If my 6yo ds does not want to learn to read and I decide not to force him (yet). I'm about in tears here. He does GREAT when we are doing ETC, put a book in front of him and he has an all out meltdown, it ends up with us fighting and him going to his room bawling. THIS IS NOT HOW IT SHOULD BE I want to bawl right now, and if I didn't have to have it all pulled together to get out the door for an appt in an hour, I probably would be bawling my eyes out. Someone please tell me it's ok if we drop reading books for now. Maybe I will stick with ETC since he doesn't mind that and does well with it, but as far as reader books go, I think they need to be shelfed until fall (when he is technically in 1st grade).
It's fine, Sommer! He's still a kindergartener. NOT ready! Don't force! Time enough. Have a friend whose child just wasn't ready til like 9, then when she was ready, she took off like a rocket and in a matter of months caught up with every other child her age - at least caught up, if not better.
He's fine--just not ready yet! I'm of the "better late than early" camp and see no need to push what children aren't ready to to do.
Thanks I am in the "follow their lead" camp in my heart and also the "better late than early" camp there too... but I worry hubby or someone else (yes this too is something my heart says don't worry about) will be like "He is too old to not know how to read.", so I panic and my panic self says "keep pushing, he will have to get it". I need to remember to relax and breath!!!!
NOBODY ever learns by frustration! Take some steps back. It will click eventually. keep doing the things where progress is being made, and take a step backward in the things that are causing frustration. (((HUGS))) You're doing okay, Mom. You really are!!!
If he is enjoying ETC, then he is reading. Nobody says he has to read words in a reader to officially be called a reader. ....well, ps does, but we don't need to join them.
Yes, it is totally okay. My youngest was convinced that he could not read unless it was from his 100 easy lessons book. I decided not to force the issue because it was only going to cause frustration and tears. He eventually built up enough confidence and realized he could read other books. You are both doing well.
I do believe you have nothing to worry about!!! My son is also 6, finishing up kindergarten and also doing ETC, for a little while, he did not wish to read a book. It was hit and miss, but now that he has gained more confidence in reading, he does pick up a book and read a little here and there, when he feels like it. I think it's just normal for the age!
Some kids aren't ready until they're nine, or sometimes older! I think you're right in backing off. Read TO him a lot, fill his life with practical, every-day language, point out words, sounds, etc. He'll let you know when he's ready! (BTW, those that read "later" "catch up" with their early-reading peers quickly! My friend's daughter didn't learn to read until nine, and was reading The Hobbit on her own the next year.)
Yeah, don't worry about it! But when you do start to give him books to read, start with something super easy, with very few words per page so it isn't overwhelming. The BOB books are really good. My daughter is really enjoying the 4 readers from CLE's Learning to Read program right now.
have you ever set him down in front of www.starfall.com? It is a free phonics/reading site with neat games. My kids have loved it, and ,y 4 yo started sounding out words last week because of that site. IT was my total Kindergarten phonics program last year and it worked fabulously.
My daughter is 7 and she still can't read. She can sound out most words but she fights me on it so I don't push her anymore. Kids will learn to read when they're ready. You're doing fine.
They play on starfall.. we have more starfall subscription, we also have readingeggs, ooka island and click and read phonics (my kids love to use the computer so I let them ) He does great with all of those, you put a book in front of him and he has a breakdown.. a major one. He knows the sounds and can sound out words, he just has a panic attack when those words are in a book to be read.
Research into the brains development shows that the part of the brain used for true reading often doesn't develop in boys until they're nine. You're doing the right thing by giving him space to come to it in his own time. The written word is all around him, when he's ready and needs to read, he will learn. Many ps school kids are put through h*ll because they don't develop on schedule. My poor DH had years of being told he couldn't read (according to ps testing) so he gave up. As an adult he has found the joy of reading and now I often find him glued to a book.
I wouldn't worry about this - there are plenty of other things you can try that stay away from "books" - but is there a reason it is only associated with books? You can try writing short sentences on paper or put them in a worksheet. Using starfall is fine. You could try progressive phonics too where you read with him. You could later even try reading an easy reader to him and reading it incorrectly at a point he should know how to read to see if he will correct you. But really leaving this for now totally is also fine since he is not keen.
Sommer, I finally got my DGS through the Learning to Read program, but I decided he was just not ready to go on yet into the first reader. I've dragged out my old Ginn Basic Reader preprimers and primer (which will be followed by the first reader) and the Pathways preprimer (with workbook, which will be followed by the primer and first reader), and he's loving it! He SAYS he's eager to get into the CLE reader, but his actions were showing me otherwise. In the meantime, we're continuing with the CLE LA and the Lifepac LA (which I'm using as a supplement like extra worksheets). We MAY not get to the CLE first reader until second grade, but you know what? I don't care.
It sounds like he's reading well enough, he just gets freaked out by books. And that's fine. Give him time and space to develop in that area. Does he get bedtime stories? Do you read to him? If you don't, it might be a good idea to help calm his book qualms by reading stories to him yourself from a book, making it a pleasant, bonding type of experience. Talk about the pictures and laugh at how silly some of the characters are, and he'll relax around books a bit. Really, it doesn't sound like there is a problem at all with his reading, it just sounds like he is developing a fear of books.
