Teaching a young child to read

[Mommy to monkeys]

I would love to hear from those who have taught a VERY young child to read (3 or so). What did you use etc.?

 

The backstory on this is that I've been doing Explode the Code with my 4 year old ds on the couch and my 2 year old dd (she'll be 3 next month) sits with us and does just as well as her big brother (minus the writing)! And she says "I want to read." So I'm thinking of giving it a go. I had looked at 100 easy lessons before and thought it looked too "young", so I wonder if maybe it would be good for her.

 

Thoughts?

[mytwomonkeys]

if you allow media, my kids loved electric company and the leapfrog videos (letter factory and talking word factory). honestly. that's how they learned their letters, sounds, and basic reading.

 

oh, and starfall and pbskids.org were big hits too!

[Mama2four]

I used Phonics Pathways with my daughter when she was a little over 3 yo. If working from the book itself is too much, you can use magnetic letters or a dry erase marker board.

[Mergath]

We're still working on it, but my dd learned how to read CVC words when she was three by using Funnix. It's really good at teaching blending to young kids, and it's just interesting enough to keep them engaged without being over-the-top. We've taken a semi-break from it since then, just having her read her Bob books, but we're planning on ordering AAR1 soon.

[Mommy to monkeys]

if you allow media, my kids loved electric company and the leapfrog videos (letter factory and talking word factory). honestly. that's how they learned their letters, sounds, and basic reading.

 

oh, and starfall and pbskids.org were big hits too!

 

:lol:IF I allow media. . .I do indeed. We're all about the letter factory movies. Starfall she's not ready for. . .just because she can't really work a mouse.

[Mergath]

:lol:IF I allow media. . .I do indeed. We're all about the letter factory movies. Starfall she's not ready for. . .just because she can't really work a mouse.

 

You can just hit the arrow and letter keys on the keyboard with Starfall, too. :001_smile:

[Mommy to monkeys]

I used Phonics Pathways with my daughter when she was a little over 3 yo. If working from the book itself is too much, you can use magnetic letters or a dry erase marker board.

 

I just checked the library site and am putting phonics pathways and 100 easy lessons on hold. Sometimes you just have to try to see if it will work.

[Mommy to monkeys]

You can just hit the arrow and letter keys on the keyboard with Starfall, too. :001_smile:

 

Oh my goodness. I feel stupid. I did NOT know that.

 

I'll oogle AAR.

[Syllieann]

My oldish 3 yo is doing great with aar 1. I love that it doesn't require writing. I plan to order level 2 when it's released. I do wish there were more options for explicit phonics that weren't totally intertwined with writing. I feel like aar is kind of my only option and I'm quite happy with it but I'm worried about how long it will take for new levels to come out and it's kind of on the pricey side.

[TengoFive]

The Starfall app is pretty easy to work too. My toddler can work touchscreens really well.

[boscopup]

My 3 year old likes readingbear.org and readingeggs.com. He also likes starfall.

 

I let him try when he wants to, but I don't push it. He can blend and knows several phonograms, including ee, sh, and some others. He's not ready to REALLY read yet, but I won't be surprised if he's reading by time he turns 4. My oldest taught himself at 4.5 and took off from there. Youngest likes to do everything long before his brothers (he can buckle his own car seat harness and button a button down shirt, both things my other kids couldn't do until age 5).

 

I'm not using curriculum with DS3 for reading, but mostly just point out words I know he can sound out and things like that, plus he sits in on phonogram practice with my 5 year old. For â€schoolâ€, we do preschool activities that are fun and make him think he's doing school. He's not developmentally ready to do hard work in school.

[Mommy to monkeys]

Holy Mackeral! AAR is PRICEY!

[Mommy to monkeys]

My 3 year old likes readingbear.org and readingeggs.com. He also likes starfall.

 

I let him try when he wants to, but I don't push it. He can blend and knows several phonograms, including ee, sh, and some others. He's not ready to REALLY read yet, but I won't be surprised if he's reading by time he turns 4. My oldest taught himself at 4.5 and took off from there. Youngest likes to do everything long before his brothers (he can buckle his own car seat harness and button a button down shirt, both things my other kids couldn't do until age 5).

 

I'm not using curriculum with DS3 for reading, but mostly just point out words I know he can sound out and things like that, plus he sits in on phonogram practice with my 5 year old. For â€schoolâ€, we do preschool activities that are fun and make him think he's doing school. He's not developmentally ready to do hard work in school.

