teaching toddlers a,b,c's

[EmmaM]

Has any one got any advice on whether I should help my ds to start to read? He is nearly 3 and very, very keen on his letters. He seems to pick things up so quickly, he can recognise all 26 letters and come up with at least two or three words beginning with that letter. He's now started to ask us what various words say - so for instance he'll pick up his shampoo and ask what it says on the label, or ask what words are on the TV. He's got some magnetic letters and asks me how you make different words - so I tell him what letters to chose and to put them next to each other. He can pull out the right letters to make his name etc. Should I just let him carry on enjoying letters in this way, or should I encourage him further? What I don't want to happen is for me to teach him too much only to find he is frustrated when he starts school as he has to cover stuff he knows. But as school is another 18 months away, what do I do with a very keen boy who wants to know everything?

What sort of things can other children do before they start school? Are there things a school expects your child to know when they start? I'm not a pushy mum - everything ds has done so far has been at his own pace and instigation from walking to potty training, so all I'm doing is following his lead (again!) And finally, if the advice is, yes, encourage him to read, any good books out there to help me help him?!! Thanks

The schools tend to look for children who can recognise their own name, hold a pencil properly, copy patterns, letter and number shapes. Also recognise numbers and know the value of them, colour within the lines, begin to use scissors and so on. As your son is so keen to learn it would be a shame to waste his enthusiasm. Does he go to nursery? Can you talk with the teacher there?

If you do decide to teach him to read find out what scheme the schools use (probably Oxford Reading Tree) and avoid it like the plague to avoid boredom etc..

If you look at the DFES website you should be able to find a more accurate list of targets for children on their entry to Reception,e.g. colour naming, eating with a knife and fork and perhaps this will be of more help as my memories are a bit hazy.

Good luck, just make sure he enjoys himself with words, books etc. Maybe get basic reference books on dinosaurs, trains, whatever he's into from the library. Sorry this is so muddled!

Sorry, meant to recommend a book called "why children can't read", can't remember the author, but published by Penguin. Has some controversial ideas but a very effective (and fun) reading programme.

Hi emma! My son was the same.
He is 9 now but could read fluently before he started school. He started saying his alphabet at about 2yrs and by 2.6 could read flash cards and other single words.
I wasn't pushy but as he was my first I did spend a lot of time with him reading etc. But he did also watch a lot of tv and I think some programmes like seaseme st did help him.
By the time he was 3.5 I did buy him a reading scheme and he took to it really well.
At the time I didn't realise he was particulary advanced as he was my only child. I now have a 22mth old dd and she doesn't seem to be showing the same signs. She does count to 10 but isn't interested in letters or colours. In fact she says everything is PINK.
She did walk a lot earlier than ds though andis starting to talk quite well lately.but I do remember that ds was talking a lot better at her age.
I knoew you shouldn't compare but its just made me realise how forward ds was and I didn't realise at the time.
He is still now v clever and tops his class every year. He is especially good at maths though. He takes after dh . Only hope dd doesn't take after me.

EmmaM, the most important things for them to be able to do before starting school are not academic at all - being able to dress themselves, blow their noses, wipe their bottoms, fasten their shoes, fit in with the class, do as they're told, share, etc matter more to the teachers in the first few weeks than being able to read. The skills hwr mentioned are important too and form part of baseline testing.

As the impetus is coming from him I think all you need to do is carry on following his lead and answering his questions. He may well be one of the children who teach themselves to read.

If you know which school he will be going to, you could ask to speak to a reception class teacher for advice on how much to do and what books you should use (or not use!). Good luck, anyway

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Hi EmmaM

That's great that he is so keen...I agree to keep answering his questions about what things say (even if it drives you crazy!). Some children actually learn whole word recognition, especially their own name eg dd knew the word "school" by sight even though she didn't yet understand the sounds and phonetics involved.

Be careful of "teaching" too much, as if you use a different approach to the school it will confuse him once he gets there and is told to look at things differently. Find age appropriate puzzle books and picture books (by which I mean books with large pictures, large print and simple sentences, esp rhythm and rhyme.) Play games with sounds and things like eye spy.

So far as sounds of a b c's go, I know schools here are teaching Letterland, which uses characters and stories (as wickedwaterwitch must know already!). They say the letter A makes the "a" sound (like in Annie Apple) etc. So the letter has a name (ay) and it's job is to make the "a" sound in words. Makes sense really, rather than learning the short sounds and then having to work out each sound's "name", or vice versa. The abc song is just a song they know off by heart, doesn't mean they understand what the alphabet is!
Sounds like your son will have a good start to reading anyway. Good luck!

Thanks for your thoughts. At the moment I'm saying A, sounds like ay, to get both the letter name and sound and he is starting to get some word recognition. I like the idea of tracing dots to form letters - he does that at nursery. He needs some more help on holding a pencil and getting better control, but his drawings are becoming more recognisable, he does a great smiley face and drew a lovely elephant the other day! You're right too, of course, about the non-academic things. His nursery covers early learning goals and he seems to be doing OK on interacting and communication, needs a bit more confidence around other kids.

