OT: teaching your toddler to read

[shinysparklybubbles]

One of my favorite books is "Better Late Than Early" by Dr. Raymond Moore. It's an older book that pretty much sums up what you posted.

sounds like an interesting read, I will have to look for it at the library.

 

[Tiana]

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[bumbershoot]

Perspective from someone who just randomly started reading at 2...

There's no point or purpose to it. I was in bifocals at 15, though...not sure that's a benefit!

My mom was already keeping the TV off b/c it was during the Vietnam War and she couldn't trust the news...when I started reading, she had to stop the newspaper delivery as well.

Think about your child being able to read everything in the house...the books, magazines...at the store, having your itty bitty one read the magazine covers... Man oh man did I read some inappropriate books WAY too young!

There's just not much benefit to *teaching* a tiny one to read. If they do it on their own, oh well. But to do it on purpose...I'm just seeing having to buy glasses earlier than you would have done as the result.


And I, on my own, do sight words and phonetics for words I don't know...it's just how I have always done it. Obviously we all end up memorizing words, or it would take ages to get through a book...but that's how I've always done it...and each time I found a new word, I'd memorize it and move along. (I personally couldn't stand read-aloud time in 1st grade when everyone had to sound out everything...so again, to purposely make your kid so far ahead so that the sound of other kids reading hurts their ears...yeah...not good, LOL)

 

[waltskids]

Read, read, read to your child- every day if possible. We did this for DS and now for DD and they both love books. DS(3) now knows all of his letters and is asking when he can learn to read for 'real' (as he calls it!). We never sat and 'taught' him, just exposed him to print sources as often as possible.

 

[holden]

I also encourage parents to read to their children often. As a teacher, I read to DD7 several times a day throughout her baby/toddler/preschool years. She is now in remedial reading and struggling to read very basic books. However, she still loves to be read to every night for as long as we can before lights out ("just one more, please..."). We even started reading the Magic Treehouse series when she was 4, and, yes, she comprehended every word.

Just keep in mind that frequent reading to your child does NOT guarantee that your child will read early or even when you expect him/her to. Every child is different.

I know DD7 will get there, she'll just get there a little later.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I also encourage parents to read to their children often. As a teacher, I read to DD7 several times a day throughout her baby/toddler/preschool years. She is now in remedial reading and struggling to read very basic books. However, she still loves to be read to every night for as long as we can before lights out ("just one more, please..."). We even started reading the Magic Treehouse series when she was 4, and, yes, she comprehended every word.

Just keep in mind that frequent reading to your child does NOT guarantee that your child will read early or even when you expect him/her to. Every child is different.

I know DD7 will get there, she'll just get there a little later.

They read when they are ready. You are just making sure she loves it when it clicks.

 

[Katy Belle]

I read a lot to my oldest. About an hour and a half every day, 3 30 minute periods. Mostly because he LOVED to be read to and I didn't turn the tv on until his brother was born and I needed him to watch Barney 30 minutes a day! He was very verbal very young and learned very easily. I would count the steps as we walked up them. He could count to 16 by about 18 months, because of the 16 steps.

At about 24months he would take his spaghetti noodles and shape them into letters. "Look Mommy, I made a P." He started reading at about 3. In his 4yr old pre-school he would read the directions and do the worksheet before she got them all handed out. That frustrated the teacher. At his Kindergarten screening he already knew everything he was to learn that year . The teacher who did the screening came out laughing and said, "He was even reading everyting I wrote about him on the form!"

We moved middle of 4th grade and they did a reading level test. He tested Post High School.

All that being said... he's now an unmotivated Freshman in High School! GPA of about 3.23. Oh well, he used to be smart! Just kidding. He is very bright. No idea if reading to him made a big difference or not, but it was enjoyable for both of us.

 

[Poohbug]

I agree with the advice to just read to your baby and do not push learning to read right now. I had a horrible time trying to teach my oldest to learn his letters before kindergarten. It was very frustrating for me because he just would not learn them-literally 20 seconds after talking about a letter and what sound it makes-he would not remember anything.

I decided just to leave it up to his teacher and see how he did in school. Well he learned to read just fine and now reads above grade level. He also loves it and reads books every night before bed.

What I learned-no pressure and make things fun.

 

[princessmom29]

I read about a study about a year ago on Yahoo! that stated that the older a child is when he/she is in a school evironment, the better they will do in school. So all the kids who stay home with mom until they start Pre-K or Kindergarten, will most likely do better than those who have been in childcare their entire life learning their ABCs and 123s. I'm not saying this is true for all kids, just stating what the study showed. I've always been a fan of letting my kids learn by playing. My mom keeps them while DH and I are at work, but DS does attend a Mother's Day Out probgram twice a week for interaction and social skills. We do teach him his ABCs and 123s, but it is not in a school type way and he is doing very well.

