Toddler recited an entire book without looking

[PurplePansy05]

My DS (2y9m) recited an entire book to me this evening. I was pretty gobsmacked as the book is 20+ pages long and it doesn't rhyme much. It includes words I never knew my DS could say as well. He did it without looking at the text or the images in the book - I opened it to read to him and he was just laying in bed reciting the entire book alongside me reading it to him, he knew it before I read it out.

His vocabulary is very good and he's able to communicate in simple and complex sentences now. He also uses modal verbs correctly. He is brought up bilingual.

I was a very early reader and I wonder if he is gradually getting there - he is very interested in learning about letters.

Are there any resources and activities suitable for his age that you could recommend to further encourage him to develop his reading skills, please?

He's obviously memorised the story which isn't the same as reading and is not unusual with young children who are read to a lot really. It's just the best thing to read to your DCs from an early age though OP so keep doing it! Just buy any books on things your DC is interested in. Julia Donaldson has some phonic story books which are great for early reading so that would be a good place to start for your DC to start reading. Also check out these books. https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-lists-for-ks1-school-pupils/100-best-picture-books-to-read-before-you-are-5-years-old/

Apparently, at two and a half, I had memorised the Three Little Pigs book and used to throw a tantrum if my parents skipped a page.

A lot of learning is repetition at that age.

He's reciting from memory. That's a useful skill that will serve well in school.

Mine could do that with the grufflo at that age.

Alphablocks tv programme might be good?

This is so lovely . He sounds very bright and I would start pointing at the words and teaching phonics gently if he finds it interesting . Our DS is 2 and can barely speak but he enjoys learning letters and finds it fun!
I would also keep up reading the books he loves as you're clearly doing a brilliant job . So sweet and so exciting when you see a jump in development and new words like this

Reading is memory. Otherwise how do you know what a word says..

My dd started reading at two when her four year old sibling brought home flash cards from school. She wanted to join in so obviously I let her, made my own flash cards and also bought some sets. It was all led by her. She was in the media for being so smart and is doing well at uni.

Encourage, buy books, let him lead.

I obviously know he's memorised it, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to recite it.

I've read up about this a bit more and quite a few different websites suggested it's an indicator of good auditory memory and strong reading skills going forward.

DS would know stories, rhyme and be able to tell me what his books are about with turning pages and looking at illustrations from 2yo, but his recent skills are definitely more advanced.

We read a lot anyway. I'm just looking for ideas for different activities to continue to develop his literacy.

Don't worry about developing the reading skill specifically, memorising isnt reading, however it is a useful skill. When DD was doing this we spent time learning poems from a children's poetry book. She still has a fantastic memory now which has lots of advantages at school as they move into exam years as she is excellent at retaining information.

She is autistic (I'm not saying the memorising is linked) and has a particular talent for verbal comprehension, she was an early reader, always top of the class, however she hates reading novels and still prefers poetry and play scrips. She loves language as a tool and has loved Shakespeare since about year 1.

My DC both used to do the same. I learned to always vary the text to avoid problems if I missed a bit out!
No indication of early reading just memory. One read fluently at 4 and the other not until 6 yet both knew every word of books read to them.

Lots of rhyming and phonetic books. My 2 year old loves brown bear brown bear what do you see, she knows that one word for word.

My son memorised gruffalo snail and the whale and tiddler at around 3.

It shows he's got a good memory, he listens and concentrates all good!

My daughter knew an entire Beatrix potter book at that age... and is now a good reader but not gifted. She still adores reading and books though

Yeah your monster to read is a good app

My DD did that with Peppa Pig, Thomas the Tank Engine, and other books at that age. She shocked her 9 year-old cousin, who was supposed to be reading to her. So cute 😍 Enjoy this stage x

Thank you so much, I really like these suggestions!!

I think Alphablocks would sit really well with him. We don't watch TV much but when we come across it sometimes, he likes is (as well as Numberblocks). I think he likes the concept of these shows @Octavia64.

