what do you do with an almost 3 year old desperate to read?

[sheneversaidit]

I am happy for DS to learn at his own pace but he is 3 in August and he is really trying very hard to read. Squinting and moving his finger along letters and trying to name them and sound them out and we read constantly as its one of his very favourite things to do, and he is always asking us to explain what the symbols/letters etc mean.

I feel like I should be helping him along in some way that perhaps I am not. He is sometimes upset and embarrassed because he cant read, where I am trying to tell him of course that is ok! He is so little. But anyway I think he wants some help with it, what should I do?

[Overmydeadbody]

Just keep getting him new books to read together, then when you've read them to him a few times get him to 'read' it, basically repeating the story back to you using the pictures on each page as a prompt.

At 3, it just needs to be fun and he needs to stay interested in books and reading.

[fridayschild]

The Usborne phonics readers (I got them from the Book People but they are in the library too) are simple stories which rhyme and so are easy to learn off by heart. DS2 used to "read" them to me by memorising them when he was the same kind of age as your son.

[starkadder]

Teach him, I say, if he wants to learn. My mother taught me to read when I was 2 (because I wanted to). Reading has brought me more happiness than pretty much anything - apart from other people, of course. I LOVED reading as a child, and I love reading now - I would not for the world have lost out on the extra years my mother gave me by teaching me early.
I think she just got the early learning books (Peter & Jane and all that) and we did them together. I apparently read everything I could see (cereal packets, shop names, etc) so it all happened quite fast.

[minesacheeseandpicklesandwich]

Look up Jolly Phonics on google. If I remember correctly, they have stuff for parents to help LOs.

And I agree with Starkadder - learning to read early on if never time wasted. I was the same, reading anything I could get my hands on and I consider it the best thing I did as a LO, as books helped me get through a nasty patch of bullying, when I spent time in the library rather than brave the playground.

[sheneversaidit]

yes I was a young reader too and I am still a very very very avid reader and indeed writer. I chose DS's pre-school because it emphasises play over more "intellectual" achievements, as I would rather he had fun and good interaction while learning bits than being taught more stringently, at this age. He is extremely bright and verbal and has very complicated speech etc so I am happy to keep him growing.

I guess I just feel like I was going to end up getting help teaching him to read from a school and now suddenly I am faced with him demanding to be taught when its just me & him and I of course know how to read but not how to teach it! I certainly wont make it a chore for him that really isnt my parenting style at all but he is gasping for it so I want to know the best way to proceed. I like the idea of getting him to "read" a sentence after me, and also the phonics etc, I will check those things out tonight. I have taught him the alphabet by saying the letters and also sounds, not just sounds. Hope that is ok.

[starkadder]

Oh, sorry, I did miss the point a bit there!! I think the phonics is a good idea. Honestly though, I don't think you'll go far wrong since he wants to learn and you know how to read - clearly he is a clever boy!

[sheneversaidit]

you didnt miss the point! Its fine! He is a very clever boy [boastingprideemoticonplease?]

[snorkle]

If you let him choose what books he'd like you to read to him and run your finger along under the words so he can follow them if he wants then he may be able to learn at his own pace by choosing books at the right level. Ds 'regressed' to choosing books with a single word per page (having been hooked on much more detailed stories) & once I'd figured out he was trying to read & started doing the finger thing when he moved up to sentence per page type books he taught himself from there.

[acebaby]

I'd recommend the jolly phonics song cd and finger phonics books. They use action songs to teach the letter sounds and have lovely pictures. DS1 (3.10) loves them and he can now read quite well. DS2 (12mo) also enjoys the songs and looking at the pictures.

[savoycabbage]

I would get the Jolly Phonics teachers manual from Amazon. I don't like the DVD as I don't think they pronounce the sounds all that well.

Fun with Phonics by the BBC is much better, It is on Cbeebies sometimes and you can get the DVD from Amazon.

[madwomanintheattic]

mine all started at that age by memorising all the julia donaldson stuff we read to them - i loved starting 'room on the broom' and letting them finish it lol. ds1 first words were 'whoosh they were gone' and 'witch and chips for my tea'

all 3 (inc dd2 who has cerebral palsy) had taught themselves to read before school - all we did was provide books, make it fun, and read a bedtime story or ten every night as part of the routine. it wasn't done with 'teaching them to read' in ind - i can honestly say that i have no idea how they learnt - it just happened. i thought they were just memorising it all, but somehow it happened. it was a bit of a shock tbh but i count myself very lucky i haven't had a reluctant reader.

[charis]

Red nose readers are fabulous for this stage. I really enjoy reading with these little sponges, they learn something new every day.

[Reallytired]

Jolly phonics have some fanastic resources. My son loved the Jolly Phonics DVD at the age of four. There are also finger phonics books and the Jolly Songs DVD which are fun for little ones.

My son now wants to teach his baby sister how to read as soon as possible in case she goes deaf.

[titchy]

Just make sure they understand that reading is something learnt over a long period of time - when ds came back from his 1st day at school he announced school was rubbish cos he still couldn't read properly!

[pranma]

Flash cards-make big rectangular cards with words on them naming common objects [red felt tip,lower case letters]eg 'chair' 'book' etc.Put the cards on the objects get the child to bring you the cards in pairs then ask him to put them back in the right place.He will soon have a small but useful vocabulary.You can add 'and' and 'the' then colours and other adjectives.Finally 'make trains'on the floor as in 'the blue cup'.Do no more than 10 minutes at a time and stop if child is bored.In between spell out words phonically eg r-e-d spells red.My daughter read fluently by 3 and read 'The Railway Children'at 5.She is normally bright not gifted and has grown up with a deep love of books and reading.I am a believer in combining phonics with 'look and say'as it gives children a sense of achievment to identify whole words quickly.

[slug]

You can get books with CDs. Usually they have 'page turning' sounds. Let him 'read' along with the CD. We found DD picked up quite a few common words and recognised them out of context after doing this.

[sheneversaidit]

thank you very much for all the fantastic suggestions!!! I'm going to use pretty much all of them I think, he will think its the most fun game!

[sammynixon]

hi. i'm sam - a teaching assistant.
my little - or not so little boy now wanted to start reading at an early age and began to get really frustrated because he couldn't.
to help him along i sat down with him and a book that he chose and let him pick out one word. he chose -AND-. we went through the book and found all the -AND- words. .i said the word first then he repeated it. when he knew that word we went onto another and before i knew it he could read sentnces.

it did take a while. he had one word for about 2 weeks just to make sure he could read it and remember it.

also i made word cards. they helped.

my son is now 7 years old and one of the top readers in his year group.

good luck..... let me know how you get on