As a teacher everything that I have ever experienced in the classroom totally cotradicts this. The earlier they are exposed to learnig and the structure of school the better! They do not need to wait until K to be exposed to school. It takes them at least a semester to adjust to being away from mom, and the rest of K at minimum to get caught up academically to their peers. Kids that get no preschool are totally at a disadvantage in K.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

As a teacher everything that I have ever experienced in the classroom totally contradicts this. The earlier they are exposed to and the structure of school the better! They do not need to wait until K to be exposed to school. It takes them at least a semester to adjust to being away from mom, and the rest of K at minimum to get caught up academically to their peers. Kids that get no preschool are totally at a disadvantage in K.

While they may be at a disadvantage in K, all things are equal withing the next 2 years. And they have had the time when young to learn through play and experience, rather than rote crap. Anyone can turn an inquiring mind into a parrot. That has never been my goal for my children, however.

 

[dis-happy]

As a teacher everything that I have ever experienced in the classroom totally cotradicts this. The earlier they are exposed to learnig and the structure of school the better! They do not need to wait until K to be exposed to school. It takes them at least a semester to adjust to being away from mom, and the rest of K at minimum to get caught up academically to their peers. Kids that get no preschool are totally at a disadvantage in K.

I'm confused....I thought you taught highschool?


Anyway, regarding Head Start for example, lots of studies show that the gains made early completely disappear.

One reason for the nationwide push to earlier and earlier education has to do with workforce convenience.

 

[littlepeppers]

I also encourage parents to read to their children often. As a teacher, I read to DD7 several times a day throughout her baby/toddler/preschool years. She is now in remedial reading and struggling to read very basic books. However, she still loves to be read to every night for as long as we can before lights out ("just one more, please..."). We even started reading the Magic Treehouse series when she was 4, and, yes, she comprehended every word.

Just keep in mind that frequent reading to your child does NOT guarantee that your child will read early or even when you expect him/her to. Every child is different.

I know DD7 will get there, she'll just get there a little later.

We read to DS(7) all the time & he still struggles w/ reading. Phonetics kill him. He loves to be read to also, but often comes to tears or gives up w/ reading on his own.

Reading a lot to DD(2) but I think she is a bit brighter than DS(7).

Every child is different. There isn't any magic formula or curriculum. If there were, then everyone would have a college degree. Look at the bright kids that came from homes where they raised themselves.

Just give them your best & hope it works.

 

[littlepeppers]

They read when they are ready. You are just making sure she loves it when it clicks.

You are so right. I guess it is like potty training.

I'm so over family members advice on potty training. I don't know a single adult that isn't potty trained, so it must happen for everyone at some point.

Just do how ever much you child wants (don't be pushy), hope, & pray. It will all work out in the end.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

You are so right. I guess it is like potty training.

I'm so over family members advice on potty training. I don't know a single adult that isn't potty trained, so it must happen for everyone at some point.

Just do how ever much you child wants (don't be pushy), hope, & pray. It will all work out in the end.

I love the story (true) of the couple writing the potty training book to end all potty training problems. Unfortunately they wrote it before they had their second child.

 

[Aristomommy]

Instead of focusing the end product of reading skills, I would rather read a wide variety of books to my children. I hate flashcards and drills and I think it makes the whole process of discovering books boring and painful. My first was an early reader and only thing I did was read to her, provide many books from board books to early readers in the house. One day I discovered she was reading and I never had to do anything about it.

DS just turned 5 and is able to read short sentences. He was exposed to the alphabet in pre-K, but they are not working on reading skills yet, so how did he learn? Each child is ready at their own speed. My kids also see me read often and they like to bring their own book and snuggle on the couch and read. So don't worry about a pre-made program, it only makes the guy who markets it rich.

 

[princessmom29]

I'm confused....I thought you taught highschool?


Anyway, regarding Head Start for example, lots of studies show that the gains made early completely disappear.

One reason for the nationwide push to earlier and earlier education has to do with workforce convenience.

I do, but I taught half day preK/K for 4 years while I was getting a second (chemistry) degree. My sister is also an early childhood.

I really don't think that those gains completely disappear. On a stadardized test satudents may level out, but if you look at things like study skills and concentration and focus in the classroom, kids who have preschool and are exposed to that kind of structure earlier tend to do better in those areas, at least in my experience. I personally feel that any exposure to learning that a child gets can only be of benefit to them. Knowledge is power and the more they can get, the better. I think it is =kind of cynical to think that parents only put their kids in school because it is more convinent for them. I think most parents truly want what is best for their kids.

 

[princessmom29]

While they may be at a disadvantage in K, all things are equal withing the next 2 years. And they have had the time when young to learn through play and experience, rather than rote crap. Anyone can turn an inquiring mind into a parrot. That has never been my goal for my children, however.