 

I know she's not developmentally ready for "school", but I'm a firm believer in teaching a child to read as soon as they are able. It opens up a whole new world.

[edeemarie]

My 3 (almost 4 year old) is doing very well with AlphaPhonics. I did teach him the phongrams from Writing Road to Reading before we started and that helped a lot.

[Ritsumei]

I know she's not developmentally ready for "school", but I'm a firm believer in teaching a child to read as soon as they are able. It opens up a whole new world.

:iagree:We started quite young, but our initial lessons just about never lasted more than 15 min, if that much. Even a very young child can handle that long, if it's fun. This is what we do:

 

 

Both my boys loved starfall really young. Hero asked to use my mouse sometime before his 2nd birthday, and so I put him on my lap & helped him click around starfall a bit... in no time he had the mouse figured & we were limiting screen time on a 1yo, LOL!! By his 2nd b-day he knew his letter sounds and I was researching phonics programs, as he seemed interested. We didn't actually start doing anything till after his 3rd b-day. Dragon didn't have the patience to let me help him with the mouse until just after his 2nd bday, but he's otherwise going to do the same schedule and be ready for phonics very early.

 

After they have the sounds down from starfall, we switch to Happy Phonics. They have some fun games the reinforce the connection between the big and little letters, and while that's going on we'll be playing "What's My Word?" which is where I blend CVC words out loud for the little guy to guess. He's actually starting to get it, even though he's still *really* little. Once he can do it orally then we'll start playing games with CVC words rather than just letters. It's pretty easy; Hero doesn't love to do phonics, so he's still finishing up, and Dragon has to do the games that Hero plays, so I let him play as long as his attention lasts. In addition to the games that come with Happy Phonics, we have a small collection of file folder games that the boys like. Their favorite is a monster that eats words - but only ones that have been read. Ones that are "raw" (i.e. unread) are yucky. And the other favorite is one that Hero made up using my scrapbook punches.

 

Not too long after Hero figured out how to do the CVC words, I needed more hand holding than what Happy Phonics offers, so I bought OPGTR. That book (and 100EZ) made me want to poke out my eyes when I was previewing it, considering using it as written, but when I use it as a guide for what to do in our games, it works great. I take the word lists, write them on 3x5 cards, and we use them with the HP & file folder games. Takes 15 minutes, but oh the difference it makes! We'd have tears every day if we tried to do OPGTR as written, but when we do it in game format we can make progress. I think it's because it's more work for him than anything else that we do, phonics are Hero's least favorite part of school. He makes the same complaints about narrations, but both are well within his abilities. They doesn't come easy, and just about everything else does. But in spite of that it's working, and he's getting to be a reader.

 

I don't think that HP is very good as a stand-alone program, but as the framework that you use one of the very dry books, it's wonderful. I get the help I need from OPGTR, but Hero never actually reads from the book. All instruction is games-format. I actually wish I'd gotten OPGTR sooner. It corrected some rookie mistakes I was making in my teaching, and maybe Hero wouldn't have decided that he didn't like learning to read. Oh well, can't change it now for him. But I can do better with Dragon! And in the end, Hero's going to be a reader. He's getting there.

 

In our phonics time, I don't ask for ANY writing. It's all reading. I'm working on writing more with Hero now that he's starting to get to a point where his fine motor skills can handle it; he'll be 6 this month. But I plan to sneak in the "writing" practice with drawing, rather than tons of copywork just yet.

Edited September 12, 2012 by Ritsumei

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

LeapFrog Magnetic Word Builder. Best $28 I ever spent.

 

The second link in my signature has a LOT of ideas to work with very young kids learning to read.

Edited September 12, 2012 by theYoungerMrsWarde

[EthiopianFood]

OPGTR on a white board, without all the extra activities.

[Laura Corin]

One thing to be aware of: she may get to a certain stage then stop, maybe for years. When Calvin knew all his letter sounds at 18 months, I thought he would be reading soon. Blending didn't happen until later. He first let on to me that he was reading (I don't know when he actually started) just before he turned four.

 

Hobbes asked to be taught to read when he was four. His letter sounds were very shaky at that point. By the time he was five, his reading was as good as Calvin's at that age.

 

Have fun!

