Help, with reading, letters, etc.

[hsmom]

I keep reading how some have 4 and 5 yr old children already reading. How did you do this?

I am working with mine on learning our letters. He is one of the smartest kids I know, but he is not too interested in learning his letters. He wants to read now, with out all the steps. Does that make sense?

In your opinion where should I start here?

As for as numbers he has no problem with those. He counts everything. Now sometimes he goofs off and says things like 1,2,18,4,14,17,20. Even though he knows how to count properly. I know he is just goofing off and being 4.

I am worried that if I cannot spark some interest in learning his letters, with the sounds, he will not be at level for reading. Now I know he is very capable of this. He is one of those kids he sees it once he knows it. Like I he saw me set up a video game one day and he knew how to do it from that day on. Now this is with everything he does. I just cannot get him to apply it to his letters and sounds. I just know once he gets in the mind set of it he will have it down so fast.

The reason I say at level, is due to the unstable job market here, is making it sound like I will be the one working and dh at home. Dh does not feel capable of hsling by himself. So, there is always that chance my ds will end up in ps at some point. So, I want him to be at level, yet above level would be better, than his possible classmates.

Any help would be awesome!

 

Another note. We do have and have been trying to use 100 EZ lessons. He does good, when he wants to. Yet he always just wants to skip the small stuff, ie learning the individual sounds, and move on to just reading. I explain over and over that we cannot do this, and he presisits on fighting me.

 

Any help would be awesome! Thank you inadvanced!

[Melenie]

I only have a few minutes to write so will give you link on my blog that covers how we did it. We started when DD was younger with letters and sounds, but there may be few ideas that you can use. One of the best resources that I have found is Tad's Letter Factory DVD. Especially at your DC's age, they are a great hit.

 

 

http://www.tutormygirls.com/?p=234

[Jumping In Puddles]

For letter sounds, I let my kids watch The Letter Factory video by Leapfrog. They didn't even notice how fast they were learning their letter sounds!

 

I bet your son could watch it 2-3 times and know his letters down pat.

 

Then you could start reading lessons after that.

[hsmom]

Thank you for the dvd suggestion. I just ordered that one and the other two that follow it on Amazon.

[hsmom]

For letter sounds, I let my kids watch The Letter Factory video by Leapfrog. They didn't even notice how fast they were learning their letter sounds!

 

I bet your son could watch it 2-3 times and know his letters down pat.

 

Then you could start reading lessons after that.

 

Thank you also for the good review on the dvd. I am so excited for him to watch this. Also the great thing is it will be here on the 24th!

[Jumping In Puddles]

Thank you also for the good review on the dvd. I am so excited for him to watch this. Also the great thing is it will be here on the 24th!

 

Please let us know how this works! I didn't even realize the person above me posted the same video. :lol: Seriously, it's brilliant. I like the Talking Words Factory too.

[hsmom]

I got the talking word factory I & II. I am so excited. He does love to watch dvds and he remembers so much of what he watches and sees. I really think these will be perfect for him!

[cillakat]

http://www.readinghorizonsathome.com/intensivephonics.aspx

 

Don't let the dyslexic info on the website scare you away. It's great 'regular' phonics as well and is CD Rom...so it sounds perfect for your son. Leap letter factory videos are a good starting place, but this is more comprehensive and will take him right into reading.

 

The kit you'd want is $199 but there is a $50 off coupon when you sample the skill for free and free shipping.

 

:)

k

[prairiegirl]

My oldest dd started reading when she was 4. She more or less taught herself so I can't give you any great pointers. My ds is 8 and still can't read very well. My youngest dd will be 6 and she doesn't even know her letters yet. She desperately wants to read but her brain isn't ready yet to handle all of that information.

 

Your ds may want to read now but he is only 4 so maybe, in the maturity sense, he just isn't ready.

 

I am going to vent right now but please know that this is a general response and is not aimed at you personally. Our society has been trained, due to the school system, to expect our kids to learn to read when they are 6. If they are not reading by that time then we feel like we have failed or that our children are stupid. There is no magic age for a child to read. He will do it when he is intellectually and emotionally ready no matter what the school system says. Some kids are ready when they are 4 while others are ready at 8. I think it is possible to do a great deal of damage when we force them to read at an age in which they are not ready.

 

Again, I am not aiming this at you personally. I understand why you want your ds to start reading now, but please don't push him if he just wants to be a 4 yr. old boy for a little while longer. Maybe you could play games with him (I use Games for Reading by Peggy Kaye. You could probably get it at your library.) or use the internet (websites like Starfall ). The video that that was recommended si good as well. You might get better results if you aren't just using a phonics book.

[cillakat]

Our society has been trained, due to the school system, to expect our kids to learn to read when they are 6. If they are not reading by that time then we feel like we have failed or that our children are stupid. There is no magic age for a child to read. He will do it when he is intellectually and emotionally ready no matter what the school system says.

