Hello all. I have a 4year old who already knows all her letters and their sounds. What is the very next step I need to do in teaching her to read. Most of the curriculum out there are either stuff she already knows or too advance.
Well done, you're both doing great. Keep revising her phonics, keep reading to her and keep it fun. This may or may not help... At a brainwave seminar we were told that the part of the brain used for 'true' reading usually doesn't develop until the age of 6-9 years (boys usually later than girls). Until then the brain usually uses a different area that recognises sight words (same as we recognise our favourite brand labels). Apparently children who learn to read early and those that learn to read at 6 years have the same reading abilities at 8 years. Some children who learn to read early may be slightly behind with social skills if they spent too much time sitting learning to read instead of playing. In another few years new research will probably show the opposite. Sorry if none of that helped.
I have two recommendations for educational websites that I have used successfully. http://www.learntoreadfree.com/ http://www.starfall.com/ Both of these websites have lots of free reading and phonics instruction. You can also subscribe for more content. The Starfall website even has books and workbooks that you can order to supplement. Happy homeschooling, Susan
the Leapfrog movies are great, specifically Talking Words Factory. Once my dd was starting slowly to sound out words I bought the first two sets of BOB books. Now we are working on CLE Learning to Read which she is whizzing through
@emjay - I could definitely see that. My 4 year old is at the same place as j&t's. And while she loves "reading" and can do so through entire books, and I would never make her play over wanting to read right now due to the confidence she's building and the memorization parts of her brain are growing in leaps and bounds, I can definitely tell that it's purely memorization.
We used Explode the Code with our Dd. Even if your daughter knows her letter sounds, it doesn't hurt to start her off with lessons she can already do. It will build her confidence so that when it gets to a place that she has to work harder on, she will already have the mindset that she is a reader.
You're both doing great and you're following your girls cues I think the brainwave guy was meaning children who are forced to sit for long periods from a very early age (under 3 years) learning to read might miss out on the person to person interactions that help develop the cerebral cortex. I meant keep reading fun and stress free and her reading skills will develop fine
I'm thinking I need to order CLE learning to read! Bria is almost finished with her Rod & Staff books, and then I'd love to help her with learning to read
This is my plan for my 4yo. Did your DD enjoy the Rod & Staff books? Oh, I like Reading Made Easy. I am using it with my 6yr but we are having to take it real slow and we are going to switch to CLE's Learing to Read.
Yes, for the most part. Some things seem very repetitive, but I think that it's pretty beneficial since she needs the practice
I have heard of these books too, a lot of people have said great things about them (but I have never used): Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading (I think that's the title) Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons I would also suggest doing phonemic awareness activities- they are all oral exercises. Such as choose a word to break apart and she says what they word is- like /c//a//t/ and she says cat. Good luck! =)
READ TO HER!!! CONSTANTLY!!! Picture books where she can look at the pictures, and novels without pictures, such as Winnie the Pooh or Charlotte's Web. Get some easy readers; ask the children's librarian for suggestions. Read them with her. I LOVED the "Real Kid Readers". They rhyme and are fun little stories. Kids can memorize them easily, and then "read" them back to you. Do lots of reading activities...give her your shopping list, and have her cross the items off the list. "Here's bananas. It's the word that starts with the 'B'..." Also, make Word Family books. Go to the Clip Art section of your Word program, and print all the "-an" words...man, fan, ran, etc. Glue them all into an "-AN Family Book". Make some fun silly rhymes with those words. Just keep it LOTS of fun!!!
Echo Starfall....all three of my kids learned to read using Starfall. My younger two did it independently....I didn't even need to help! I went to start teaching them to read, and they already knew how! They were playing on Starfall for FUN not for school, and learned to read in the process!!!! It's an amazing program!