 

Laura

[BugsMama]

Logic of English is coming out with a learn to read program early next year. My family has been beta testing it, and it's AMAZING.

 

We really like it.

 

(so, there WILL be an alternative to AAR on the market) :D

 

I don't know if you would want to wait that long for a real program, but it is explicit phonics.

[Carrie12345]

My oldest is the only one who read at 3 (so far.) We did letter sounds with flashcards, and then he took his Leap Pad and was off and running. That was way before hsing entered our lives, so I was really winging it!

 

The next two weren't interested until later, but one did great with HOP. Well, both did great, but one took a lot longer.

 

Right now, I'm doing an AAS/HOP combo with my 5yo, and the 21mo likes to repeat everything with us. I suspect he'll be a 3yo reader at this rate.

 

I think the best tools are whatever grabs a particular child's attention!

[boscopup]

I know she's not developmentally ready for "school", but I'm a firm believer in teaching a child to read as soon as they are able. It opens up a whole new world.

 

I completely agree that reading early is beneficial. It's just sometimes a fine line with really young kids. My oldest knew all his letter sounds at 2.5 and could chunk words into sounds at 3, but he couldn't blend until 4.5. No matter what I did to try to teach him, he balked because he wasn't ready for hard work. So I backed off and just let him play starfall and continued to read to him often. One day at 4.5, he picked up a book that was grade level 1.5, and he started reading! He took off from there with no formal instruction from me. He was reading at a mid-second grade level when he started K at school, and now in 3rd grade, he can read anything that is appropriate for an 8 year old to hear. He also reads faster than me. :tongue_smilie:

 

So that's why I don't push it with my youngest. I'm 98% sure he'll be reading at a first grade level by time he turns 4. He's a sponge. To keep him from learning to read, I'd have to ban computer and books from the house. ;) I don't think my youngest needs a curriculum. Most early readers teach themselves. They have an environment conducive to learning to read (ie, a parent that reads to them often, educational computer games, etc.), and they just figure it out. Most kids aren't ready to read that early, but it sounds like yours is already teaching himself/learning via siblings' lessons. I'll bet if you keep doing what you're doing, he'll be an early reader. :)

[OrganicMom]

I would say AAR pre level to level 1.

 

I'm using it with my 4 year old (pre level 1) and he LOVES it... we are flying through it... the puppet takes the cake!

 

If AAR was not available he would not be wanting to read right now. but he keeps asking to do more and more school. and the activity sheets that come with it give ideas on the back of each sheet on how to complete them. they give ways of doing it i would never have thought of... like making peanuts with your fingerprints for the elephant on the E page... or using and eraser in blue paint to make blue berries on the B page...

 

I'm really happy we spent the money on it... although at first was unsure.

 

I keep coming back to edit it to add more I wanted to share. :D

 

the ponics pathway and other books of that nature felt to dry for my kids... who are movers and shakers... i tried all of them. I needed something the kids would love but i wanted something thorough and systematic with no holes that we could progress quickly or slowly, at the child's pace, in measured steps... excited to follow AAR all the way through. Now i'm just WAITING for level 2 to come out!!!! :D

Edited September 12, 2012 by OrganicMom

[OrganicMom]

wow! didn't see all the responses... good stuff!

[OrganicMom]

Logic of English is coming out with a learn to read program early next year. My family has been beta testing it, and it's AMAZING.

 

We really like it.

 

(so, there WILL be an alternative to AAR on the market) :D

 

I don't know if you would want to wait that long for a real program, but it is explicit phonics.

 

will they have several levels coming out all at once?

[The Governess]

I used Hooked on Phonics when dd8 was 3 and wanted to learn how to read. She loved it. No writing, fun stories, lots of little books, she was very motivated and finished all the levels in 9 months. We used the older version, you can find it pretty cheap on Ebay.

[La Texican]

Thanks Ritsumai for giving me an idea so I can take a second look at the 100 ez sitting unused on my shelf from my first kid. My second kid has moved on from asking for sesame street to asking for super why and between that and word world she has picked up a ton of pre-reading skills. The one thing I did like about 100 ez was that it taught writing along with reading. My son took 2.5 years, from toddlerhood to almost 5, using HOP pre-k cd- rom then reading eggs then I sat with him and guided reading from library books for the summer. He's a good reader now.

