If you taught your child to read - how did you do it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to chime in that it's highly unusual for kids to be reading in preschool. If you are teaching your child some early literacy skills because they are asking/showing interest - great! But overall, children are not usually developmentally ready to be really "reading" in preschool. Reading is a complex brain activity that requires many fundamentals (not all alphabet/phonics based) to be acquired first. There is no evidence that early teaching of reading equals greater success later in school/life and a lot of evidence that teaching reading too soon can actually be detrimental later on.

So OP, if your child is interested and you just want to support/encourage that interest with some relaxed supplemental activities great. But otherwise, there is no need to be teaching children to read in preschool. (Or in K for that matter)

+1 And OP, don't gloss over the pre-reading skills. Also if your child turns out to be dyslexic, you won't be capable of teaching them to read but there are experts who can.

My #1 turned out to be dyslexic. He could hardly read a word in 1st grade. My #2 was reading stories to her 3 year old pre school class with no one ever teaching her anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to teach my child to read. There seem to be so many methods out there that I was hoping for advice on the best method for a preschooler.

Thank you!

How old is your child? What’s the rush?

I’m not the OP but my kid kept asking to learn. He is also a preschooler.

Just to chime in that it's highly unusual for kids to be reading in preschool. If you are teaching your child some early literacy skills because they are asking/showing interest - great! But overall, children are not usually developmentally ready to be really "reading" in preschool. Reading is a complex brain activity that requires many fundamentals (not all alphabet/phonics based) to be acquired first. There is no evidence that early teaching of reading equals greater success later in school/life and a lot of evidence that teaching reading too soon can actually be detrimental later on.

So OP, if your child is interested and you just want to support/encourage that interest with some relaxed supplemental activities great. But otherwise, there is no need to be teaching children to read in preschool. (Or in K for that matter)

Can you link to research showing that reading too early is detrimental? I am curious to read it. Thanks!

NP here. This is an overview. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/22/earlyyearseducation.schools

Anything more recent? I find so many flaws in this report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to teach my child to read. There seem to be so many methods out there that I was hoping for advice on the best method for a preschooler.

Thank you!

How old is your child? What’s the rush?

I’m not the OP but my kid kept asking to learn. He is also a preschooler.

Just to chime in that it's highly unusual for kids to be reading in preschool. If you are teaching your child some early literacy skills because they are asking/showing interest - great! But overall, children are not usually developmentally ready to be really "reading" in preschool. Reading is a complex brain activity that requires many fundamentals (not all alphabet/phonics based) to be acquired first. There is no evidence that early teaching of reading equals greater success later in school/life and a lot of evidence that teaching reading too soon can actually be detrimental later on.

So OP, if your child is interested and you just want to support/encourage that interest with some relaxed supplemental activities great. But otherwise, there is no need to be teaching children to read in preschool. (Or in K for that matter)

I have a first grader and have been watching several of her friends' parents panic now that they are getting reports that their kid is behind in reading. They're paying for expensive tutors and canceling summer camps so their kid can go to summer school. Absolutely meet your kid where they are, but I also wouldn't wait to introduce reading if your kid is ready.

I'm sure many will say that panic about a first grader's reading is unnecessary and their kid will eventuallu catch up, but I'm still glad I bought Bob books and started working with my daughter before it felt like an emergency. (For the record, we did 10 minutes per day of reading practice starting at 4.5 yo. The rest of her life was play. I can assure you that it didn't stunt her development.)

Hmm...

Well, if your kid is behind in first grade reading, I would guess you would have had some trouble teaching them to read in preschool in the first place. And getting some extra support in first grade from professionals whose job it is to teach children to read is probably the way to go. So sounds like it all worked out.

This is what school is for. This is why teachers have degrees. The idea that parents need to teach their kids to read before schooling starts just in case they might be behind is really kind of crazy.

I have 2 kids. They both went to preschool. One really didn't show any organic interest in reading and letters prior to K. Fine. He still learned when he got to school. The other did show more organic interest and was reading signs and things around her in preschool on her own. Great. She was generally ahead of the curve when she got to school.

With both, we read to them a lot at home and followed their lead.

[Anonymous]

I agree with what previous posters are saying. The kicker is how insulting this is to teaching professionals. Here are the options:

1. Your kid is pretty typical and will learn to read when someone takes the time to teach them. Great news for you. They will learn in K. There really isn't any reason or need for them to learn earlier. If they are begging you to learn to read (don't really buy this, but whatever...) give them plenty of BOB books, word puzzles, and yes definitely encourage whatever interest they show trying to read signs, menus, etc out in the real world.

