Is 3.5 to young to start teaching them jolly phonics

[LizzieBusy]

Well that really, should I wait until the school system does this or should i do it myself

Lots of pre schools and nuseries do Jolly phonics. DD has had jolly phonics at the age of 2.5 at day nursey. She just likes singing the songs. I doult it has harmed her in any way but she is still functionally illerate. She has no interest in learnng to read but loves singing. She knows some letter sounds, but has no concept of what letter sounds are for or how the sounds become words. Its a bit like name an object. DD would probably be considered backwards on the competitive threads of mumsnet.

Does your child want to learn to read. If they are interested then they will learn really quicky. The jolly phonics handbook explains what to do.

Whether you should wait depends a lot on your child and their enthusiam. A good reception teacher can cope with a child who can read. However forcing a child to do their daily dose of phonics at three might put them off for life.

I think it depends on the child, some will want to learn, others wont be ready and show no interest. Both my dd's were reading at the age of 3.5, dd2 taught herself to read and has never really used phonics, dd1 was just really interested in learning so nursery started phonics with her.

if your child is enjoying looking at words, showing interest in words around them, and wanting to 'read' for themselves then they are ready and keen to learn. however if they have no interest i'd say do not force them as it may cause them to lose interest by the time they are about 9, i would say being interested in learning at 9 is far more critical than 3.5

If your child interested then go ahead. My son was 3 when he asked me to learn to read. We couldn't work with Jolly Phonics and started using Progressive Phonics instead and have just started using Reading Eggs too. He's 4 now and is doing very well.
If your child simply enjoys being read to then just continue with that. They'll probably pick up a fair amount of reading knowledge along the way anyway.

I would much rather teach a child something when they're showing interest than tell them they need to wait because an outside curriculum wont introduce it for another year or so.

a a ants on my arm, a a ants on my arm, a a ants on my arm are causing me alarm.

Love Jolly Phonics.

My DS (just turned 5), is learning it now in P1 (Scotland). TBH I didn't know much about the teaching of phonics prior to him starting school and it really didn't occur to me to look into it.

He didn't show any interest in learning to write or read and prefered to make lots of mess, noise and crash around until it was time for bed.

I was astonished to find out that some of his classmates already had a grounding in phonics and could write independently. I'm not sure if this was on the instigation of parents or the DCs themselves. He loves learning now though and can't get enough of JP.

I reckon if your DC is interested then go for it. If not then just carry on playing.

Reallytired's nursery's approach is good.

Before trying to teach those funny squiggles (letters) that represent sounds, a child needs to grasp the idea that words and speech are made up of sounds (phonemes). So spoken games such as picking out the fruit that starts with a "b" or listing things that start with a "p", and finding lots of rhymes (so you're not just paying attantion to initial sounds) like stressing the "at" in 'the cat sat on the mat' and reading lots of Dr Seuss books will really help.

I started with my dd at 2.5, more because she has an older sibling who was learning in school. She just loves the songs, and following along in the book. She is 3.5 now and does know all her letters and is writing (can't blend, but then she has time). My ds could read before starting school and the only problem with it is that, at his school, that puts him in the top group and they do get grossly over looked in preference to average or failing students. Could end up meaning more work for you when at school in having to pick up the slack from the school.

DS1 learnt lots of his phonics with JP before he was 3. By age 3 he could hear that "C.....A.....T" spelt cat and was able to work out how to blend phonics he read to learn to read.
DS2 had no interest in learning his phonics with JP until the last half term he was in nursery (he started reception this year, so would have been about 4.5) he couldnt' hear how to blend his phonics, work out letters for I spy etc until past his 4th birthday so even if he had known his phonics beforehand it wouldn't have helped him learn to read.

My mum taught me to read aged 3, and by the age of of 3.5 I was using homemade flash cards and making up sentences with them then writing them down (badly) in a little book, so yes it can be done, but only if he shows interest and is keen. As others have said, it really depends on your child; if he doesn't seem ready yet, just wait and try again later.