My 3 yr old wants to read...

[Kissy]

I don't know how to teach him. I have never taught anyone to read. There are so many programs but I don't want one that will go to fast. He watches leapfrog and loves it. He knows all his letters and sounds but not how to put it all together. I am scared to pick something that will progress too fast because of his age and am scared to pick something that might be boring. I have thought about hooked on phonics but I am not sure what that is like. Any suggestions for something based on his age?

[MissKNG]

starfall.com and readingeggs.com are good places to start.

[StartingOver]

I love OPGTR, but we just use it as a guide. I love the order it teaches in with very few sight words, very complete. Having said that it is boring. But we take the lessons and do them with magnets, on the white board, chalk board, bathtub crayons, chalk on the driveway, with paints, blocks, etc. Anything I can find to make it hands on and fun. We do the sentences on the white board. At such a young age, OPGTR starts very slow, and you can break up lessons into smaller chunks easily. Just intro the new sounds and allow your child to sound out the sentence. It is working wonderfully with my 3.5 year old. I plan to use it with the next child.

Blending sometimes takes a bit to get though. You have plenty of time. My son loves Leap Frog, Word World, Super Why, Between the Lions, click n read, starfall, progressive phonics, I See Sam books, etc.

[mlgbug]

at 3.5 we started with 100 ez lessons and just now are swtiching. i loved it, its the truth, very well written and really got her reading at 4.5.

we are now going to OPGTR.....at lesson 56 of 100.

why?

i feel like the the print confused her. say, when its a silent -e at the end, in 100 ez it had the silent e little, and in real writing it doesnt do that for her....

just my .o2 :)

[~Kirsten~]

I love OPGTR, but we just use it as a guide. I love the order it teaches in with very few sight words, very complete. Having said that it is boring. But we take the lessons and do them with magnets, on the white board, chalk board, bathtub crayons, chalk on the driveway, with paints, blocks, etc. Anything I can find to make it hands on and fun. We do the sentences on the white board. At such a young age, OPGTR starts very slow, and you can break up lessons into smaller chunks easily. Just intro the new sounds and allow your child to sound out the sentence. It is working wonderfully with my 3.5 year old. I plan to use it with the next child.

Blending sometimes takes a bit to get though. You have plenty of time. My son loves Leap Frog, Word World, Super Why, Between the Lions, click n read, starfall, progressive phonics, I See Sam books, etc.

:iagree: Yep, yep, yep. :D

[Quad Shot Academy]

Blending is a developmental step and there is not much purpose in doing a formal reading program, beyond letter names and sounds, until they can blend.

I start off by slowly sounding out words while we are getting PJ's on, driving or some other task. (These are not written, just spoken.) "c-a-t" Once they can easily figure out what words I am saying, I move on to sounding out 3 written words a day. I use flash cards, write them, magnets or a book with large type. Once they can sound out cvc words, they are ready for a program.

I have had 2 ready at 3.5, one at 4.5, and one at 5.

[AngelBee]

I am just starting with my 3 and my 5yr old. I am using OPGTTR and McGuffy readers.

[Dinsfamily]

Blending is a developmental step and there is not much purpose in doing a formal reading program, beyond letter names and sounds, until they can blend.

I start off by slowly sounding out words while we are getting PJ's on, driving or some other task. (These are not written, just spoken.) "c-a-t" Once they can easily figure out what words I am saying, I move on to sounding out 3 written words a day. I use flash cards, write them, magnets or a book with large type. Once they can sound out cvc words, they are ready for a program.

I have had 2 ready at 3.5, one at 4.5, and one at 5.

:iagree: Until my oldest was ready to blend, we just played around learning the WRTR phonograms. I"m not saying yours isn't ready to read, just be aware that it's developmental. I tried a couple of programs because he was asking to read and knew all of his letter sounds, but it was pointless. He learned to blend right around 4, but is just now taking off in reading (at 5.5).