 

This is simply false. Unfortunately. Take the group of kids that doesn't learn to read around six.....of that group, it's fairly well documented that only 15% of them 'just weren't ready' and will go on to read well in their own time. 85% of them have some degree of reading disability and will require specialized help to learn to read. For that 85% of struggling/delayed readers, time is of critical importance. The help they get is more effective when done early. Later remediation works but differently and not as well.

 

Katherine

who wishes she didn't know this

[momsquared]

I have a similar DD who is 4 and we are working on the same things. I tried 100 Easy Lessons for awhile and she hated it. I recently purchased Leap Frog Letter Factory and she LOVES it! She would watch it 10 times in a row if I let her. He are also constructing an alphabet book with a letter of the day.

 

Two other things that have been successful with us in getting her going - BOB books and Dolch site words. She has enjoyed both because they are easy enough for her and she doesn't get overwhelmed.

 

I have mixed feelings about the correct learning to read age. I think somewhere between 4-6 is appropriate for children to learn, but where they fall on that depends on the individual. I would agree that beyond that it could potentially be problematic. I say this as a high school English teacher. High school English is almost entirely whole language in approach with very little grammar or vocabulary instruction (in most cases). If a child comes in not reading, the chance of them making major improvements during high school is limited.

 

Another piece of advice my mom gave me who was a life long special education teacher - teach your child to read before they go to kindergarten, because the schools never will. So, although "reading in your own time" sounds great, the chances of a non-reading 12 year old being successful in an academic setting is zero. It is just the reality. Now if you plan to homeschool forever, I guess it doesn't matter, but I can not guarantee that so I try and work with what I know are common expectations.

 

Okay - sorry that went way longer than expected.

[prairiegirl]

Katherine, I knew that I should not have pressed 'send.' :001_smile:

 

I was writing that post from the viewpoint that there was not any learning difficulties present in the child.

 

All 3 of my children are dyslexic so I know all about 'catching it' when they are younger. But I still feel that we pressure our children to read at an early age. My ds, whose dyslexia shows itself in reading, didn't know his letters when he was 5. I played games with him and did 'fun' things with him by the time he was 6 he knew all of his letters. I have noticed that even with his dyslexia, maturity plays a big part. Even if a child is dyslexic, starting him with a regular reading program is not going to make him read any faster. Most dyslexics need to wait until they have phonemic awareness before they can move forward in a program anyway.

 

Even though my youngest is only 5 (will be 6 next month) I am pretty sure that she is dyslexic as she has many of the 'quirks' that her siblings have. But I can't work with her reading until we get her phonemic awareness up to par so we are working on that. I am not doing a formal program with her but I am still working with her.

 

I agree that any learning difficulties need to be caught at an early age. But I don't think learning difficulties are a concern with the OP so I was writing my post in response to that.

[KathyBC]

It's hard for me to translate these statistics into a homeschooling paradigm. If a ps student is not reading at six, a lot of emotional baggage becomes attached to that. If a child is not held back from learning or aware that he is 'slow', how does that change things? All evidence I'm aware of in that scenario is anecdotal, to be sure, but it is prevalent.

[LadyAberlin]

Mine memorized the letters from Leap Frog. We also used Alphabet Island Level 1 to get him up an reading. It has stories for all the letters and the creativity of it helped take the boredom out of learning to read.

[SunshineMom]

your child is only 4! Many very smart children/adults did not learn to read at 4. I have a friend who unschooled her son, she did not "teach" him to read and at age 9yrs he taught himself. Yes he is "late" however he very quickly caught up to 9yr reading expectations. Best advice do not push too much. A fun learning to read website is starfall.com Your little one is 4yrs so many developmental changes will occur in a year or two. He will be reading soon!

[cillakat]

Katherine, I knew that I should not have pressed 'send.' :001_smile:

 

I do that all of the time. :tongue_smilie:

 

My ds, whose dyslexia shows itself in reading, didn't know his letters when he was 5. I played games with him and did 'fun' things with him by the time he was 6 he knew all of his letters. I have noticed that even with his dyslexia, maturity plays a big part. Even if a child is dyslexic, starting him with a regular reading program is not going to make him read any faster. Most dyslexics need to wait until they have phonemic awareness before they can move forward in a program anyway.

 

Based on the current research, it seems clear that if one waits though, it won't just 'develop' either suddenly or with time. While dyslexia isn't an either or thing, but rather occurs on a spectrum, most 'dyslexics' will need to be explicitly taught the skills that make up phonemic awareness and *can absolutely* be taught those skills.