[Tanikit]

I showed my 2 year old whole words initially as well as teaching the alphabet (phonetic sounds) by pointing out letters (not capitals) all over the place (she was actually less than 2 when she mastered these). By 2.5 we started working on blending by me pointing out short cvc words anywhere and blending them for her. We were also playing starfall at this stage. She began blending well by herself around 3 years of age though she had been doing it earlier but less reliably. At 3 she started reading beginner readers and I taught her sight words so she could do this. At 3.5 we started OPGTTR but using a book I wrote the words in big - we never worked out the book itself. At 4.5 we moved to just doing the last of the phonics in the books she was reading by having her read aloud to me. Most of the actual teaching before 3.5 years of age was done by playing games and by pointing things out everywhere we saw them. She turns 5 in 2 days time, can read short chapter books though prefers pictures and is capable of reading any of her children's picture books. While she can read almost anything now she still does not have the stamina to read long books though it is improving gradually now. We have NEVER used writing to teach reading, however now that her reading is going well I am using the reading to help her learn to spell and she is starting to want to write on her own. I also would not advise using writing to teach reading when teaching a young child.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Tanikit

[Rivka]

One thing to be aware of: she may get to a certain stage then stop, maybe for years. When Calvin knew all his letter sounds at 18 months, I thought he would be reading soon. Blending didn't happen until later. He first let on to me that he was reading (I don't know when he actually started) just before he turned four.

 

:iagree: It's fine to play around with reading lessons if everyone is having fun, but don't expect orderly progress if you're starting well below the usual "reading age" - there are maturational processes which have to occur in the brain, and they may happen early or they may not.

 

Also - and this isn't a factor if you're doing early reading lessons because your child is pushing for them - if you are doing early reading lessons because you believe it will confer an academic advantage on your child, keep in mind that the only studies that show a continuing advantage for early readers are the ones that involve natural readers. Early teaching of reading has not been shown to have any lasting positive effect.

[Ritsumei]

Thanks Ritsumai for giving me an idea so I can take a second look at the 100 ez sitting unused on my shelf from my first kid. My second kid has moved on from asking for sesame street to asking for super why and between that and word world she has picked up a ton of pre-reading skills. The one thing I did like about 100 ez was that it taught writing along with reading. My son took 2.5 years, from toddlerhood to almost 5, using HOP pre-k cd- rom then reading eggs then I sat with him and guided reading from library books for the summer. He's a good reader now.

 

 

You are very welcome. I'm glad it's helpful. OPGTR doesn't have any writing component, which is just fine with me; at 2.5 both my boys love to write, but they just scribble. Even at almost 6, Hero has very little stamina for reading and if I get too much writing in our mix it creates problems so almost everything we do is either oral, or it's Mom scribing, or with math he uses a lot of manipulatives to show. Marker boards seem easier to write on, though I'm not sure why. We do that, especially in math. I've actually dropped FLL2 until his fine motor catches up a bit. Which is a very long-winded way of saying that, while it's cool if you can use writing to reinforce the reading your teaching, for the very young learners that's probably not practical since the physical skills are likely not there yet, even if the mental readiness is.

 

It's fine to play around with reading lessons if everyone is having fun, but don't expect orderly progress if you're starting well below the usual "reading age" - there are maturational processes which have to occur in the brain, and they may happen early or they may not.

 

 

 

We ran into these plateaus when I was teaching Hero. We weren't doing tons; maybe 15 min 2-3 times a week, but there were periods where I backed off from even that while we waited for the next developmental leap. It was very interesting. He wouldn't get it and wouldn't get it, and then suddenly it'd be there. I'm adding the oral blending of the CVC words with Dragon in part to make sure that we don't start the blending on paper before he's ready. The other thing is, when I was first teaching the CVC blends, I sort of missed the blend part, so I'd show him the words as S.A.M. rather than connected into S-A-M, if that makes sense typed. I said the sounds individually, rather than blending them... and he mimicked very nicely, so blending didn't really take off until I got OPGTR and it has those super explicit instructions. I love Happy Phonics, but the instructions for the teacher are lacking, and as a program, it's not nearly as thorough as some of the others (maybe most- certainly any other that I looked at), but it's ever so much more age-appropriate when you've got a toddler that is interested in letters and hungry for more.

[FO4UR]

My dd was reading at 3yo simply by listening in on her big brother's lessons.