My 3.5yo OTOH suprised us by starting to blend before he was three. He's actually a more fluent reader than his older brother, but has a limited knowledge of phonograms. I still won't use a formal program with him until he's 5...my preference.

I think that once they can blend, any of the popular programs are great. 100 EZ lessons has good activities to practice blending. I love SWR, but that's just me :D.

[Kissy]

I was thinking it might be more developmental too. He knows all the sounds and letter names upper and lowercase. He is trying soo hard and I feel bad for him because I can see how bad he wants it. I guess I will wait maybe get some easy readers to read to him or something. I have an older child but he was in preschool and just kind of read on his own at 4 so I wasn't sure how to deal. When I try to talk to people in my homeschool group they are like why are you even trying he is a boy so I thought you guys would know. Thanks ladies.

[StartingOver]

As you are hanging out sound out things. C..u..p.., h...a...t..., t...u...b..., d...o...g... When he starts to understand what you are saying, then go for it. I have 5 children, one not yet old enough to start. They all read at different times, from age 3 - 6. My son listens to the Leap Frog DVD's too, and he is my younest reader yet. They helped a lot with the blending.

It just isn't something you can force, but you can always try ?? If he isn't ready, just put it away for a couple of months and try again.

P.S. If you haven't sat down to listen to the Leap Frog Letter Factory, I suggest you do so. The way I was taught the letter sounds is not how they do it. I learned ah, buh, cuh, duh. Which would have confused my son I am sure, if I hadn't listened to the clear crisp way Leap Frog does it.

[MissKNG]

Starting a formal approach is definitely something you need to be relaxed/flexible on, imo. All kiddos are different and not all take to something more formal. Mine is young and completely resists any sort of "formal" phonics stuff including the occasional Evan Moor phonics sheet. She is much more happy working on starfall.com and readingeggs.com all by herself. And she can blend and read the 1st set of BOB books with very little help (haven't tried the second set yet). I'm actually not sure how much she can read because she reads in "secret". Right now, I let her do whatever she wants then will work on a "formal" curriculum when she is in Kindergarten. All kiddos are different!

Good luck!!

[kmacnchs]

We did OPG and love it - though I've never done anything else so I have nothing to compare it to...

[Ariana]

I'm not ready to start my just-turned 4 year old on a formal reading curriculum yet but she's been asking to have reading time as well.
I stumbled across this website (free!):
http://www.progressivephonics.com/
when blog hopping recently.

We've been using it for a week and my daughter absolutely LOVES it. She's so excited about having her very own reading lessons and majorly excited that she knows several words now by herself.

[tracymirko]

When my dd4 was at this point, she loved the Word Whammer (a contraption that sticks to your refridgerator and has magnetic letters that fit in three slots). It has different levels of games, including just saying the letter and sound, spelling a word, building your own word, and making rhyming words. (Once she started to "get it," she told me she wanted a "stronger Word Whammer" that could make 4-letter words.) It was among the best $30 that I ever spent. DS2 now plays with it all the time.

[Dinsfamily]

As you are hanging out sound out things. C..u..p.., h...a...t..., t...u...b..., d...o...g... When he starts to understand what you are saying, then go for it. I have 5 children, one not yet old enough to start. They all read at different times, from age 3 - 6. My son listens to the Leap Frog DVD's too, and he is my younest reader yet. They helped a lot with the blending.

It just isn't something you can force, but you can always try ?? If he isn't ready, just put it away for a couple of months and try again.

P.S. If you haven't sat down to listen to the Leap Frog Letter Factory, I suggest you do so. The way I was taught the letter sounds is not how they do it. I learned ah, buh, cuh, duh. Which would have confused my son I am sure, if I hadn't listened to the clear crisp way Leap Frog does it.

:iagree:I think my oldest had some issues with the overpronunciation of letters. He would say "muh-aaaah-tuh" and not be able to hear the word. Right around the time he was developmentally ready (at 4), we started watching the Letter Factory again (ds#2 was at the age) and it helped him. I didn't see it at the time, but now it makes sense.

