Hi fellow mums/mums to be
I’m looking for parenting advice on what to do about a 4 year old (almost 5) who is very resistant to learning. I’m trying to teach her how to read, and she’s doing ok, but it’s really hard getting her to focus for 3-5 minutes. She either zones out, or zones in so much that she asks numerous random questions.
she also tries to get my attention by pretending not to know things. I often have to level with her and say something like ‘look mummy is really tired today, can you just stop this and read it, she will read the page without an issue.
The Oxford reading books for her age group are very shorty. It could take us 3-5min to read the book but her lack of concentration means it can take 15-20minutes. If I were to follow her guide and stop when she stops showing interest, we would not get past the title. She has zero interest in learning anything.
Any advice on how to deal with this would be much appreciated.
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Parenting
4yo resistant to learning
Izzymay · 03/08/2022 11:35
justasking111 · 04/08/2022 14:38
Who cares whether it's read backwards forwards or upside down if ir works
steppemum · 04/08/2022 14:29
Please, not ladybird Peter and Jane.
They were old when I was learning to read in early 70's.
When I was learnign about teaching reading, one of the lecturers read us a Peter and Jane. When she finished she told us that she had read is backwards. It sounded the same as when read forwards.
Which shows how poorly structured they are.
SeeSawDaw · 05/08/2022 10:55
I have such fond memories of reading to mine when young, developing a love of reading and the English language.
Now teenagers, that love of language is still there. Foster that @Izzymay, nurture it. A positive attitude to learning sets them up far better for school (and beyond as we never really stop learning!).
WonderingWanda · 04/08/2022 15:22
Op I'm teacher and one thing I learnt from the lockdowns is that my own children do not take kindly to being taught by me. Many of my colleagues said the same. It was very strange and our homeschooling efforts often descended into rows. It might be she is resistant to the formal approach with you for now. I would give it a break and concentrate on keeping a love of reading there by you reading to her every night. In my experience as long as children see the value in books they will eventually get there with the reading.
Thatsenoughnow · 05/08/2022 09:32
The thing is, they're not taught to read by reading books. They're taught all the different sounds which makes up words, so that when they come across a word they're not familiar with they can identify what sound that letter combination is likely to make. The children actually reading books is almost secondary to that.
You're not helping your dd at all by trying to teach her. Why's it so important to you that she gets a head start over the other children? Mine started reception not able to read at all. They've finished reception reading very fluently for their age and able to comprehend what they're reading. I'm there to support their learning, I'm not there to teach them. I'm also not sure what the rush is to get her into the lion the witch and the wardrobe - she's unlikely to follow it, it was written for much older children. Get her some Julia Donaldson books and let her enjoy the phrasing and the simple stories that were written for children her age.
BeanieTeen · 05/08/2022 11:24
The thing is, they're not taught to read by reading books. They're taught all the different sounds which makes up words, so that when they come across a word they're not familiar with they can identify what sound that letter combination is likely to make. The children actually reading books is almost secondary to that.
Indeed - although not ‘secondary’ as such. It’s just separate. Learning phonics is important and learning to love books is important - but these two things do not crossover at the start of reception. Not unless it’s child led. A child might learn a sound or a high frequency word, then later be perusing a picture book in the book corner and recognise the sound in the book for example.
Phonics lessons and learning to read words and sentences is completely separate to enjoying story time with your teachers and friends or sitting in a book corner during free play to look through picture books.
’Reading books’ as in the ones where children will come across the phonics sounds they have learned to read out loud themselves don’t tend to be given out until after Christmas. Schools who teach a high quality phonics program, following something like sounds write for example, will continue to send home picture books to be enjoyed for pleasure for the first term.
Most schools will publish information on how they teach reading - I would highly recommend the OP takes a look at her DD’s school’s approach. If they do use sounds write, which many schools have moved to lately, they have online parent tutorials to better understand how to support their children. Other schemes may do similar things to support parents on their websites. It might not be a great school as she says, but the way the OP is doing currently is definitely not what any school with high quality teaching of reading and phonics would be doing.
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alexdgr8 · 06/08/2022 23:52
maybe what you see as annoying distractions is her way of trying to get you to just be an affectionate mum to her, not a teacher all the time.
can't you just cuddle, giggle, tickle, be silly.
she goes to school, that is her work day, why should she have to be on duty as it were all the time.
doesn't she get any down time.
what about emotional development, feeling loved and accepted whether she makes progress or not.
if you don't let up she will remember you as always pushing her to do, be, achieve something. she needs to relax. and so do you.
good luck.
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