I'll let him go at his own pace and spend some more time with him looking at the puzzles in his comics to keep him interested and think up some games etc.

He just blows me away sometimes, he's now started asking what the time is and, for some reason, whether its 'half pint nine'!! Aaahh, I can't keep up with him!

EmmaM, from my Montessori training I would suggest that you try and cut out some letter shapes (ideally using sandpaper), stick them on backing card and get your son to trace them with his index finger. If you have the patience, find pictures of simple words: cat, dog, car etc and put the letter combinations under the picture and get your son to trace them with his finger again. This should help to associate words with items in a basic way. Within the Montessori method it is felt that it is better for a child to read before writing.

my son who is four is constantly asking me questions,I do my best to answer most of them. I try to keep the activities we do quite informal and fun, rather than trying to overwhelm him. He starts school in september so I try and do things with him that he'll do when he starts school. I think if you keep things fun and stop when you're child has had enough then they'll get more out of it.

robinw - you agree with "the bit" about personal care?
I've never been called "the" before.
Thanks.

Just had another idea EmmaM - you can make up labels in large clear letters, cover them with contact or laminate them, and use them to label everyday items in his room or play area, eg "bed", "lamp", "door", "window" etc. If he asks what something is, you could make a new label for it!

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Mollipops - it was so nostalgic to see you describe this method! My mother did this when I was a child. Apparently I could read the words out of context when I was 2 (on further questioning, actually nearly 3). I remember always wanting to read the longest words first when she was holding them in her hands. My reading age at school was always a good 3 years above anyone else's and I remember teachers getting me to help younger children to read when I was 6!

That's a good idea Mollipops. It might be especially useful when we move house as it will help ds become comfortable with his new surroundings.

Sorry to change the subject a little...
My eldest dd (just 5) is really into reading & writing at the moment. We're in a wierd situation, as she goes to a Welsh medium school (ie everything taught in Welsh), so will not be "officially" learning English reading/writing until 1st year juniors. I'm v happy with the school, and the teaching, but as she's so keen, I don't want to stop her from progressing her English outside school. So, my question is, has anyone tried the "Leap-pad" books system? Dd was looking at it in ELC, and was desperate for it. It seems really well thought-out, but I thought I'd ask here if anyone has any thoughts or opinions on it.....
Dh did enquire whether I need to consult mumsnet before I go to the toilet, but I'm genuinely grateful for all the things I've learnt from this site. (Creep, creep)

No advice, emsiewill, sorry, but I am intrigued that this still happens in Wales...how many Welsh children know no English until they start the juniors? And if they do suddenly come new to it at that age, how do they manage?
On the other hand, if this no-English thing is imposed on children who do speak both already, isn't that PC-gone-mad?
I do understand that a lot of Welsh people want to keep their language going, and that's fine, but why can't the children do lessons in both as soon as they start?
Just asking!
(BTW what is your DH's stance on the issue or does he secretly want a second opinion too?)

Janh, English is so dominant in Wales that it's virtually unheard-of for children to be monolingual in Welsh. It's only literacy in English that is held back till junior school. And of course, the ubiquity of written/printed English means that very many children have some grasp of that before formal teaching begins. Your vision of them being corralled in a Welsh-only universe is over-dramatic.

I don't know why they don't do lessons in both languages in infants school, but the evidence on educational outcomes from Welsh-medium schools is very positive, so I don't think they suffer. As I'm sure you know, educationalists now generally consider growing up bilingual to be very positive for kids.

You set very high standards for Welsh-medium schools, suggesting that all teaching should be bilingual from the start. How many kids in English-medium infants' schools acquire ANY competence in another language at school?

Zoya, I was asking from a position of ignorance and curiosity, no criticism intended.
But as children of bilingual parents can cope with learning both languages as they go, I thought maybe the schools could do that too...

Ooooh, didn't mean to start a storm! Actually, janh, it's my dh who's Welsh and me who's English (I think you assumed the other way round?). I'm perfectly happy with the school that my dd is at - and my other dd will go to. Dh was brought up in North Wales, where being taught in Welsh is the norm, rather than a choice. Here in South Wales, you actively choose this option, which is what we decided to do for many reasons;
a.)Every parent whose child goes to the Welsh school has chosen the school, and therefore is interested/involved in their children's education. In my (admittedly limited) experience, parental involvement in a school is always a positive thing.
b.)The government is very keen on Welsh medium education, and this particular school is well-funded, as well as being almost brand-new, with all the positive things associated with that.
c.)The school is very involved in "Welsh culture" ie music, dance etc, and therefore offers more than just "curriculum" activities (again IMO, this makes for a more "rounded" child)
d.)Surely teaching a child another language (even one which is not spoken by millions of people) at a young age is a good thing. I've been amazed at how quickly my dd has picked up Welsh - after 1.5 terms, she speaks almost fluently on many subjects. If only French/German/Spanish etc... were taught fromn this age...
e.)One of the questions the headteacher is constantly asked is "won't my child be 'behind' if they don't learn English until they are 8?". Her answer is a very logical one - there is no child in Wales who does not know English (certainly by the time they are 5 - some in North Wales don't speak any until then, though), and if you can read and write in one language, and you are fluent in speaking another, then learning to read and write in that language is only a matter of learning the "rules" that apply to that language.
f.)And this is the most "selfish" reason, my dd is bright, and I have never had any worries that she would have problems with this way of learning (and that belief has been bourne out since she started school). If that hadn't been the case, maybe I would not have been so keen. But that's something I'll never know.
Here ends the lecture....
Anyway, can anyone help me with my original question? Is "Leap-pad" any good?

