Ok, can someone talk me through the different methods of teaching kids to read please?

[FillyjonkTheFireEater]

Am probably going to homeschool

I want an overview of the different methods of teaching reading

Yes I know some kids pick it up by osmosis but I need a backup plan. I'd like to at least have a feel for a. signs of readiness and b. phonics vs (is it) whole word teaching.

And what do people reckon to

The Reading Reflex?

Oh should say ds is only 3 and am not looking to start teaching reading any time soon but have just realised I have no idea about this. None at all. Not even anything to rebel against.

Vague feeling that they shouldn't learn til later but absolutely zip idea why.

Also in Steiner schools as I recall writing taught before reading? Thoughts?

Ds rarely uses phonics for reading (definitely a whole word boy) but uses them all the time for spelling words out.

Filly, you may think you don't use phonics, but that is because your knowledge of the 'rules' is so embedded that you don't realise you're using it when you have to - even if that's not very often. So if you were to have to read out loud 'yectofantriplutonizanziptomiser', you would use your phonic knowledge to do so.

I'm not aware I'm using phonics either, because I also read very quickly and 'know' most common words in English. But I know I'm using them when I read about a 'frumious bandersnatch' for the first time.

DS2 read all the German menus when we were on holiday - according to English phonic rules, of course, so not accurately in German. But if he only knew 'whole words' he'd never have managed 'Schinken' and 'Mittagessen'.

ah this is making more sense

ok so phonics is a tool to help kids sound out unfamiliar words, basically. ok. makes sense.

right am on board with phonics I think

Sorry to butt in but here goes anyway - I taught my dd to read phonics and whole words in parallel. This meant she didn't get frustrated by having to decode every single word. It means she started to get the fun out of a story faster so it became a self-rewarding activity. She is an outstanding reader, but I started teaching her before she was 3. Being able to read gives a small child the power to participate in a world dominated by grown-ups. This power makes them feel less prone to the frustration tantrums. I think you should start when they think it's fun and postpone it if they are not enjoying it. My ds was much more resistant so I laid off. My dd2 is 2 and I've started teaching her too - she loves it.