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Kristin
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| Posted: June 13 2007 at 4:44pm | IP Logged
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Our (just turned) 4yo son knows his letters and sounds and shows an interest in learning to read (I would not say that he is "chomping at the bit"). I am excited about this new leg of our home learning adventure but I'm also wondering if maybe we should wait a while and enjoy the pre-reading stage, spending more time reading aloud and other fun readiness activities. Do things change a lot in terms of reading aloud once the child becomes a reader?
I also feel a bit sentimental about how we go about the learning to read process. I'm not inclined to do it with the Leap Frog products (the dvd or Word Whammer). I want it to be a warm and cozy, very enjoyable process for both of us. I've heard someone speak fondly of learning to read with their mother using Dr. Seuss books and this appeals to me. I have invested in the CHC "Little Stories" book and plan to use that when the time comes.
All of that being said, I am a little apprehensive about teaching a child to read. I wanted to take the Montessori approach and have been using Montessori Read and Write up to this point. For some reason the whole picture is not coming together in my mind and I'm afraid I will miss something this way. The 100 Easy Lessons book really appeals to me because it is detailed and straightforward.
What do you think?
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Bunch 'o Honey to my Honey Bunch and Mama to five - Noah 10y  , Rose 8y  , Dominic 2.5 y  , Oliver 16m 
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: June 13 2007 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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If he has an interest in reading, you could start but very slowly. If he gets it and asks for more, keep progressing. If he doesn't *get it*, don't push; just leave it and continue reading aloud to him in the same way you have been. You can progress slowly. Just because he knows letter sounds and basic phonics principles that allow him to read simple words, doesn't mean he has to be reading chapter books to himself at age 5. I guess the bottom line, imho, is "go with the flow."
Peace,
Nancy
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Jordan
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| Posted: June 14 2007 at 5:08pm | IP Logged
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I'm glad you asked this, Kristin. I don't have advice but wanted to let you know I am in the same situation (even with children the same age and 1 in heaven  ).
My dd4 and I spent some time with the 100 Easy Lessons but put it down because she began having trouble when the book wanted her to silently sound words out before saying them out loud. I guess she still needed time to hear herself sounding the word out loud. I was also attracted to that book because I wanted something straightforward so I wouldn't screw anything up. When we came to that stumbling block, it was hard to move on because the lessons just build on themselves. After that experience, I feel like we need something that will go at our pace.
My current plan, since I seem to change my mind every other day, is to spend some time with the pre-reading activities in Phonics They Use by Patricia M. Cunningham (recommended in Real Learning) and then I think we'll progress to LSFLF.
I will be glad to hear others' responses.
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Jordan
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Meredith
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| Posted: June 14 2007 at 5:23pm | IP Logged
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All of mine have wanted to learn to read by about 4 or 4 1/2. We start slow and progress as the child is interested. What fun, teaching reading is SO fun 
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Meredith
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: June 14 2007 at 10:42pm | IP Logged
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I'm in the same boat too, with my 4yo!  He is just beginning to show signs of readiness: attempting to read environmental print, creating dialogue for stories without print, narrating memorized portions of his favorite stories to his little sister, stringing together sounds in words and creating his own spellings of words. Yea! Another sweet baby is ready to read!  And because he's a tactile learner, it will be lots and lots of hands-on phonetics balanced with lots and lots of "snuggle-up-and-read-with-Mommy time" for him.
And Kristin, as far as waiting goes, I say it depends on the child. If he's ready, I say go for it, but don't sacrifice any special read-aloud time you have for a phonics program. IMHO, they're both important and should compliment each other (reading both together & independently brings the joy, while phonics enables the reading). And in my experience (teaching K and 1st graders and my own kids to read), too much phonics takes the fun out of reading and not enough phonics takes the confidence (the "I can do this") away from the child. Both ends of the spectrum are equally frustrating for a kid who is ready. To stumble over every word because he doesn't have the phonetics to decode, is just as defeating for him as being dragged through daily phonics lessons when all he wants is to sit down with you and curl up with a good book. The key is balance and for me, that's meant different things for different kids.
My 7yo learned to read all by himself when he was almost 4, no prodding needed, but he's a VERY verbal child. He loved the Faith and Freedom Readers from Seton. We just sat down and read together every afternoon. First I read to him a living book of his own choosing, and then he "read" to me. Other than a Letter-of-the-Week Alphabet curriculum for preschool, we didn't do any other phonics-type of program. He's currently reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on his own, but again, he's a very verbal kid. He sees it, he hears it, he says it, he gets it. Now math is a different issue!
My 5yo is a different type of learner -more logic-oriented. Until now I haven't used anything with him other than the same L-O-W preschool curriculum and then a year of CM-style kindergarten. He is reading but he isn't as strong a reader as his older brother (no big deal...it will come with time I think). Anyway, because he likes to categorize and find relationships between things, his interest in phonics is there and has helped build his strength. We've also read, read, read together...too many living books to count and lately, lots of Dr. Seuss!!! (He didn't go for the Faith and Freedom Readers so much and he wasn't impressed with LSFLF..."not a real book, Mommy!") For kindergarten this spring we did quite a bit with the red MCP Phonics workbook (this was what he did during our "maternity leave" ). But we've since abandoned it. And it isn't that the workbook wasn't working, because it is, along with the shared reading every afternoon. He is reading. However, he's absolutely bored to tears with the workbook. And that's fine because it was only meant to occupy him while I fed and changed the new baby for the first few months! ...So we're switching gears and going for Montessori this fall, where he'll get loads of categorizing practice in phonetics... And I'll hopefully be more available to direct my attention to him and the development of his decoding skills via a phonics "curriculum" that's tailored to suit his strengths. 