Wow, I don't recall suggesting that we turn children into parrots.
What about inquiry based learning?? That can and does go on in any preschool program worth its salt. That is the kind of learing I am talking about here. Growing butterflys from caterpillars to see the process. Putting out a pan of water and coming in the next morining to see it frozen, and talking about the hows and whys. Learnig through play and experience is what good preschools do. There is a certain amout of practicing letters ect going on, but in DD's preschool and in my own classes we never spent more than a total of 30 min a day on anything like that. We learned numbers by going on a nature walk and counting the leaves we collected. We learned colors while sorting beads for an art project. A structured day doesn't have to mean sitting at a desk all day, and at that age it really shouldn't. It is totally counterproductive to keep a preschooler in a desk for any real length of time. 15 min at a time max at 3. Mabye 30 min at 4, and that is pushing it for some kids. Following an orderly progression of activities, circle time in the morning, having a lunch routine, nap routine, clasroom conduct rules are much more productive, and all important to be familiar with before starting school, and I think make the transition to "big school" a mch smoother process.

 

[natashag76]

Worm761 mentioned her little relative and I did something similar (by accident!) and it's worked for all 3 of my kids. To get them to sit during meal time I would shovel some food in and then write on a piece of scrap paper a letter. Eventually they got to recognize all the letters and shapes I introduced and repeated daily. Then my m-i-l bought Letter Factory by Leapfrog - LOVE IT!!! It's got something for any kind of learner, visual, musical, audial, etc. And the great thing is the videos build on each other. The next one is Talking Word Factory and then Storybook Factory. My oldest read at 3 (is now 6 and reads at about a 3rd grade level) and my 4 year old is also reading now, too. My youngest will be 2 in a little over a month and knows all his letters and most of their sounds.
However you choose to do it, just do it often and make sure it's fun for them. It'll "stick" better that way.
Good Luck!

 

[*Seanaci*]

Honestly, just talk to your kiddo. That helps them as well. My son is almost two and a half and talks circles around other kids his age...simply because I always talk to him.

I disagree with those that say don't start till 2. All kids are different. And all parenting styles are different. While I agree you shouldn't push it now, I don't think it's a bad thing to introduce. My son has had a half dozen alphabet related toys since he was 12 months old. While I didn't push it then...we did start singing the alphabet to him. At 18 months he was singing it and starting to recognize some of the letters. Now, almost a year later at nearly 2 and a half years old he recognizes all the letters and is even point at letters in words he sees and spelling...though he doesn't understand 100% what he's doing (reading), we praise him and encourage him.

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

Wow, I don't recall suggesting that we turn children into parrots.
What about inquiry based learning?? That can and does go on in any preschool program worth its salt. That is the kind of learing I am talking about here. Growing butterflys from caterpillars to see the process. Putting out a pan of water and coming in the next morining to see it frozen, and talking about the hows and whys. Learnig through play and experience is what good preschools do. There is a certain amout of practicing letters ect going on, but in DD's preschool and in my own classes we never spent more than a total of 30 min a day on anything like that. We learned numbers by going on a nature walk and counting the leaves we collected. We learned colors while sorting beads for an art project. A structured day doesn't have to mean sitting at a desk all day, and at that age it really shouldn't. It is totally counterproductive to keep a preschooler in a desk for any real length of time. 15 min at a time max at 3. Mabye 30 min at 4, and that is pushing it for some kids. Following an orderly progression of activities, circle time in the morning, having a lunch routine, nap routine, clasroom conduct rules are much more productive, and all important to be familiar with before starting school, and I think make the transition to "big school" a mch smoother process.

I think this is a really valid point, but I don't know that the classroom is the only place to get this list of experiences---with the exception of the classroom cultural experience. Intense pretend play can happen at home. A structured day can happen at home. Experimentation and exploration can happen at home. Integrating a color or word or letter or number or concept of the day can happen at home. Pre-school, even a great classroom like yours, isn't the right place for every child (or parent) and home education does not necessarily mean you're going to have a wide eyed daydreamer who can't sit still upon entering Kindergarten. One size never fits all.

Back to the original point--I am not "teaching" my 16 month old to read, but he does recognize the word "baby." When I read, I do point out words as I go. I have him "read" stories back to me when I'm done. We read a lot, talk about the world, play games...he's a lovely kid and excels at problem solving and making connections between things.

My niece, who is 4 months older, watches the "your baby can read" dvds in the car. Her parents don't do the flash cards. She can count to 20, she knows her colors, her abcs, shapes....I know she gets a lot of attention at daycare and at home, too. I don't know if it's the DVDs or that she is a different child, but she seems to excel at knowing "things."

Anyway--Original poster, I hope you find the right thing for you