What a brilliantly put case Emsiewill. You have made it sound so lovely. No help on Leap pad but would love to hear about it too.

emsiewill, I actually assumed you were both Welsh!But I did also assume you were in N Wales, I didn't know Welsh schools existed in the South.
It does sound like a brilliant school and your daughter is very lucky. I wish it were possible for schools in England to offer a similar amount of language/culture learning.
I still don't know about leap-pad though!

emsiewill, I just looked on google uk!

Hope this helps. (There were lots of other sites listed too.)

Product Review

Learning to read with a LeapPad

If you're looking for a toy that will keep your children's interest for more than a couple of weeks then the LeapPad is definitely worth a look. It has only recently been launched in the UK, but, we're told, the US version is

currently rated as the No.1 educational toy in America.

Developed in conjunction with educational specialists, it's designed to encourage children to read and complements the National Curriculum. It's recommended for ages four years and up.

LeapPad comes with an interactive book called Leap into Learning. The paper book is positioned over the LeapPad which is a folding touch sensitive pad with a stylus - a 'magic pen' - to activate various learning modes. You initialise the page you're on with the stylus and the text and illustrations then 'come to life'.

The book is divided into a number of sections. Among the mix of stories and learning pages there are extracts from Winnie the Pooh and Richard Scarry. An English voice reads to, and prompts, the child throughout. By using the 'magic pen' the child can choose one of three modes: "Say it", when a word is read aloud, "Sound it", when a word is phonetically sounded out, and "Spell it", when a word is spelled out.

We liked the fact that the LeapPad is very simple for children to operate on their own. It's lightweight, robust and easy for children to carry around weighing little more than a conventional book. The child can take it away and play with it, flicking back and forth through the sections proceeding at his or her own pace.

To keep the child's interest, it's been designed to be fun as well as an educational aid. For example if they touch on a character they are rewarded by them speaking, if they touch an object they'll get a sound effect. There are also games to play which teach the children about language.

Other short sections include learning the names of parts of the body, a science section, a music section and a foreign language section. The science section is a diagram of the human skeleton labelled with the correct medical terms such as metatarsals (this seems a little advanced for your average four year old!) Similarly the foreign language section is also one for the older children with Spanish, French, German, and Japanese on offer.

But the firm favourite with our children has to be the music section. There's a Paper Piano where children can have notes played either by a keyboard, clarinet or marimba. There's also the music for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Various sections of a band are described: brass, woodwind and percussion. By using the magic pen the child can hear instruments playing individually or together. One useful feature which really comes into its own in this section is the volume control! And if Rule Britannia Bon Tempi style wears a bit thin the twentieth time around, you can always hide the batteries! The LeapPad takes 4 AA batteries and turns off automatically if it hasn't been used for a few minutes.

There are six other books at £12.99, these aren't all available in the UK yet but the distributors tell us they soon will be. By having a series of different books covering such subjects as maths and geography you can build up a library with the LeapPad. This means you can get quite a lot of mileage out of the one toy which , considering it's nearly £60, makes it better value for money. Website www.leapfrog.com
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Thanks for that janh - from that review, it sounds great, and it's only £30 now, too! As I said, dd was taken with it in the shop, but as I am a gadget freak, and would purchase anything electronic given half an excuse, I am nervous of buying things like this without giving it a bit of thought, as I always worry that it will be played with once, and then put aside to reside with the rest of the toys in the toy graveyard we call a playroom (although I suppose dd2 will be able to use it...you see, I'm talking myself into buying it!). Dh was very taken with the Leap Pad globe we saw in Toys R Us at Christmas - although gadgets are not his bag, maps etc are and I have to admit, it did seem very well done. Still, I think that's around £100, so one for the future.

Have just read some more reviews on Amazon.co.uk, and it seems to be highly recommended - and less than £30 including p&p, so a bargain to boot. Feel almost obliged to buy it, now!

Sorry, got to add a note of scepticism about leappad. We haven't got one, but have looked at it in the shop. It struck me that basically it just performs the function of a book, plus an interested parent. We get books out of the library every week, and by the end of the week the children (and myself) are getting fairly bored of the same book. I think, the Leappad books would soon lose their attraction. But that's from the point of view of someone who hates anything electronic!