And one more thing...when it comes to your son, my advice is to go with your intuition and trust yourself. If you think a particular phonics program will suit your child's learning style and you have the time and attention to devote to it, why not give it a try?
Just don't forget that phonics curriculum providers don't know more about what will work for your son than you do!
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Kristine
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 15 2007 at 10:37am | IP Logged
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My dd was ready to go at 3 1/2 - yikes! And my ds was ready for more learning direction at 4. I moved at their pace. I tried Sing, Spell for a while - the kids did not enjoy it, tried 100 easy lessons - none of us enjoyed that, but the one thing they both loved was CHC's phonics for little folks. I stuck with that and then when they were a little older we moved into Little Angel Readers. I think the CHC phonics program was a hit because it is so gentle, the little readers are so short, and they're very lovely in their messages. It's the same "curl up in your lap and read with me mommy" phenomenon that you were talking about being so drawn to.
He'll give you the cues you need to let you know when it's time to move more. Why not try the Dr. Suess thing for a while. We did that too, that's what lit the fire under my ds! I hope your little ones like the CHC readers, but I think the one thing I'd say is that different programs work for different families. You and your dc will have different learning and teaching styles from the rest of us. It's so wonderful to get opinions here! But, don't be afraid to have to put something on the shelf if it doesn't work for you guys.
HTH - and enjoy this special time - it's one of my favorite things!
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Lorri
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| Posted: June 15 2007 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
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I have used 100 EZ with both of my older dc. The first one, I decided that he was ready at around 5, and we butt heads a lot over it. We plugged away at it, but looking back, I should have waited even a couple of more months. Or took big breaks when we needed to. Sigh. lesson learned.
When my dd was around 4 1/2, she begged me to learn to read. I kind of put her off because I was too busy and she was a bit young. One day, she asked me again, this time dropping that heavy 100 EZ book into my lap. I got the point and started teaching her. This time we did a lesson only on days that she wanted to. I would ask if she wanted a reading lesson and if she did, we'd have one, if not, no big deal.
In the end, they both learned to read and are reading far beyond grade level. One is a K'gartner and the other is a 2nd grader. Both read at a 4th grade level.
I wish I had waited until my oldest was begging me to learn. What I assumed was readiness - knowing letter names and sounds - wasn't really. Like I said, I wish I had given him just a few more months. If I were you, I would hold off until he's actually saying "Mommy, teach me to read!!" I think you'll both find the experience much more enjoyable that way.
BTW, I never finished 100 EZ with either child. About 3/4 of the way through, they were ready to move on to easy readers. It's so much more fun to read a real book than some silly story. I also used BOB books to make the transition from 100 EZ to real books.
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monica
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| Posted: June 16 2007 at 1:51am | IP Logged
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This is my situation exactly, and i am using the "follow his lead" approach. my 4yo enjoys the phonics readers, such as bob books, but he memorizes them so quickly, it is hard for me to know what he is actually reading, so i sneak in a lot of words as they come up, and i write them down and ask him to read them. but when i feel the slightest resistance i back off and let him just enjoy books. he also has gotten into writing lately, and i can really see the reading he has learned through his writing. so sweet and so cute. it is a great stage. does anyone have other phonics readers to recommend? where do i find the CHC readers? and are they suitable for non-catholics? we are orthodox, so it probably doesnt matter.
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helene
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| Posted: June 16 2007 at 9:34am | IP Logged
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The 100 Easy Lessons approach has worked for many of my friends....but I tried it with my first when she was 4 and it was so scripted and dry and it "killed the joy" for both of us. I have my kids learn all the consonant sounds and the short vowel sounds first. Then for a long time you can read 3 letter words with short vowels. Linger there and enjoy your success. Make up a bunch of 3X5 cards with these easy words on them. You can make up sentences to read using only these 3 letter easy words : The pig sat in the mud. Sam had a wet pet, etc.(You just plain have to memorize "the" of course). After a while introduce the long vowel sound and the rule : When two vowels go walking the first one does the talking and the second one is silent. It takes a while for most children to grasp this rule, but once it is understood and applied correctly you have a reader. Longer words with fancy prefixes and suffixes come quickly if those dipthongs are well-mastered. Anyway, that is how it works out in my family with varying degrees of speed for each student. Have fun and enjoy this magical time!
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extremeknitter
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| Posted: June 16 2007 at 2:50pm | IP Logged
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I always modify, so I'd say if 100 is working except the silent sounding out, then keep using it and adapt it to what she can do, wants to do, is willing to do. We never finish 100 either and 3/4 is probably about right for us. We follow that with Sound Beginnings. Again, adapting where necessary. We never give up reading together just because of these programs. Cozy reading is still the backbone of our reading "program."
This has worked for my "early," "late," and "typical" readers, and they all read above grade level ~ even the late bloomers.
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Kristin
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| Posted: June 17 2007 at 3:54pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, everyone, for sharing the tips and insights. I'm still in the process of sifting through all of this but feel less overwhelmed now and less afraid of making a mess of it all!!!
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Bunch 'o Honey to my Honey Bunch and Mama to five - Noah 10y , Rose 8y , Dominic 2.5 y , Oliver 16m
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: To wait or not to wait ...