I'd also recommend seeing if your library has 100 EZ Lessons. I don't like the method (although many do), but I do really like their blending exercises like: say it fast, rhyming, word reading, etc. You could get the idea just from reading through lesson 15. Although, it won't help him developmentally, they're gentle and can't hurt IMHO. SWR also has a good section on preschoolers, but it isn't as common to find at the library. You could also google "phonemic awareness." There's got to be a blog out there with ideas. Maybe if your ds sees that he's working toward being able to blend or read, he will be less frustrated. My oldest is "ambitious" and can also get frustrated when he doesn't know or can't do something. I've had to explain to him that some things take time and practice. He's starting to understand it and fells better when he's working toward his goal.

HTH,

[radiobrain]

I learned to read at 2 simply by memorizing and re-reading the same books over and over (I guess, I don't remember). I personally am not a fan of most reading books (ala OPGTR, 100 EZ) just because they take a certain amount of joy out of reading. Especially when so young.

Why not read with your kid and have your finger under the words you are reading, sound them out occasionally and see how well he can put it together himself?

If your kid is BEGGING for some help, I would suggest www.readinglesson.com I only used the book. It was a logical, gentle way to teach reading. No big deal.

Whatever you choose to do, will be fine!

good luck!

[skaterbabs]

At that age my daughter taught herself to read using Between the Lions on PBS and http://www.starfall.com .
I just looked up one day and she was reading her baby books.:001_smile:

[Sweetbabe]

:lurk5:

[Donna]

I learned to read at 2 simply by memorizing and re-reading the same books over and over (I guess, I don't remember).

I am pretty sure that's how my dd learned to read. She was memorizing books from 13 months on. I never called that "reading" though we thought it was pretty cool that she memorized what words went to what page rather than the story in order so we could open the book to any page and she knew which words to say. Besides that, Leap Frog letter factory, and playing with magnetic or bathtub letters (playing a game where we spelled words then changed a letter), she never had any "formal" reading instruction. She brought me a book I knew she hadn't memorized (Little House in the Big Woods) at 3.5yo and read it fluently without sounding any words out.

I used 100 EZ lessons with my oldest at 3yo and it worked wonderfully. He enjoyed doing it and brought it to me every night. At the end before his 4th birthday, he was reading well.

100 EZ lessons did not go so smoothly with the middle son so after trying it at 3yo then giving up after a few lessons, trying at 4yo then putting it away again, we ended up trying Phonics Pathways which he also didn't like. I didn't know he could read until he brought me a book when he was 5.5yo and said he was ready to read it then did. He is a very visual-spatial learner and still hates to read though he does it just fine. :glare:

[duckens]

DD3 and C3 have both started reading. Considering that dd was read to from the start blah blah blah, this wasn't surprising. Considering that C3 (whom I babysit) is from a messed up family and living situation, I've even impressed myself!!!

Here are things that we have done. Please note that we don't do every thing every day. We do what we can, but we also play silly (non-academic) games, sing songs, paint/glue/color, build with blocks, and other things that need to be part of daily childhood.

1) Lots of reading

2) We did Letter of the Week preparatory curriculum last year. Your daughter may already know the letters and their sounds, so you may choose to skip this step.

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/preschool_age_3.html

3) We did not get a wordwhammer as one poster suggested, but I made flashcards (that could be used with a wordwhammer) from this woman's mindbites posting, plus made 20-30 more of my own. (I'd be happy to send you the computer file of the ones I made on my own after you make the original ones from the lesson). Warning: cost of the mindbites lesson is a mighty $2-3!!!

http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/500-making-childrens-flash-cards-3-letter-words

DD and C3 each pick a new word each week, and the build them on the fridge just before lunch every day. Then, during lunch, we review the words that they have learned. They know 54 words (mostly nouns) from this method so far. When we are done in another week or so, I will divide the words into 4-5 groups, one for each day to review.