 

The Schenk School (prestigious effective school for dyslexic kids) has refined their Kindergarten to the point that it is essentially phonics camp....that's the whole focus. Of course, it only admits kids who are high risk for being dyslexic (ie dyslexia in the family *and* red flags in all of the tests for dyslexia, low CTOPP scores, poor automatic rapid naming/recall etc). What they're finding, three years in, is that with early early intensive, fun intervention, not only can they be taught phonemic awareness, but that the dyslexia seems to be essentially remediated out of existence with the right interventions done early enough.

 

There are clusters of symptoms, at an early age, in those that will be diagnosed dyslexic. It's not only possible, but beneficial in a dramatic way, to start asap working on phonemic awareness, then building from there.

 

My dd's dyslexia wasn't diagnosed till she was a month shy of nine. It's really sad knowing what I know now. She could have already been a good reader.....rather than suffering the effects of knowing that she isn't one.

 

 

There's a massive body of evidence regarding what is optimal for dyslexic children and their reading skills over the short term and over the course of a lifetime. I'm so grateful for it....I don't have to wonder or try 'a little of this' and 'a little of that' (which is what I had been doing). "Off the shelf" intensive incremental direct instruction programs play a critical, central role.

 

Wishing you all good things as you work with your kids.

:)

Katherine

[The Governess]

I just wanted to add another great resource for learning letter sounds: starfall.com. It's a free learn-to-read website and it's very well done. My dd played on this website for a while and learned all of her letter sounds on her own. I think she probably picked up some other phonics rules too; when it was time to start learning to read my job was so easy, she nearly taught herself.

 

Have fun!!

[momsquared]

I will say that phonics was a lost art form for a long time. I am currently teaching the generation of children that only learned reading through whole language. For some it was fine, for others it has been a nightmare. We have 18 year olds who cannot sound out unfamiliar words and add prefixes and suffixes from words they remember from every day speaking. Phonics is really fundamental to any child learning to read and decode. I think whole language has its place, but not as a lone practice. I say this because I see a return to phonics as of the last 5 years or so - thank goodness.

[Ottakee]

Check out the I See Sam books. http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/3RsPlusRead.html or http://www.iseesam.com

 

My sister used this to teach her kids to read.

 

The beauty of this program is that you teach just 5 sounds---/s/ /m/ /a/ /i/ (long sound) and /ee/ (long sound) and the kids can read the first 2 books. From there they just add a sound or 2 a book and can read BOOKS--not worksheets, not word lists but books with stories in them.

 

If you are interested, I have some samples I can email you.

[FO4UR]

My ds watched the LEapfrog DVD's, and then we played a flash card game where he tells me the sound he sees and then he can run down the hall and tag his door and come back for another letter. He liked having permission to run in the house, so it worked for him.:lol: We called it "SuperFlash" b/c it's always more fun with a cool name.:tongue_smilie:

 

He is on to my scheme now (rats!) so we just do the flashcards at his desk before I let him do anything else, but he doesn't balk as much b/c he knows them well. We are adding in phonograms from SWR every week now too.

 

There is something to say for telling ds that he HAS to spend 5-10min per day doing his lesson before he plays.;) Then make a big deal out of telling Daddy what he learned today!:D

[TracyR]

Well it just depends on the child. My oldest was about 9 when her reading finally took off. She wasn't or isn't dyslexic but here she had a weak eye muscle that was causing issues. Plus she just didn't have a love of reading. Why I don't know because I read to my girls all of the time. Now she is constantly reading. It took me quite a few reading programs before it just finally clicked with her. With that said she understands math better then I do.

 

My 2nd daughter learned to read at age 4.5 because she wanted to. That was when the Leap Pad DVD's came out. We have the whole collection ( Talking Letter's Factory, Talking Words Factory , Talking Words Factory 2 and the Math Circus). My 2nd daughter made teaching reading so easy I almost thought I was doing something wrong. Also the strangest part is that her eye sight is worse then what her big sister's was. Yet at age 9 she now reads at the same level her big sister does. She has glasses now but when I first taught her to read she didn't have them and I yet to this day have figured out that one.

 

My third daughter is now on the road to reading and she is 5 and a half. She has some speech delays which is slowing things but at the same time she is doing great too. The only thing she has issues with is rhyming. But that's because you have to have an extensive vocabulary to rhyme and her vocab is catching up to a typical 5 yr old, but she still has a ways to go yet.

 

So it does vary. I recommend at 4 the Leap Pad videos, playing word games and get him some fun readers such as Bob Books or other beginner readers. I really play it up and tell my girls its their turn to read to me since I've read so much to them. I really let them know how much I love it when THEY read to me.

Boys though are different then girls so maybe doing some hands on games will help.

[Jumping In Puddles]

I really play it up and tell my girls its their turn to read to me since I've read so much to them. I really let them know how much I love it when THEY read to me.

Boys though are different then girls so maybe doing some hands on games will help.