 

 

I vote for keeping lessons open for "audit" and not changing much else. Any time you can put lessons up on a board for them both, I'd do that. If she starts surpassing big sibling, I'd start searching for a program for her.

[amyrobynne]

My dd was reading at 3yo simply by listening in on her big brother's lessons.

 

 

I vote for keeping lessons open for "audit" and not changing much else. Any time you can put lessons up on a board for them both, I'd do that. If she starts surpassing big sibling, I'd start searching for a program for her.

 

This pretty much happened at our house too. My older son was reading well by the time he started kindy (pre-home schooling). He'd bring home these little readers that were super-easy for him and my 3 year old would pick them up and sound the words out. We didn't explicitly ever teach him to read but by the time he turned four, he could read pretty much anything. He didn't have the patience for chapter books until about age 6 and still prefers fiction to have pictures. I think spending lots of time reading together made a bigger difference than anything else.

[skeeterbug]

Starfall she's not ready for. . .just because she can't really work a mouse.

 

My 2yo is the same age, turning 3 next month. She was so desperate to do Starfall by herself (instead of just watching her brother) that she figured out how to use the mouse. All of a sudden one day she could click and drag. ;) Now there's no stopping her. I'm thinking of paying the $30 for More Starfall for her.

[Syllieann]

Logic of English is coming out with a learn to read program early next year. My family has been beta testing it, and it's AMAZING.

 

We really like it.

 

(so, there WILL be an alternative to AAR on the market) :D

 

I don't know if you would want to wait that long for a real program, but it is explicit phonics.

 

I like the way essentials looks but it has integrated writing like swr and wrtr. That's where aar sets itself apart from the other explicit phonics methods, well and the little games but it looks like loe has games. Does the kindy level of loe separate the writing out?

[Dinsfamily]

One thing to be aware of: she may get to a certain stage then stop, maybe for years. When Calvin knew all his letter sounds at 18 months, I thought he would be reading soon. Blending didn't happen until later. He first let on to me that he was reading (I don't know when he actually started) just before he turned four.

 

Hobbes asked to be taught to read when he was four. His letter sounds were very shaky at that point. By the time he was five, his reading was as good as Calvin's at that age.

 

Have fun!

 

Laura

 

:iagree: I've had two follow this type of path. I pushed my oldest because I thought he was ready. That was the wrong thing to do. He knew his letter sounds around 18 months, but didn't get blending down until 4.5. Reading is developmental and can take time even if they want to read. The good news is that they can make big jumps. Ds8 started blending at 4.5, but was reading at a 3rd grade level by the end of K. It looks like his 4yo brother is following suit. He's been asking to learn how to read for about a year and a half, but he just isn't ready. I just let him sit in on his brothers' phonogram reviews and point out the sounds in CVC words while we read. He knows the first 26 phonograms and how to write many of them so we are getting there.

 

In contrast, ds6 taught himself to read at 2yo. He didn't need any lessons...he just figured it out. You never know what you'll get with each dc.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

First it depends on the child. not any 3 yr old can learn to read, just the ones who want it (learning disabilities are different).

If you have an eager child (mine was about 3 when she told me she wanted to read and meant it) then there are many tried and true programs out there. For all my children we used Abeka until they learned or about to learn the long vowel sounds then we switched to BJU K or 1st because the books they read from are more interesting.

[Mommy to monkeys]

My dd was reading at 3yo simply by listening in on her big brother's lessons.

 

 

I vote for keeping lessons open for "audit" and not changing much else. Any time you can put lessons up on a board for them both, I'd do that. If she starts surpassing big sibling, I'd start searching for a program for her.

 

This is what I'm thinking as well. This morning after her big brother was finished with his phonics time. . .she wanted her turn and sat there pointing out to me what the letters say. . .

 

Perhaps it should be THAT easy for awhile. So many good ideas though. I like the white board idea. . .and the 3X5 cards. 3X5 cards are near and dear to my heart.

 

I think she'll be getting that letter factory word builder for her birthday.:D

[Mommy22alyns]

LeapFrog videos, Hooked on Phonics, BOB books. The girls really taught themselves though.

[weddell]

I've been working with my 3 year old for the past six months or so. He will turn 4 next month so he was a little less than 3.5 when we started. His older sister was an early reader and he really wanted to learn. Her learned his letter sounds from leapfrog letter factory and leapfrog word factory DVDs. I wasn't specifically trying to teach him with the videos, but he wanted to watch them.

