At the same time -- if I was speaking with that woman, and I told her about the family history, I doubt she would have still said to let it go. My family members were not willing to believe some of the examples I have seen of poor reading... my ILs hide it pretty well but they cannot really read many street signs. At the same time -- street signs are a harder thing for them, I think. They can read okay but not well enough to ever enjoy reading or read for pleasure.

 

I just heard "but Lecka all of you girls taught yourselves to read" one too many times... it is really something I need to let go.

Edited February 6, 2012 by Lecka

[BlsdMama]

Cheryl, it's so funny you posted that... We are just now having our son tested because though he overcame a very hard time learning to read, we're now wondering if he is dyslexic. We didn't know the real signs of dyslexia then but we are worying about second ds.

 

Ana was our first. I assumed 100 Ez Lessons meant just that, one hundred sessions to a child reading like a second grader and that is about how she progressed. Normal, or so we thought. ;)

 

Our second child was still reading only three and four letter words at age ten. Now at 12 he can read anything you put in front of him.

 

Third child struggled a little. Now she reads about average for a fourth grader.

 

Next child taught herself to read at age five with the bare minimum phonics instruction. She reads at about a sixth grade level.

 

Next child is seven. He is working dearly for every inch forward.

 

Abigail is average for a five year old... Reading short, little words.

 

Sarah is three. She is fairly easily reading three letter words.

 

THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT!! But I think I could say the same about how they absorb math and reasoning as well!

Edited February 6, 2012 by BlsdMama

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

:iagree: It was exciting that my first dd taught herself to read at age 3! But at the same time my ds was struggling and he was only 5, so I had time to read aloud every day many easy readers, play games, and then started Teach Your Child in 100 easy lessons when they were 4 and 6 ish..... then I tried to teach my next ds 7 and next dd 6 and he took off like a rocket, she is 8 now and still struggling to learn simple words... I feel so guilty, but her birth was so traumatic, I was worried she would have trouble. I appreciate the information, I am concerned, but just keeping on encouraging her. She wants to read, loves to copy words, make books, make spelling lists, and is feeling slow ( goes to a lower level Sunday School) and it is embarassing for her.

 

TWTM suggests starting 100 EZ lessons, and then at lesson 60 if the young child is bored, switching to Phonics Pathways. I am trying 100 EZ with her again. And I have been researching Dyslexia, and other disabilities to try to figure her out. There is not a place close to get her tested, and I know others who have spent tons of $$$ to no avail. Some are using Dianne Craft Material. I have not had her vision checked either lately, and plan to do that, although I don't think it is her vision.

Edited February 6, 2012 by TGHEALTHYMOM
adding information

[txhomemom]

I definitely feel some of us are just wired to be early readers. I read fairly early as a child, not sure what age, but I don't remember learning to read, just knowing how to read. I remember in elementary school they did not know what to do with me because I would read all the books for the year in the first week of school. I also love books, always looking for more books, that is my thing.

 

My oldest dd, age 13, does not love books as much, although she will pick up a book to get information, or even read a really difficult chapter book if it is something that interests her. She learned to read about age 5 or 6, no phonics, just seemed to click for her one day. I did try phonics, but she just did not need it, of course, her spelling is atrocious to this day, so I kind of regret not sticking with the phonics. She is more into drawing/art/design and creative hobbies. I read to her a lot when she was younger, but she was never the kind of kid that would choose to read books first, usually wanted to paint or play outside, etc. She also has really strong mental math abilities and still tries to do math problems in her head. This kid was drawing pictures of animals from age 2 and has always done really intricate art work.

 

My youngest dd, age 23 months, has a deep love for books. When she was an infant up until about 9-10 months old, she absolutely had no interest in books. I would try to read to her, but she just did not want to sit. I eventually got her interested in at least looking at the pictures, then we progressed to books that had one or two words on the page. Now she loves me to read Curious George books and will sit for a very long time as we go through book after book. I literally have bought so many books for her that I am running out of space. She will sit in a pile of books and just flip through the pages and kind of sounds like she is reading them. She is a late talker so her speech is not that great yet. We also put books in her crib every night and she reads books (looks at the pictures) at night and puts herself to sleep and then first thing in the morning she starts going through the books again. I can tell that she will be more like I was as a child. The funniest thing about her is that her favorite book since around 12 months of age has been one of my oldest dd's books, Cleopatra. I don't know if she just likes the pictures or what, but she is fascinated by it and I have read a few blurbs in it here and there to her, but not sure if she really is taking any of it in or not. As far as art, she just does not seem to be into yet, maybe won't be that much at all, she does not care for coloring yet and is not showing any artistic talents like my oldest did.

 

I will definitely be doing phonics with my youngest dd even if she ends up being a great reader, because I don't want to make the same mistakes with spelling that I did with my oldest. Both of my dd's were not crawlers at all, went straight to walking at an early age around 9 months or so, however, my oldest dd was always very good at physical activities, she never fell once when she would be playing outside or at the park or trying to flip over the furniture. My youngest seems to be more clumsy, tends to run into walls, or bumps into things.

 

Because my oldest dd is spatially oriented/artistic I wonder if that is what keeps her from being interested in books...I mean it is not that fun to look at flat words on a page when you see things in 3D color images in your head.

Edited February 6, 2012 by txhomemom

[Hedgehogs4]

It has puzzled me as well. My sister and I do not recall learning to read. Rather, I remember entering kindergarten and thinking "Really? What's the big deal? This is so easy" :001_huh: and they moved me into the next grade's reading group. It was just so easy for me, so I assumed that my kids would be the same way and I have to admit that I have struggled with being disappointed that they are not. My son is a wonderful reader now, and he reads fast and retains what he reads. My daughter is coming along with steady progress, but not nearly where I thought she would be by this point. Both are bright kids with no vision or learning difficulties. They just have to learn how to read.

[zaichiki]

I have had two early readers who pretty much taught themselves and one with dyslexia. One more is undecided. :D

 

 

I don't think there's anything random about it.

Things my early readers did:

1. They made an early visual connection between the letters in the words I read aloud, their fridge magnets and ABC books, and the sounds the letters made.
   
2. They heard the blending earlier and could therefore do it on their own.
   
3. They have good visual memories and could remember what the words they sounded out looked like, so they didn't have to sound them out as many times in order to remember them on sight.
   
4. As they read more complicated books, they identified unknown words using either context clues or visual memory.
   
5. They figured out the more complicated phonics in new words and remembered them. (ie they saw 'igh' in the word night, heard the sound between the n and the t was a long i, and therefore immediately knew that 'igh' must make the long i sound).
   

My child with dyseidetic dyslexia has very strong phonemic awareness, but a poor visual memory. She heard the blending early and remembered the sounds each letter made, so she was able to "write" her own very phonetic sentences at 3. She couldn't read them back the next day, however, nor could she recognize those same words (the ones she had sounded out and written on her own) in books. It was very puzzling to me at the time.