The flash cards are a great shout @BirthdayRainbow. I got him some recently with numbers, I should have thought to do the same with words 😅 That's incredible re your DD, massive well done. I was reading fluently at 3 and my mum didn't realise, she was in shock apparently when I randomly did it in front of her. I vividly remember when I decided to pretend in school - all the other children were learning to read and I was faking that I couldn't read because I didn't want to be the odd one out. The teachers had a real battle 😅

@Schoolrefusa @strangewomenlyinginponds thank you, that's very kind of you to say! He's a bright boy generally. Also very strong willed and 100% a nearly 3yo toddler behaviourally, I'm sure we've all been there 😅 Good days and difficult days. He loves reading I'm trying to do all I can to lay strong foundations for the future for him.

Mine could do that at age 2. He's autistic and hyperlexic. He also has a learning disability.

This.

Please don't start with flashcards, can't think of a better way to turn a DC off reading completely!

Just read and enjoy books as you are doing.

Our daughter does this too. She recites books to her teddies in her cot every morning 🥹 she is 2y 8mo. As others have said, memorising is very different to reading. We just read a lot, practise lower case letter recognition in fun ways (bath tiles etc) and play games with flash cards (hiding and finding, sorting into categories etc) to help single word/sound recognition. We also do lots of 'writing' (her choice) and practise drawing different shapes, directional lines and are starting join the dots to aid grip control. She loves pretending to write down the shopping list and similar activities. I don't think there is a need to do much more at this stage but interesting in others thoughts.

It's quite good fun to make your own books with photos and very very simple repetitive text (think Ladybird Peter and Jane) - it's not phonics but it gives them some basic sight words that crop up frequently. We used family pictures and text like "Here is (picture of child)" "Here is mummy" "Here is daddy" "The cat is here". "This is our house". "This is our garden". And so on. It's not interesting linguistically obvious, but they do like looking at pictures. Easier to create on a computer nowadays than it used to be when it involved sticking photographs into a scrap book and writing very carefully.

My little grandson loves signs such as warning signs and traffic signs and always wants to stop and look at them. I made him a book with pictures of signs and he loved it. Homing in on something they really like works well.

Both of mine did this. One was a fluent ready by 5, the other one still isn't at 6 so it's not necessarily a sign of anything.
If you genuinely want to help instil a lifelong love of reading and curiosity rather than a race to start being able to read, then I would back away from the flash cards and just stick with reading lots together and keep it fun and playful.

Awww mine used to do this. Lovely memories of getting her to "read" to me so I could lay with my eyes closed.
She was an early reader - as in reading words by sight recognition rather than phonics. We watched TV and DVDs with the subtitles on which I think made her pick up (recognise) a lot of words.
So that's something you could do.

We have a little game at home which includes matching word cards, images and wooden letters to spell the words and he knows all vowels plus maybe 8(ish?) consonants. I am pretty sure he recognises several different words when he sees them written down. Some great suggestions above, thank you all 😊

My DD's good memory definitely helped her at school,

I specifically remember her memorising large chunks of Latin the night before the gcse and getting a 9.

I used to do this aged about 18 months. I’ve grown up to be a) autistic and b) a professional writer - make of that what you will 😁

It's great that you are observing your child and working out what to do next!
I would say just watch out for a good balance between encouraging things your child is already good at and giving space to do new things
Having said that, the library is a great thing if they can cope with the environment. Also public transport, going places even to the park or a walk.
You can either write down what you see or take photos and discuss the trip later while revising them together. Also things like shopping, when they are a bit older you can write a recipe (simplified) and then go shopping together, pay for it, and then make whatever it is (eg egg tarts with ready roll pastry, nothing complex)
Then you can read the nutrition or whatever, basically the idea is to do things you both enjoy and which involve reading and memorising.
Even growing cress or carrot tops you can print out the instructions and follow them.
Take care!