 

Oh yes, I really play it up too for my 5 year old who says he hates phonics.

 

Tonight, he grabbed a Bob book, and told me since I can't have sweet treats on my diet, he was going to give me a treat and read to me!

 

Then his little sister, following my lead :lol: said she loves it sooooo much when he reads to us! (She can hardly contain herself because I can tell she is bored) but she really cheers for him!

[calledtobehome]

My son who is almost 4.5 years old is reading and I'm just assuming he started because he wanted to keep up with is soon to be 6 yr old brother. I did buy them the Leap Frog Dvd's(they are a hit at my house), I also allow him to get on starfall.com at least 3-4 times a week, he really likes the bob books and Hooked on Phonics K is also a hit!

[ElizabethB]

We love the letter factory, too. I can't imagine having to repeat all 26 letter sounds 100 times apiece, I'm so glad there is a frog to do it for me. I just need a fun DVD repeating the addition facts to do the same! (I got a flashmaster and that's helping, but I would love a DVD!)

 

Here's my advice for teaching a beginner to read, the last paragraph are some games to make it fun:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/newstudents.html

 

Read, Write, and Type is also fun. A bit expensive, but a free Demo:

 

http://www.talkingfingers.com/

 

My daughter was "playing" it a few nights ago, and begged for more computer time to finish another level! (She realized for a while that it was educational, but has forgotten and still treats it like a movie or computer game where she is required to ask permission to watch or play.)

[Lovedtodeath]

Most dyslexics need to wait until they have phonemic awareness before they can move forward in a program anyway.

 

Even though my youngest is only 5 (will be 6 next month) I am pretty sure that she is dyslexic as she has many of the 'quirks' that her siblings have. But I can't work with her reading until we get her phonemic awareness up to par so we are working on that. I am not doing a formal program with her but I am still working with her.

 

 

Okay, I don't want to show my ignorance here, but I will anyway. What is "phonemic awareness" and how does one go about getting it "up to par"?:confused:

 

I really don't know.:blink:

 

My DD learned to read at 3 years old. We used the Accelerated Achievement PreK and K suggestions, which turned out to be really similar to MFW. We played games with magnet letters and scrabble tiles.

[Mabeline]

Leap frog also has a math dvd called "Math Circus" http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Frog-Math-Circus-Leapfrog/dp/B0002V7U0A

HTH!

[cillakat]

Okay, I don't want to show my ignorance here, but I will anyway. What is "phonemic awareness" and how does one go about getting it "up to par"?:confused:

 

Some kids just have a strong internal phonological system in place.....it's just there. They just get it.

 

Some don't: they can and should be taught it as early as possible.

 

 

 

http://reading.uoregon.edu/pa/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_awareness

<<The National Reading Panel has found that phonemic awareness improves children's word reading and reading comprehension, as well as helping children learn to spell. Phonemic awareness is the basis for learning phonics>>

[hsmom]

Leap frog also has a math dvd called "Math Circus" http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Frog-Math-Circus-Leapfrog/dp/B0002V7U0A

HTH!

 

 

Oh, I like that one too!

 

Has anyone used the "learn to read at the story book factory" one? Also is there more of these????

[Tabrett]

Okay, I don't want to show my ignorance here, but I will anyway. What is "phonemic awareness" and how does one go about getting it "up to par"?:confused:

 

I really don't know.:blink:

Phonemic awareness is understanding that letters make sound. A prek child with phonemic awareness will understand that sit has a "sssss" sound at the beginning of the word.

 

Mom-"Dc what sound is at the beginning of the word sit?"

 

dc-"ssss"

 

Mom-"What sound do you hear at the end?"

 

dc- "/t/"

[ummtafari]

Here is a site that teaches the basics without all the extras.

 

www.literacycenter.net

 

Debra in VA

Edited December 22, 2008 by Debra Strebel

[Lovedtodeath]

Some kids just have a strong internal phonological system in place.....it's just there. They just get it.

 

Some don't: they can and should be taught it as early as possible.

 

 

 

http://reading.uoregon.edu/pa/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_awareness

<<The National Reading Panel has found that phonemic awareness improves children's word reading and reading comprehension, as well as helping children learn to spell. Phonemic awareness is the basis for learning phonics>>

 

Thanks for the additional info. That is how we start teaching reading in our Preschool. I didn't realize that some people skip that. It just seemed like natural progression to me. When it was said work on phonemic awareness before learning to read I was like HUH? That is part of learning to read.:D

[Melenie]

Oh, I like that one too!

 

Has anyone used the "learn to read at the story book factory" one? Also is there more of these????

 

DD just watched it last week and liked it (netflix). I did not really spend time watching it myself, but from what I saw it did not strike me to be as good as the others.

 

Have you received the Letter factory yet? Does your DS like it so far?