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Erin
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DD4 (at the end of this month) is so keen to read. I have been putting her off for the past six months because she is so young and frankly I've been busy getting my late reader (ds 8) and dd6 up and reading. Finally they are off and running 
Genevieve keeps begging to read and is so determined, so I have started teaching her the alphabet, but because she is so much younger than the others ever were I've been trying a few different approaches. I tried the 'Letter of the Week' ideas from Starry Sky Ranch along with adapting some of the ideas from Serendipity but G says "I sick of letter of week"  she just wants to get down to business. Which is how I taught her siblings, I taught them three sounds at a time and then added more. No frills just did it using sandpaper letters and the phonic cards.
I've been looking at the Montessori pink series posts here and wondering if there is something different and worthwhile there for a younger child. I have been using a beautifully illustrated Beatrix Potter a,b,c book and reading that to her daily, and revising the sounds with a wooden alphabet puzzle. She is in such a tearing hurry.
To be truthful I really didn't want to teach her this young but she wants to. I'd love to hear ideas on how you taught a young child to read.
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MrsM
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I taught two early readers and a kindy with "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 EZ Lessons." My 6yob is a little more on the immature side, and 100 EZ wasn't a great fit. We are now using Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, and it's going much better.
If you want to consider supplementing with the computer, two online programs we used and liked are "Starfall" (free), and "Headsprout" (my subscription was $100, but I think I got some sort of discount).
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MarilynW
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My pick of the month - Ruth Beechick's 3Rs - love it - andI have had my share of phonics and learn to read programs!
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montessori_lori
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No frills just did it using sandpaper letters and the phonic cards.
Just curious - is there are reason to do it differently with this child? Otherwise, that sounds like a pretty good approach to me. You certainly could throw in some Montessori Pink Series work, if you wanted.
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Erin
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Lori
Good point, I guess I am wondering if I should do something different because she is so young. I take it you think changing is not necessary?
Today I realised that she knows 7 sounds all learnt in the last three weeks.
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montessori_lori
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That's right - keep using what worked before. Montessorians start sandpaper letters as early as 2 1/2. It's still the perfect way for kids to learn their sounds.
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Waverley
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I wouldn't worry if your 4 year old wants to read. Seize the day!!
What kind of learner is she? Does she want workbooks and writing or does she want/need to move around more? It would be helpful to establish this up front so you can select a teaching technique that will work for her.
As an example, several of my children love workbooks and we used the Explode the Code series. Their preliminary workbooks, Get Ready for the Code, work for pre-reading skills such as letter identification and letter sounds. Explode the Code then teaches them phonics. We love Explode the Code.
Other of my kids didn't want to do workbooks. They wanted to talk about letters. So we talked about and played letters. One example - when we learned about the letter B, I gave her a bucket, reminded her what "B" says, and sent her around the house to fill her bucket with other items that started with the B sound. OK, so another example of active learning - I wrote a different letter on each of 6 different envelopes and hung the envelopes up around the house. I then wrote the same letters on a bunch of small pieces of paper and put the pieces of paper in a satchel. My daughter became the letter carrier delivering Ms. C's mail to her mailbox, Mr. F's mail to his mailbox, etc. This game worked for a long time because after she could recognize the letters, I made cards that had pictures on them and she had to determine what letter the picture started with before she could deliver it.
OK, so is that way more info than you wanted? 
Good luck and keep us posted.
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Mackfam
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Erin - much sympathy! I was so ready to let my older two wait to learn to read. No pushing from me. No pressure. Relaxed. And then, they both wanted to learn at 3 1/2 and 4. I really thought my son would be slower to start. But no! And I wasn't ready. I kept saying, "surely they aren't ready...surely we need to wait, right?" I was in denial as they quoted alphabet and sounds to me. How could this be?
Anyhoo - I finally just started and they flew at their own pace.
I would think the pink series might be ideal for her and you (I remember shipping was such a troublesome challenge for other Montessori materials) - you could just download the pdf and print away. It sounds like she might have reading down before you get everything printed and set out though!
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Roma
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i used 100 EZ Lessons and we both loved it. DS1 is a very book smart child. I'm hoping it will fit well with DS2, also.
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Angel
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My 2.5 yo twins are terribly interested in letters right now. I do the sandpaper letters with them (as well as theRed Letter Alphabet Book) and am not worried about it at all, because I'm following *their* lead... which is what I think is really the important thing when working with young children. (When my dd was 3 she would throw tantrums in church just so she could get me into the vestibule to have conversations about phonics. These little people know what they want! )
I would also add a movable alphabet of some kind (you could make one out of paper, or could you find a magnet set with multiple copies of each letter?) That way she can spell words she sounds out with her knowledge of sounds more easily, and you can easily spell words for her to read. My kids have all loved making nonsense words for me to decode, which I think is a first step in connecting phonics to the written word. (plus, it's fun.)
--Angela
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MarilynW
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Angela - that Red Letter Alphabet books sounds cool - first time I have heard of it.