4)Dd and C3 were not quite ready for 100 EZ Lessons, so I have been using the Kindergarten PALS Lesson Manual with them. I have been very pleased with their progress so far. We are almost 1/3 the way through the lessons.

http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals/teachmat/KEarly.html

I have an old version given to me by a reading specialist friend from the public school. I don't know how the new pages are set up, but we go through each lesson once each day for four days. Because the lessons are so fast and easy, we do four a day and stagger the new material.

For example today is the:
4th day for Lesson 19
3rd day for Lesson 20
2nd day for Lesson 21
1st day for Lesson 22

Tomorrow we will do:
4th day for Lesson 20
3rd day for Lesson 21
2nd day for Lesson 22
1st day for Lesson 23

5) Color game: Using a larger font, I printed off all of the color words: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, gray, pink, tan. Do this for each word in it's own color and in black, too. I mounted each word on construction paper and laminated them for durability. When we have time, I lay the words out, and the children match the color words. For example, they match the blue word "blue" with the black colored word "blue". And they match the red colored word "red" with the black colored word "red".

Start with just 3-4 words for them to match, and you be sure to take a turn when playing with your daughter, too, Mom! It makes it more like a game an less like a task. Add a few more colors when you think that she is ready.

6) We have been using this workbook from Teacher Created Resources:
http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/3174

I cut out the letters for the kids to glue on. because neither child has the coordination to write the words, I write letters on white stickers (from Staples), and the kids put them in the right order and location on the sheet.

7) We have also been using this workbook from Teacher Created Resources:
http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/3225

We are only on the second lesson, but the kids are confident with what they have done so far. I printed off two copies of the flashcards onto cardstock and laminated them for durability. We play games with the sight words until I am confident they know them well. After we play the games, we do the work of making and reading sentences with the words given. When they are confident with that, we move on to the stories. (We are only on lesson 2 so far).

Some games:
a) A version of concentration: all words are face up. Take turns matching two that look the same: like and like, the and the, to and to. Name the word as you match it. And mom, you take a turn, too!!

b) Which one do you know??: I put out 4-5 sight words. I ask, "Which one is 'red'?" and the child removes it from play. I replace it with a new word. "Which one is 'to'?" and the child removes it from play. Etc, etc. Eventually, the child will not wait for you, but will remove and name all of the words they know!!!

c) A version of Go Fish: Everyone gets 3-4 words to start. All words are face up in front of the player. (After all, these kids are 3!!!) The child will pick a word, and say, "Mom, do you have 'red'?" If I do, she gets it; if not, she must 'go fish' from the fishing pile.

d) I purchased the Word Racer game from Teacher Created Resources:

http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/7811

The kids haven't quite grown into it yet, but we use the board and pieces with the sight word flashcards. If the child can read the flashcard correctly, they move the same number of spaces as there are letters in the word.

e) The kids know enough sight words that I am hoping to make a Bingo set for them next.

8)We have also worked out of these books, but only one lesson from each book so far.

http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/2076

http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/2077

I'm sure that you will find what works for your dc.

--Laura in Iowa

[LittleIzumi]

DD3 and C3 have both started reading. Considering that dd was read to from the start blah blah blah, this wasn't surprising. Considering that C3 (whom I babysit) is from a messed up family and living situation, I've even impressed myself!!!

Here are things that we have done. Please note that we don't do every thing every day. We do what we can, but we also play silly (non-academic) games, sing songs, paint/glue/color, build with blocks, and other things that need to be part of daily childhood.

1) Lots of reading

2) We did Letter of the Week preparatory curriculum last year. Your daughter may already know the letters and their sounds, so you may choose to skip this step.

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/preschool_age_3.html

3) We did not get a wordwhammer as one poster suggested, but I made flashcards (that could be used with a wordwhammer) from this woman's mindbites posting, plus made 20-30 more of my own. (I'd be happy to send you the computer file of the ones I made on my own after you make the original ones from the lesson). Warning: cost of the mindbites lesson is a mighty $2-3!!!

http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/500-making-childrens-flash-cards-3-letter-words

DD and C3 each pick a new word each week, and the build them on the fridge just before lunch every day. Then, during lunch, we review the words that they have learned. They know 54 words (mostly nouns) from this method so far. When we are done in another week or so, I will divide the words into 4-5 groups, one for each day to review.

