Teaching your Child to Read

[stayawake]

OKay, I didn't want to post this at the big forum on the Other Site because last time I did I got yelled at. Well sort of. Anyway, I trust you girls (and guy) a lot and wanted some opinions from you.

If you taught your child to read, how did you do it? Was there a method or book or curriculum or something that worked well for you and your child?
My daughter is definetly ready to read, and asks me every day if I will teach her. So I'll start after christmas I think and wanetd to make sure I have the right resources before we take the plunge (oh, she's 3 and a half, and can write all her letters, count to 100, loves loves to be read to, and spells out everything she sees with letters - from cereal boxes to stores we pass as we're driving. She loves to be 'taught' things so I know she'll jump right in)

[SamaraGugler]

Try Starfall.com

She'll LOVE IT.

[ashliwolf]

that is totally AWESOME! I think that she is definitley READY for reading...i would start out with letters sounds...does she have LETTER FACTORY..it is AWESOME...that is what we watch ALL the time in my classroom and do all the letters sounds with it. I teach 3 year olds...so we sound out everything..always...and i always remind them that all those letter sounds put together make a word...they get all excited....

flashcards for high frequency words are EXCELLENT, toO! hope this helps... icould go on and on forevahhhhhhhhhhhhh about this :) i taught my little girly to read when she was 4 :) have FUN!!!

[ditzyscrap]

I didn't teach Mason to read - he got frustrated easily and would "give up" whenever I tried to teach him anything (I'm not a patient person either, so it was really difficult). I let him learn it in kindy...I know the teachers taught them the letters and the "sounds" they made, then moved on to "letter families" like "ou" says... and "ch" says... and they would have to think of words that had those sounds in them. Then they worked on recognizing words by sight.

I have flash cards for the kids but never think to do them...I know Natalie will be more ready to learn to read than Mason because she's a bit more patient and he's also been teaching her "how" to read when he comes home from school with his books. :)

[Sarah8914]

We use this book, it's AWESOME!

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985

[SirScrapalot]

We have started using flash cards of the Dolch Basic Sight words with the girls. It's great b/c Natalie (4.5) can identify something like 20 words.

[LenaGardner]

we used sight word recognition (now post it brand makes sight word post it notes. I highly recommend it!)

I printed off sight words (50 of them) and pasted them on the wall because those post its weren't out then. i printed them on paper too, and had nathan trace them and read them EVERY day.

we also LOVE starfall!

[DogwoodMama]

Yeah, I was just going to say do Starfall.

And just read with her. LOTS. Play letter games. Have you read Ruth Beechick's book "A Home start to Reading"? It's really short, more like a little pamphlet. It has lots of simple ideas based on where your child is... I have a very bright just-turned 5 yo who is probably not far from reading, though I have not been pushing her or giving her any formal instruction at all, though I've implemented some things from Beechick's little book. But I haven't really tried to "teach" her. We just read a lot. More than just picture books too. My dh just read her the original version of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" and she loved it.

[stayawake]

Thanks everyone,
I've heard good things about "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" and also the Bob Books. I didn't think about flashcards... I'll get that leapfrog video from the library too, and if my daughter likes it we'll buy that too.

[Jennilyn]

My daughter pretty much taught herself to read. At 18 months she could name and identify all the letters, then she started recognizing her shows on our cable guide by the age of 2 (no getting anything by her!) So by the time she was 4, she was learning other words, with us just going through some every once in a while with her. Now she is 6 and reading at a grade 2/3 level, reading small chapter books in one day. Now if it were my 3 year old, I'd be looking for advice because she doesn't seem to be as ahead as her sister is.

[SmallMoments]

Ditto the flash cards. Check with your school system. The system I teach in has a set list of words for each grade level. I got the kindergarten lists and made them into flash cards to practice with my four-year-old.

The BOB books are great, too. Or really any other phonics-based reading books.

That's really awesome that she is so ready to learn to read, but even better is that you're cued into it & are willing to jump in!! WTG Mom!!!!

[Darcy Baldwin]

We've used Teach Your Child to read in 100 EZ lessons with both children (forgive types - i sprained my wrist and it's hard to type in the splint). It is a method that teaches eye movement along with letter sounds along with writing and story comprehension. It's not the writing method I would choose, but it's a quick 5-10 min lesson a day, and after 100 lessons, they have a pretty firm grasp on the phonics rules and comprehension.

But, the best reading can be learned by reading together, pointing out letters and sounds and how they go together. Then allowing your child to do the same thing back to you. There doesn't need to be a formal curriculum to do it. Bob Books are also great for beginning practice with children who are starting out.