 

Just to see what he could do I started OPGTR with AAS tiles because I used both of them with older dd. I would spell the words from the lessons and have him touch each tile while saying its sound. Then he would blend the whole thing. I really couldn't believe how quickly he took to it.

 

A couple months later I thought he might like to try try readingeggs.com . I knew he couldnt use the mouse so instead we use the iPad as the mouse. I have a remote desktop app (splashtop hd) and it basically shows your computer desktop on the iPad and allows you to control the computer by touching the iPad. I move the computer keyboard out of way and put the iPad in its place. Then we have both the monitor and the iPad showing the screen and the iPad being used to control everything. It has worked super well for us and he will finish the final reading lessons in readingeggs before his 4th birthday.

 

This is a kid who really wanted to learn to read and was sounding things out by himself before I formally started teaching him. he has made huge leaps in just a few months. The secret has been keeping the lessons frequent but SHORT. And definitely allowing wiggling and standing while learning.

 

We also use Bob Books and the Now I'm Reading books by Nora Gaydos.

[BugsMama]

I like the way essentials looks but it has integrated writing like swr and wrtr. That's where aar sets itself apart from the other explicit phonics methods, well and the little games but it looks like loe has games. Does the kindy level of loe separate the writing out?

 

As far as I can tell from what we have so far, the child does not need to write to use it. She suggests large motor activities (like a salt box, or dry erase board, or 'air writing'), and there is explicit handwriting (letter formation) instruction, but you don't have to do it. The child I am using it with is not ready to write, but we do the large motor activities, and haven't missed anything because of it.

 

I think the one program is supposed to cover learning to read, no levels needed. I'd have to ask to see what would come next- I am assuming essentials for spelling, which reenforces the reading.

 

Hope that helps.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

My oldest started at 3 with 100 Easy Lessons. This was great for getting him started quickly, but I was less impressed with it toward the end, and he definitely did not make the leap from their special font to regular font around lesson 70ish I believe. We switched to Phonics Pathways, started at the beginning, and have been chugging along ever since. I much prefer Phonics Pathways overall.

 

However, my now 3 yo middle child is asking to read, and so I've started her on 100 Easy Lessons until she "gets" blending, and then I'll move her over to Phonics Pathways. In fact, she's probably ready to move now.

 

It may be just my child, or it may be because we started young, but he made big progress for a while then definitely stagnated. We are just now getting into more material after working hard to reinforce what he's already learned. He is 5.5 now, and according to Phonics Pathways, he is reading at 2nd grade level. He can read an I Can Read book level 2 in probably an hour (we break it up over 3 days of 20 minutes). So in other words, it still took him 2 years to get to second grade reading level. I do think we are now rolling down hill and picking up speed though, and he's on the cusp of moving to chapter books. Woohoo!

[Syllieann]

As far as I can tell from what we have so far, the child does not need to write to use it. She suggests large motor activities (like a salt box, or dry erase board, or 'air writing'), and there is explicit handwriting (letter formation) instruction, but you don't have to do it. The child I am using it with is not ready to write, but we do the large motor activities, and haven't missed anything because of it.

 

I think the one program is supposed to cover learning to read, no levels needed. I'd have to ask to see what would come next- I am assuming essentials for spelling, which reenforces the reading.

 

Hope that helps.

Thanks, yes that helps. Sounds interesting. Maybe that will be next for us when we outpace aar. I wish something was just like the essentials with spelling and grammar integrated but would leave the writing out and use tiles instead or something of that nature...sigh.

[shawthorne44]

Oh my goodness. I feel stupid. I did NOT know that.

 

I'll google AAR.

 

Don't feel bad. I didn't either.

 

We are hesitant to have our 27-month old use computers yet. But, on Saturday she was sitting in the computer chair so cute, and she has been really wanting to learn to read. So, I thought we would try out Starfall.

 

She was so happy. She pointed at the monitor and I used the mouse. I told myself that it was like a moving book since she was in mommies lap, and I was running the mouse, and interacting with her.

 

The downside is that she became quite demanding to use it all the time. Even during our family time.

 

We plan on doing AAR-pre at her pace, but we are trying to buy another house so money is tight, so we haven't bought it yet.

[Guest megypt]

My two and a half year old is interested also. I ended up getting a toddler mouse (no right click button) and slowed down the pointer speed to about halfway on the sliding bar. After 2 weeks using that mouse he was able to use a regular mouse at regular speed. He likes doing starfall and reading eggs.