4)Dd and C3 were not quite ready for 100 EZ Lessons, so I have been using the Kindergarten PALS Lesson Manual with them. I have been very pleased with their progress so far. We are almost 1/3 the way through the lessons.

http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals/teachmat/KEarly.html

I have an old version given to me by a reading specialist friend from the public school. I don't know how the new pages are set up, but we go through each lesson once each day for four days. Because the lessons are so fast and easy, we do four a day and stagger the new material.

For example today is the:
4th day for Lesson 19
3rd day for Lesson 20
2nd day for Lesson 21
1st day for Lesson 22

Tomorrow we will do:
4th day for Lesson 20
3rd day for Lesson 21
2nd day for Lesson 22
1st day for Lesson 23

5) Color game: Using a larger font, I printed off all of the color words: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, gray, pink, tan. Do this for each word in it's own color and in black, too. I mounted each word on construction paper and laminated them for durability. When we have time, I lay the words out, and the children match the color words. For example, they match the blue word "blue" with the black colored word "blue". And they match the red colored word "red" with the black colored word "red".

Start with just 3-4 words for them to match, and you be sure to take a turn when playing with your daughter, too, Mom! It makes it more like a game an less like a task. Add a few more colors when you think that she is ready.

6) We have been using this workbook from Teacher Created Resources:
http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/3174

I cut out the letters for the kids to glue on. because neither child has the coordination to write the words, I write letters on white stickers (from Staples), and the kids put them in the right order and location on the sheet.

7) We have also been using this workbook from Teacher Created Resources:
http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/3225

We are only on the second lesson, but the kids are confident with what they have done so far. I printed off two copies of the flashcards onto cardstock and laminated them for durability. We play games with the sight words until I am confident they know them well. After we play the games, we do the work of making and reading sentences with the words given. When they are confident with that, we move on to the stories. (We are only on lesson 2 so far).

Some games:
a) A version of concentration: all words are face up. Take turns matching two that look the same: like and like, the and the, to and to. Name the word as you match it. And mom, you take a turn, too!!

b) Which one do you know??: I put out 4-5 sight words. I ask, "Which one is 'red'?" and the child removes it from play. I replace it with a new word. "Which one is 'to'?" and the child removes it from play. Etc, etc. Eventually, the child will not wait for you, but will remove and name all of the words they know!!!

c) A version of Go Fish: Everyone gets 3-4 words to start. All words are face up in front of the player. (After all, these kids are 3!!!) The child will pick a word, and say, "Mom, do you have 'red'?" If I do, she gets it; if not, she must 'go fish' from the fishing pile.

d) I purchased the Word Racer game from Teacher Created Resources:

http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/7811

The kids haven't quite grown into it yet, but we use the board and pieces with the sight word flashcards. If the child can read the flashcard correctly, they move the same number of spaces as there are letters in the word.

e) The kids know enough sight words that I am hoping to make a Bingo set for them next.

8)We have also worked out of these books, but only one lesson from each book so far.

http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/2076

http://www.buyteachercreated.com/estore/product/2077

I'm sure that you will find what works for your dc.

--Laura in Iowa

Brilliant!! My kids hate the OPGTR and know the sounds so I'm always looking for other phonics games/methods. We like the Blend Phonics matching game here, too.

[mmpmelmack]

We do OPGTR, and I am doing HOP, DS hates HOP, DD hates OPGTR. its annoying to teach 2 different programs, but better then fighting with them. I say if you want to and you child wants to, then pick a program and try it out. You know your child, programs like OPGTR and 100 EZ are more "boring" its just text on a page. I would say if you child is more into the text of the books you read these would work great. other programs like HOP are more colorful and have pics and activites on the pages, which work better for DD becasue she likes the pics in books better. I will say that DS is way more advanced then DD. She is more slighlty above average, especially with attention span.