resources for starting reading with a toddler?

[paddingtonbore]

DD is nearly 2, and is a book fiend. She has always been obsessed with being read to. She is now getting interested in letters and words, and when looking at books will often ask "how do you count that?" and "what number is that?" meaning how do you spell that/what letter is that?

I'm quite keen on exploring this interest, but don't really know where to start, and don't want to confuse her by taking an approach that doesn't sit well with how she will be learning at nursery. so I wondered if there are any good resources out there to help younger toddlers to read?

I am not trying to be a pushy parent but she is mithering me about this.

Will be watcing this as DD also interesetd but older.

I like Read Write Inc for doing the letter sounds and shapes - I think it is very clear and not tacky (sorry to those who like it, but Jolly Phonics does my head in).

If you stick with the synthetic phonics schemes though, that should fit with what would come later. The ORT Songbirds books are remarkably readable

tbh I wouldn't bother with letter work yet but you could print off and laminate numbers zero to ten (note not 'nothing' or 'nought') and play snap/matchy matchy games with them.

I once saw a kind of toy that was a balance - using numbers instead of weights to reach equilibrium.

So if you hung a 2 and a 4 on one arm it would balance if you hung a 6 on the other arm. I like that a lot.

"synthetic phonics" ? or shall I google?

BALD I like the idea of starting with numbers, but DD doesn't really do counting. one, two....lots is about her limit. words are her thang.

we made flashcards for DS & they look great! The letters are various colours then next to each letter is a black & white picture we printed out representing the letter. Some obvious ones, like a for apple but some more slightly obscure ones - "z" has a picture of giraffes in an enclosure, not a zebra, which stands for zoo.

I should say my DS is 2.6 so a little older and he will try to read words that have letters in them that he recognises. But he loves the flashcards!

Also he just started preschool and they said please, if you are teaching at home, teach lower case letters, not upper case, as this is how we teach here at school. DS had already learned a few words in upper case so we have had to redo some stuff. We mainly show him both now but the flashcards are in lower case.

Just keep sharing books with her. Point to the words as you read. Show her which way round the book goes and how we turn pages int he right order, from front to back. Look at the pictures and try and work out what the story may be about. ADuring or fater reading talk about what the stpry was about, what she liked and din't like, etc.

The above are all very important pre reading skills and need to come befoe actual reading skills.

Then look at letters. Look at a phonics based system and introduce letter sounds. Find the letters in books or on paper - can you find an a, etc. Point to a letter and reeat the sound it makes (NOT the letter name). Point them out on day to day activities such as when shopping, when in the car. Play I spy games using the letter sounds.

Then look at blending those sounds with VC words- a/t say them faster together to make at, etc.

Then move onto CVC words such at cat, dot, etc. Find the words in her books.

IMO you do not need any special resources bar normal books, pen and paper.

When our ds was that age I'd write his name whenever the opportunity arose. (At nursery (age 3) they asked them to choose their name off the table and stick it on the radiator first thing, so he was able to do this straight away.)
We also got him some foam letters and numbers for the bath for him to play with and later experiment with forming words. We also got him an alphabet jigsaw and a magnetic alphabet so he could become familiar with the letters.
A little later we started getting the Letterland magazine which he loved and the stories really helped with getting them to stick in his head.
Otherwise we really encouraged him to pick up pens etc and he had a Colour Doodle which he adored (no supervision required).
We also bought him various workbooks to help his writing skills.
Nursery worked on his being able to form the letters (they did a different one each week) and by the time he started Reception he was really familiar with the basic phonics. (The summer before he started Reception we'd bought some basic flashcards and also continuously asked him what letter the bus we'd just seen started with or the car that had just driven past and spelling it out (only three letter words generally) to give him the idea of how the phonics worked.
He's taken to reading and writing like a duck to water.
Not interested in numbers at all though! Have left that to the Reception teacher.

also my DS is like many children fascinated by poetry. He has many poetry books, a lot aimed at older children such as books by Shel Silverstein and he has lots of them memorised. He finds the word play fun and I think has added to his vocab no end! Really just enjoy it voraciously as a love of reading is really fantastic and I am grateful my son has it as well.

this is great, thank-you all for the interesting ideas.

VC words?
CVC words?
Baffled, but interested...

lol, I am off to google those bits as well.

V vowel
C constanant

So VC - on, it, is, at,....

CVC - cat, dog, bus, ....

Thank you!

there is a book called

101 ways to get your child to read by Patience Thomson currently being promoted by the World book Day people
it is £1.99

try here www.earlyreadingconnects.org.uk

I would get the Jolly phonics DVD and the finger phonic books (also made by jolly phonics). You can get them at a good price from amazon.

Its great that your lo is interested in books, but that doesn't make her necessarily ready to read. I think the best thing is to follow her lead, but back off if she doesn't want to know.

more here
www.worldbookday.com

www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/3912