DS aged 3.9 says he want to read.

[bonzo77]

How do I teach him? Should I even bother? He knows quite a lot of letters. I just think he is too young and i can't be arsed, he's got the rest of his life to read, and only a few years for not needing to.

[Middleagedmotheroftwo]

Godo grief woman - of course you should try and teach him if he wants to learn!!!

There are plenty of books which would help you. My DD, who is by no means more than averagely intelligent (ie nothing special), was reading fluently, and understanding the storyline, by the time she started Reception at 4.

[Middleagedmotheroftwo]

As for how - we started with simple word recognition. EG I would show her the words "cup" and "pup" and ask her if she could see what was different about them - she would point to the first letter. Then we'd move on to "cop" and "pop" etc. She caught on really quickly.

It's not an approved method - but it worked for us.

[maillotjaune]

What do you think he means by wanting to read? Really to read, or to read more books with you?

If you are reading a lot anyway you could sound out some words / encourage him to learn ones that can't be sounded out - my DS3 is at a painful in between stage of interrupting every story other than the bloody Gruffalo to talk about the letters and words (he's just 4) so possibly doing what your son wants.

I'd have struggled with phonics if I hadn't already learnt the way to say the sounds properly with the two older ones (e.g. s being 'sss' not 'suh') but as it is I wouldn't say I'm teaching him to read exactly, but helping him find out the things he wants to know.

[teacherlikesapples]

If he is very interested in makes sense to support it, it just all depends on how you do it as to whether it is advisable or not. It is a very sensitive time and the priority needs to stay on the enjoyment not proficiency at this age. There is plenty of time to develop skill, but it is very hard to regain motivation if learning to read becomes a chore.

if you are talking about looking for brief teachable moments, how you answer his questions, how you extend the activities he is already choosing, then great. If you are envisioning sitting him down to 'teach him'. That is not so great. Keep it brief, fun & child led.

You say he knows his letters- does he know his letter sounds or just their name? Start calling the letters by their sound.

Make sure you are role modelling the sounds correctly e.g for M it is mmmmm not 'mah'. Cbeebies Alphablocks can demonstrate the correct sounds ( www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks/watch/alphablocks-watch )

What about rhyme? Can he identify rhyme in a sentence & give his own examples?

These would be the places I would start.

I would recommend visits to the library- regularly choosing a wide range of books, non-fiction, reference, rhyming, song, poetry, fiction.
The wider your child's vocabulary- the easier it will be for him to become literate.

Look for teachable moments- when he is asking you "what does this say?"
Help him use his developing letter sound knowledge to guess, sounding out the words. Emphasis that it is always better to try & guess, rather than getting it right (this applies to most things at this age)

Same goes with when he is trying to write something. "I wonder what it might start with? " Focus first on initial letter sounds.

Middleagedmotheroftwo correctly points out the next stage :) - CVC words. (consonant, vowel, consonant) There are plenty of fun ways to introduce those once you have mastered the letter sounds & rhyming. I would exercise caution introducing these in any formal way (flash cards, word tins etc...) That is heading down the route of too formal too early. Update us more specifically on his capabilities & interests and I can help you develop something more fun & child friendly :)

[bonzo77]

Right, so it looks like I need to start teaching myself phonics properly...He knows a mixture of phonics and the names, and also some upper and lower case, can identify and just about write his name and initial (there are 2 others with the same first name as him in his nursery group). I guess he knows about 2/3 of the alphabet, as a mixture of phonics and names. He knows the difference between numbers and letters.

He loves rhymes, sometimes he makes up words, but I suppose that's all part of the game, today cat hat mat fat lat sat gat bat rat and shat (I kid you not, though he thought that was a made up one) etc... If we are reading things with rhymes or patterns he can often make a reasonable stab at finishing a line by guessing what sounds right.

He's obsessed with cars, and tries to read number plates, then we do words beginning with the letters he can read. He also likes "i spy".

I asked him what he wanted to read, and he said "books to the baby", so we sat and showed the baby the pictures and talked about them, like I used to with DS1 when he was smaller.

Off to look at alphablocks......

[teacherlikesapples]

Cool- an extension related to his interests would be playing I spy with the letter sounds instead of letter names.

Games like sound bingo or a listening walk (where you sit somewhere quiet & just listen- listing all the different sounds you can hear) are good for developing sound discrimination skills (needed to differentiate between d and b)

Singing is brilliant for developing the language skills needed, so learning new songs together could be fun, they don't all have to be children's songs, some of the old classics are good.

Make books together, cut out pictures from magazines & write your own stories, or draw pages each, then help transcribe his story. Writing postcards to family (ask them to write back) shopping lists etc... are all low key, short & simple ways to create fun and practical opportunities to talk about letters & sounds. It doesn't have to be arduous or stressful. Simple & fun is best.

[NumptyNu]

Reading with interest, as DD is also keen to learn. She is 3.10.

We play 'hairy letters' app, play with foam letters in the bath (she plays teacher and 'tests' me on the letter sounds, and we are making early attempts to blend simple words eg c-a-t). We also play a LOT of I Spy, which, while not reading exactly, it is completely embedding her ability to relate the concept of spelling and sounds. All of this is led by her - I have never sat down with her to teach her in a formal way. There are plenty of games around that can teach while having fun.

[sanam2010]

Readingbear.org is a fantastic and free website to teach your child to read once they know the letters. I also really like the book "Jolly Stories" from Jolly Phonics. If he wants to definitely encourage him, that way he can learn it in a fun and relaxed way without time pressure.