[SirScrapalot]

Lena...we use the post its and LOVE them.

[LenaGardner]

Lena...we use the post its and LOVE them.

I know, I wish I had invented them LOL! (except I sort of did, but I don't work for 3M so I just used rolled up tape on the back of computer paper). They came out about a year after Nathaniel learned to read, so I'm super excited that they'll be at our disposal for Naomi and Parker :thumbup:

[stayawake]

Darcy - I hope your wrist heals up soon!!

Does anyone have a link to the word post-its? I've never seen them!

Tonight we read one of my daughters favourite new books by Mo Willems "Today I will Fly (http://www.amazon.com/Today-Will-Elephant-Piggie-Book/dp/1423102959/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229306017&sr=8-1)" (an elephant and piggie book) which I think is a learn-toead style book, but the story is cute and the pictures make both of us laugh out loud. GREAT stuff. Well, I taught miranda the word "I" which features prominently in the book, and she read that word each time it came up, and was SO proud of herself we had to read the book again and again. Really cute!

[ashliwolf]

bwahahaha....she invented post its...........hahah..i LOVE that movie..sorrry..but i thoguht that was HILARIOUS! :)

[meems]

Love Mo Willems!

I have no clue how Lily (5 in March) learned to read. :unsure: I think it was the Bob Books. She really likes those. She tries to read everything she sees; she's basically practices reading as much as she can.

Now Henry is another story. He struggles with reading a lot more.

[stayawake]

For those who've used Starfall... did you buy products from their website, or just print off from home? I see that most of their print resources are available to print off.
I'm torn now between going with BOB books or Starfall (which seems more comprehensive).

[meems]

we just did the starfall stuff online.

The BOB books are pretty simple but Lily really liked them. I think she felt like she was reading a whole book LOL.

[stayawake]

Mimi, what sets of the BOB books did you do? Just the first set, or the whole series?

[meems]

First set we got was Set 1. Then I got a set from Costco that is called Collection 2 and looks like it's combination of Sets 2 and 3.

Try your library too. Ours carries the Bob books.

[suzann]

I've used the "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lesson" for 2 of my children. My 5 year old is on lesson 75 and is reading extremely well. The book is such an easy way to teach kids because the lessons are all laid out, and you don't have to worry about what to teach. I also like that it takes only 15-20 minutes a day. We also made flash cards of the dolch sight words, and practice those daily. I am also using the "hooked on phonics" series to help them practice further.

[kscwgirl]

Abby can't quite read yet, but she LOVES Starfall

[Kat Stokes]

We use Starfall too. He just does it online. I LOVE IT!!! And it is highly recommended by a lot of our teachers around here. :)

[DawnMarch]

Just remember to keep it light and fun and don't expect too much. My DD knew her alphabet and letter sounds at age 3 and I tried to teach her to read, but she just never seemed to "get it". I asked her preschool teacher what I was doing wrong and she said that it's often just purely a developmental thing. Even though they may have all the foundations for reading at that age, their brains may just not be ready. Then one day (which varies by kid, of course) that switch turns on and they are suddenly able to read. I am not saying your daughter isn't ready now, and as long as she enjoys it, you may as well try it!

[SmallMoments]

Ooo I missed the part about Starfall! We use Starfall at school & I put it on for Luke (my 4 yo), too, and he loves it.

And here's a link to the sight words on Post Its: http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=422539&cm_mmc=Froogle-_-Shopping%20Comp-_-Datafeed-_-School%20Supplies

[Emmy]

Teach your child to read in 100EZ lessons wasn't my favorite but we have all liked The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching your Kids to Read. I also really like the early readers by Nora Gaydos (check amazon) - they are really colorful and fun and have little stickers the kids can put in them after they read them. I like to use readers like that for when the kids are just starting to sound out - it really encourages them.

For what it's worth I'd keep sight words to an absolute minimum and go phonics all the way baby. :) JMHO

[alansrock]

I recommend Explode the Code series. It's a phonics program that really blends well with my letter of the week process. I also use starfall with this. And I think the BOB books are excellent. One of my DS' is already able to read 2 of them. We also have all the Leap Frog letter DVDs (3 in all).

[stayawake]

Emmy, I've got the Ordinary Parent's Guide on hold at the library now, so I'll check that out before I buy anything. :) (yeah, I have a limited budget here...)
All of you have been SO helpful!

[Sheana]

This interactive site is very similar to what my daughter's school uses but theirs are in paper form. http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-toead/play.htm?f We've just started using it with my 4 year old because she's ready to start reading too!!