Phonics /Kindergarten readiness resources

[Anonymous]

Hi all, Looking for any online/in person- Phonics /kindergarten readiness classes for my DD - currently in Pre K and would be in Kindergarten . Please share any kind of online resources which you have tried and worked for your kids as well . I have tried few online resources the problem I'm facing currently is that I'm unable to streamline through it . Any kind of resources will be very helpful. TIA.

[Anonymous]

I think workbooks are much better for kids that age. I wouldn’t do more than 10-15 min in a sitting. I like the summer bridge books pre k-k. You could also do Huntington if they work better with a tutor than you.

[Anonymous]

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

Worked well for our pre-schoolers.

[Anonymous]

Where is your kid at now with regards to phonics/pre-literacy?

For learning letters (upper and lower) I recommend Jack Hartman videos and tactile flashcards (the letters are raised with a sandpaper texture that kids enjoy manipulating/playing with).

Once she has the letters and their sounds down, BOB books are a good way to develop some early reading skills at the K level.

I found Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons too dry-- my kid was bored and didn't want to do it so we didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

Worked well for our pre-schoolers.

This is a terrible book. I was so bored. I like Hooked On Phonics, there is a fun app too.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand why you have to do this… they teach children how to read in K. My child did not know how to read before K and is a voracious reader now in 1st, several grade levels ahead. Let the kids play as long as they can.

[Anonymous]

What is your DD currently doing during the day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you have to do this… they teach children how to read in K. My child did not know how to read before K and is a voracious reader now in 1st, several grade levels ahead. Let the kids play as long as they can.

Your school is the exception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you have to do this… they teach children how to read in K. My child did not know how to read before K and is a voracious reader now in 1st, several grade levels ahead. Let the kids play as long as they can.

+1 same here. Child went into K knowing the letters and the sounds they make. This can and should be done without workbooks and flash cards. PBS kids ap has some fun free games for this, but you can also target one letter to learn a week a homewith fun activities. My child's Kindergarten teacher then took it from there and taught how to write the letters and read in an engaging way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you have to do this… they teach children how to read in K. My child did not know how to read before K and is a voracious reader now in 1st, several grade levels ahead. Let the kids play as long as they can.

Your school is the exception.

Not really, pretty standard nowadays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you have to do this… they teach children how to read in K. My child did not know how to read before K and is a voracious reader now in 1st, several grade levels ahead. Let the kids play as long as they can.

+1 - don’t listen to the DCUM posters who write that their kid entered K reading chapter books. Did not happen. If you want to work with your kid, focus on letters and their sounds. And read to them- a lot! Totally appropriate going into K not yet knowing phonics.

[Anonymous]

Online is the worst way to teach reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you have to do this… they teach children how to read in K. My child did not know how to read before K and is a voracious reader now in 1st, several grade levels ahead. Let the kids play as long as they can.

+1 same here. Child went into K knowing the letters and the sounds they make. This can and should be done without workbooks and flash cards. PBS kids ap has some fun free games for this, but you can also target one letter to learn a week a homewith fun activities. My child's Kindergarten teacher then took it from there and taught how to write the letters and read in an engaging way.

I did not even do that. Her play-based half-day preschool taught her letters and sounds. All I did was read to her regularly and take her to storytime at the library. If she had not learned to read in K then I would have leaned in more, but I do not see the point of borrowing trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you have to do this… they teach children how to read in K. My child did not know how to read before K and is a voracious reader now in 1st, several grade levels ahead. Let the kids play as long as they can.

+1 - don’t listen to the DCUM posters who write that their kid entered K reading chapter books. Did not happen. If you want to work with your kid, focus on letters and their sounds. And read to them- a lot! Totally appropriate going into K not yet knowing phonics.

It’s not common, but it does happen.

[Anonymous]

20:50 here and I just wanted to note that this is why I asked where OP's kid is at in terms of pre literacy. I do think most decent preschools will teach your kid the letters and sounds and get them ready for K, and as long as your elementary follows a phonics-based reading curriculum and isn't still stuck on Lucy Caulkins, most kids don't really need much more at home than just reading to them.

But if your kid is slated to start K in the fall and is still struggling with letter recognition or still only has a few letter sounds (or none), doing some work with them at home is worth the effort. I mentioned the Jack Hartman videos and I wanted to emphasize that what is great about them is that they teach the letter sounds the correct way (so 'r' says 'rrrr' not 'ahrrrrr' and 's' says 'sssss' not 'essss') and kids really like them. You can show your kid the video or, if you don't like screen time, just use the video to learn the songs. We used to sing them in the bathtub.

I would also say that the other great thing you can do is make sure your kid has plenty of books around appropriate for their current reading level. I mentioned BOB books above, which are great for kids just learning to sound words out. As they move along, make sure you have lots of early readers or picture books with simple words and phrases, and especially look for books with rhyming words and phrases as that helps them learn patterns in words and sounds.

Anyway, it just depends on where your kid is. Many kids don't need any more than what they are getting in preschool, but some might need more support. You do NOT need to teach your kid to read at home, but there are things you can do to set them up to get the most out of reading instruction in K and 1st.