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Mackfam
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MarilynW wrote:
| Angela - that Red Letter Alphabet books sounds cool - first time I have heard of it. |
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It's on my list for next year, too! There's a nice blue numbers book as well at the same store!
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MarilynW
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Mackfam wrote:
MarilynW wrote:
| Angela - that Red Letter Alphabet books sounds cool - first time I have heard of it. |
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It's on my list for next year, too! There's a nice blue numbers book as well at the same store! |
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Is there anyone other than Montessori Services that ships them? The s/h is really high. Or is there anything else worth getting from MS that will justify the cost?
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earthmaven
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I've been delighted with the customer service and quality of everything we've ordered from Montessori Services.
We've ordered books, small glass pitchers, small plastic storage containers for our pink, blue and green word series, amazing child-sized safety glasses that are great quality, build-a-birdhouse kits with child-sized hammers...all kinds of things.
Incidentally, we bought an extra birdhouse kit, hammer and safety glasses and gave them as a birthday gift, and they were probably the most happily received gift we've ever given. My nephew was thrilled with them and it was a great project to do with his dad.
It's definitely worth a look if you'd like to combine some items to make the shipping easier to justify (I'm a pro at justifying my expenses :-)
Tracy
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Mackfam
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MarilynW wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
MarilynW wrote:
| Angela - that Red Letter Alphabet books sounds cool - first time I have heard of it. |
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It's on my list for next year, too! There's a nice blue numbers book as well at the same store! |
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Is there anyone other than Montessori Services that ships them? The s/h is really high. Or is there anything else worth getting from MS that will justify the cost? |
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Yet another reason we should live next door to each other, Marilyn! So we can order together and split shipping! Think our husband's would go for that and move our families closer?
Seriously, if you have the budget, there are lots of things from MS that I love! If you don't have their catalog, request it free on their site and maybe see if there are a few other things you can order to justify shipping. I love, love, love the inset papers they offer. We use them for absolutely everything - little ABC booklets, booklet of the states, drawing and sketching lesson booklets, phonogram booklets, word books. Anything you want to group together will make a neat idea for a little booklet with these papers. They are the perfect size for little hands! They fit so neatly in a backpack or diaper bag for doodling when your in laws invite you and your rowdy crew to a sit down, crystal glasses, 3 course meal sort of restaurant. Ok...you get the idea...I love the little square inset papers. I actually do use them for their intended purpose as well - with the metal insets.
Let's see, what else do we have from Montessori Services -- hammering in cork kit, matreshka doll, a lot of nice baskets, tweezers, tongs, chopsticks, trays, scoops. There's probably more, but these are the ones I'm thinking of while I type.
On my list this year are some of their cultural/geography materials, the red letter and blue number books, and a few more practical life supplies that I can never seem to find at a thrift store.
Enough validation for ya? 
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Jen Mackintosh
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Angel
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The Red Letter Alphabet book is nice. I keep it on a table next to the couch, and the little ones pick it up frequently during the day. The felt actually feels a lot nicer than sandpaper (!) and the book takes up less space than the sandpaper letters. But the sandpaper letters do allow the kids to use those big motions. The pictures in the book that go with the sounds are sometimes a little hard for the kids to figure out, especially since they don't always display the initial sound but a middle or ending. Overall, though -  We have the Blue Number Book, too, but right now the twins are insisting that zero is the letter O.
(If you're looking for stuff from Montessori Services to round out your order -- gee, where do I start? My kids really like their brooms, their baskets are always useful, and I am considering their art punching tools this year. Do ask for the catalog; it's a treasure trove of ideas for making up your own activities.)
--Angela
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Mackfam
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Angel wrote:
| The pictures in the book that go with the sounds are sometimes a little hard for the kids to figure out, especially since they don't always display the initial sound but a middle or ending. |
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That was really helpful for me, Angela as that is a kind of pet peave I have. I think it makes it harder when the initial sound is not the sound of the letter. I may be wrong, it just has always confused my kids when the sounds represented are inconsistently represented in a word - sometimes at the beginning, sometimes in the middle, sometimes at the end.
Thanks for letting me know. I might have to reconsider. I prefer the felt to the sandpaper for the same reasons you mention. Hmmmm...
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Jen Mackintosh
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MarilynW
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Mackfam wrote:
[Yet another reason we should live next door to each other, Marilyn! So we can order together and split shipping! Think our husband's would go for that and move our families closer?
Enough validation for ya? |
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Jennifer - I think we should work on our husbands. Hmm - who should do the moving though - you have the great countryside (and horses!!) - we have the attractions of the city not so far away. Maybe you could visit this summer and see if you want to move out Of course my dd just wants to move out to where you are
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JennGM
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I remember Alicia's review of the Red Letter Alphabet Book. I have both the numbers and alphabet. G loves to take them out and use them. But I have the same beef about the pictures.
My dh is the same way about the shipping, too.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Teaching a young child to read?
