Helping 5 yo DS with reading...

[jobnockey]

My DS is in reception and is loving school and has settled in amazingly well. I’m just looking for some tips really as to how I can help him with his reading as he doesn’t seem to have got very far with it since starting school. They use jolly phonics and he definitely understands all the different individual letter sounds at least – but he seems to have trouble blending them when reading. The problem is that He’s reluctant to try at home with me, and I don’t want it to become a battle as I want him to enjoy reading so I haven’t pushed him too hard. His teacher said to just keep reading every day – which I do to him, but would like to get to the point where he is reading back to me too… but he never wants to – or he gives up straight away and gets upset. Thing is sometimes I know he knows the words but it’s like he’s worried about getting it wrong so doesn’t even want to try... I give him loads of praise when he gets a word right so I hope it’s not me putting him off! He’s always loved books and being read to and I want that enjoyment of books to stay with him…
Can anyone recommend any good books, or techniques, or should I just carry on as we are and expect it all just to click into place at some point over the next few months? . I am not ‘worried’ about his reading level as I understand that children vary wildly in their abilities particularly at this age, but I just want to know I am doing all I should be doing at home with him really.

Thanks!

I had a Jolly Phonics CDRom that dd quite enjoyed when she was 4-6.
This one

My son was fine with learning his letters etc, but had no interest to read to us or to read a book. It wasn't until he was in year 1 that he started to read , but we never pushed him. we just kept offering to let him read and then we kept reading every night. He is now in year 2 and is an avid reader. More so than many of his classmates. We just kept finding really engaging books to read to him and we are also avid readers.
His favourite for us to read was the Far Away Tree by Enid Blyton.

As for blending of words, many children in year 1 can't do this. It is a skill that is learned and also timing for your son's development. Just keep encouraging him, but don't push.

As much as we all know that a child will learn to do something, it really hard as parents to know when they should be able to do something and not push until they are ready. I had to really bite the bullet and not push him and make him do letters and to read. He is now coming into his own, it just may take longer than you think.

Seriously? You know many children in Year 1 who can't blend words into simple sounds?

Sorry I meant sounds into simple words, of course..

I thought I replied earlier but obviously didn't. you could make a word bingo game? make it fun for him to sound out the words and match them to the board.

Thanks for replies all.

Jwpetal, that's just what I wanted to hear actually as my instinct tells me he'll pick it up in his own time but you're right, it's hard to know when we should be pushing a bit or not. And it's funny you mention that book as I was thinking of getting him it for his birthday in a couple of weeks, I loved those stories as a child!

Awesome- that CDROM looks like something he'd enjoy too.

A bingo game is also a great idea, if he helps make it too he'd be quite into that I think...

Thanks everyone

We've used the reading eggs computer game with my daughter but she was desperate to learn. If the other one isn't when they get to yrr I wouldn't push it until year 1 . They're so young. ... In other countries they wouldn't even be at school.

I think at the age of five ten minutes a day practicing reading makes a huge difference. If your son can't blend then practising with simple word boxes so tha the can blend simple cvc words (eg. cat, dog, hen, pin etc) make be more effective than reading books. I feel that some schools send home books too soon. If the child cannot blend a simple three letter word then they are often better working on their phonics knowledge.

Jolly phonics do some really good resources to teach reading. The jolly phonics activity books www.amazon.co.uk/Jolly-Phonics-Activity-Book-1/dp/1844141535/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1389086572&sr=8-3&keywords=jolly+phonics are really effective.

Ds didn't learn to blend until he was 6 and a half (towards the end of P2/equiv Y1), despite 6 weeks of 1:1 support from the depute at the beginning of P2. He just wasn't developmentally ready. Until then, he'd just been learning the books off by heart.

He is now in S2 (=Y8) and in the top set for English (one of apparently a "fantastic" cohort)

Ds is 5 and learnt to blend from watching Alphablocks on repeat and playing the games - he can now read pretty well if the words fit rules he knows so far, and he feels like it.

Are you reading simple books to him too...On subjects that interest him....My Ds loved biff and chip but know quite a lot of other children who didn't...

I have a friend who does reading in the morning when LO isn't tired as it works far better for them though we wouldn't have time...

We played pairs games with words he was sent home to learn as he didn't like doing those

ime of listening to kids read each week, many can't blend well at this point in yr1. Some are still struggling with it into y2.

I could have written your post OP!!

I'm in the exact same situation. DS would happily have me sitting with him and being read to for hours at a time, but he doesn't really want to read any book himself. He gets frustrated and angry if i suggest it to him and I feel like we should be doing a few mins of reading practise everyday.
He does better if I suggest him sounding out words on road signs or shops, or even the books I am reading to him (we read Julia Donaldson, Dr. Suess, Octonauts, etc , actually whatever he is interested in, and he loves books and listening to the stories) he will try and sound talk the odd work here and there.
But the reading stage books, not so much, as he thinks of it as "work" I suppose.
He also likes the reading eggs games and will happily do that. He started doing that at home at the start of reception and I think it has really helped him. He likes computor games etc so it was like a game to him, and it really helped with his blending too.
He is actually very good at blending, can sound talk "in his head" and read words at a stage 2 level and is in the top phonics group at school already well in to learning phase 3 phonics. But he really doesn't want to read himself and not interested in learning to read apart from at school and with the reading egg games. But that's fine for me though, so I'm trying not to push him. It is hard though, when you know they can do it, but refuses to even try!
Me and DH were both early readers, way before 5, and avid readers still, and when I was young, even DS's age, reading was my THING and it was for years, and I got so much pleasure from reading and the world it opens up to you that I really really want this for my DS, so I think I'm being impatient because of this.

My DD on the other hand who is not even 3.5 (will be youngest in her class), from having sat with DS whilst he is doing his reading eggs games, has picked up most of the phonic sounds and now can read " cat sat on a mat" type stuff, and more willingly than DS! She will start school this year being able to read and DS hardly knew any phonics at all when he started!