 

My oldest pretty much self-taught reading just before he turned 4. We did use a dvd called "the sound of letters." which was basic phonic sounds...i like icecream, i like igloo...etc. It made for an easy way of sounding out words with a common sound guide between us.

 

I think the biggest thing for us was just a massive amount of reading together and sounding out short words we found while out and about.

[Guest megypt]

By the way, I noticed that homeschool co-op has a bigger than normal discount on reading eggs until the end of the month.

[3Blessings]

Many people here hate 100 Easy Lessons, but for us it really was easy! I started when ds was about 3 1/2, but quickly realized he already knew it. Still went on, however, because I wasn't as confident about my teaching at that point. Both my dds have enjoyed it. They were both eager readers, too. I started oldest dd at age 3 and younger at almost 4. I will say that I didn't do any of the writing portion.

[thegirlwhopaintedtrees]

I completely agree that reading early is beneficial. It's just sometimes a fine line with really young kids. My oldest knew all his letter sounds at 2.5 and could chunk words into sounds at 3, but he couldn't blend until 4.5. No matter what I did to try to teach him, he balked because he wasn't ready for hard work. So I backed off and just let him play starfall and continued to read to him often. One day at 4.5, he picked up a book that was grade level 1.5, and he started reading! He took off from there with no formal instruction from me. He was reading at a mid-second grade level when he started K at school, and now in 3rd grade, he can read anything that is appropriate for an 8 year old to hear. He also reads faster than me. :tongue_smilie:

 

So that's why I don't push it with my youngest. I'm 98% sure he'll be reading at a first grade level by time he turns 4. He's a sponge. To keep him from learning to read, I'd have to ban computer and books from the house. ;) I don't think my youngest needs a curriculum. Most early readers teach themselves. They have an environment conducive to learning to read (ie, a parent that reads to them often, educational computer games, etc.), and they just figure it out. Most kids aren't ready to read that early, but it sounds like yours is already teaching himself/learning via siblings' lessons. I'll bet if you keep doing what you're doing, he'll be an early reader. :)

 

That's encouraging because that is what my 3 year old has done - balked at the work of learning to read, even though he knew his letter sounds before knowing the names of colors and shapes. He can tell you all the sounds and chunk sounds, and read some CVC words but he doesn't like hard work.

[StartingOver]

Emma and Quince both started reading at 3. I used Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. Quince only saw the book once, after that I used the white board, chalk board, blocks, magnets, anything but the book with him. Emma would read directly from the book. We also used Bob books, HOP books, and other beginner readers. If we came across a word they didn't know yet, I just sound it out and move on. At first lessons were at a max 10 minutes a day, slowly progressing. Both children had started to figure out words on their own when we started, thanks to the Leap Frog DVD's.

[jenbrdsly]

What worked for my DS is up here on the Where to Start page of my blog. That same plan is (kind of) working with my DD. But she's on her own path!

[Targhee]

Oldest first read just before third birthday. What did I do? Let her watch the Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory, and I read, and I read, and I read, and I read to her. DH started reading aloud to her at 2 months old. We just lay her on her back beside us and hold the books up the in air - she was captivated from the start. We usually had about 2 hours worth of me reading to her each day. Man, I wish I could still do that!! But with four kids going in four different directions every moment it doesn't happen. I tried Bob books when she was 3 but it kind of became a pressure thing, so I just stepped back and let her read. At 4 we flew through 100 EZ lessons, and she's been reading several grade levels above her own ever since.

 

Now, #2 didn't show as much interest so it wasn't until he was about to start K that he learned to read. #3 would have nothing to do with it until a week ago.

 

If your DC wants to try, give it a try, but whatever you do don't push them right now. Serve whatever they are ready to ingest, but if they are satiated just wait until they are hungry again.

[ElizabethB]

I like Sydney Ledson's book:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Minutes/dp/1412015545/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351057597&sr=8-2&keywords=teach+a+child+to+read+in+10+minutes

 

Also, my phonics concentration game:

 

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

 

Start with simple 2 letter words in all uppercase on a white board:

 

IN, UP, ON, etc.

 

I also like Webster's Syllabary for a young child, the 2 letter syllables are a much easier start than the CVC words that most phonics programs start with.