2. Your kid is going to have issues learning to read based on some kind of learning disability or is on the late end developmentally to "get it" and needs some extra help. Great news for you. When they get to school, there will professional people who have gone to school for years to learn different strategies on how to help your child. Your child will be pulled out of class possibly for extra assistance from someone who has gone to even more school than the teacher, specifically about teaching kids how to read. This is not some sort of failure on your part. Take deep breaths and proceed.

And yes, you might be an option 3 with a severely dyslexic kid who requires a lot more support than a typical school is going to be able to provide. I still don't think trying to teach an Option 3 kid to read in preschool is going to end up as a benefit. Because while some red flags might show up in preschool, trained professionals are going to be very reluctant to diagnose dyslexia in a preschooler.

[Anonymous]

Montessori preschool taught my kids to read. The Montessori curriculum is standard and you can read about it online. I don't think it makes sense to buy the expensive materials for home use, but you could use some of the concepts without the same materials.

For building reading skills, the school uses Bob Books, ReadBright phonics readers, and at least one other set of beginner phonics readers.

[Anonymous]

I want to teach my child to read - same as my mother taught me well before kindergarten. All this hair-on-fire-nonsense about teaching reading is ridiculous. Millions of kids read well before kindergarten and go on to have successful academic careers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to teach my child to read. There seem to be so many methods out there that I was hoping for advice on the best method for a preschooler.

Thank you!

How old is your child? What’s the rush?

I’m not the OP but my kid kept asking to learn. He is also a preschooler.

Just to chime in that it's highly unusual for kids to be reading in preschool. If you are teaching your child some early literacy skills because they are asking/showing interest - great! But overall, children are not usually developmentally ready to be really "reading" in preschool. Reading is a complex brain activity that requires many fundamentals (not all alphabet/phonics based) to be acquired first. There is no evidence that early teaching of reading equals greater success later in school/life and a lot of evidence that teaching reading too soon can actually be detrimental later on.

So OP, if your child is interested and you just want to support/encourage that interest with some relaxed supplemental activities great. But otherwise, there is no need to be teaching children to read in preschool. (Or in K for that matter)

Can you link to research showing that reading too early is detrimental? I am curious to read it. Thanks!

NP here. This is an overview. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/22/earlyyearseducation.schools

Anything more recent? I find so many flaws in this report.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to teach my child to read - same as my mother taught me well before kindergarten. All this hair-on-fire-nonsense about teaching reading is ridiculous. Millions of kids read well before kindergarten and go on to have successful academic careers.

Agree. I see what PPs are saying about not pushing kids too soon on academics, but alot of the elements of reading can be accomplished through games, songs, and learning through play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to teach my child to read. There seem to be so many methods out there that I was hoping for advice on the best method for a preschooler.

Thank you!

How old is your child? What’s the rush?

I’m not the OP but my kid kept asking to learn. He is also a preschooler.

Just to chime in that it's highly unusual for kids to be reading in preschool. If you are teaching your child some early literacy skills because they are asking/showing interest - great! But overall, children are not usually developmentally ready to be really "reading" in preschool. Reading is a complex brain activity that requires many fundamentals (not all alphabet/phonics based) to be acquired first. There is no evidence that early teaching of reading equals greater success later in school/life and a lot of evidence that teaching reading too soon can actually be detrimental later on.

So OP, if your child is interested and you just want to support/encourage that interest with some relaxed supplemental activities great. But otherwise, there is no need to be teaching children to read in preschool. (Or in K for that matter)

Can you link to research showing that reading too early is detrimental? I am curious to read it. Thanks!

NP here. This is an overview. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/22/earlyyearseducation.schools

Anything more recent? I find so many flaws in this report.

+1

You guys are too much. You ask for article, it’s link is sent to ya, but now it’s too old of an article? How bout just an article agreeing with you, is that what you want to see? I’ve seen stuff in the past about reading to early can be detrimental also, but no I don’t remember where I saw it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with what previous posters are saying. The kicker is how insulting this is to teaching professionals. Here are the options:

1. Your kid is pretty typical and will learn to read when someone takes the time to teach them. Great news for you. They will learn in K. There really isn't any reason or need for them to learn earlier. If they are begging you to learn to read (don't really buy this, but whatever...) give them plenty of BOB books, word puzzles, and yes definitely encourage whatever interest they show trying to read signs, menus, etc out in the real world.

2. Your kid is going to have issues learning to read based on some kind of learning disability or is on the late end developmentally to "get it" and needs some extra help. Great news for you. When they get to school, there will professional people who have gone to school for years to learn different strategies on how to help your child. Your child will be pulled out of class possibly for extra assistance from someone who has gone to even more school than the teacher, specifically about teaching kids how to read. This is not some sort of failure on your part. Take deep breaths and proceed.

And yes, you might be an option 3 with a severely dyslexic kid who requires a lot more support than a typical school is going to be able to provide. I still don't think trying to teach an Option 3 kid to read in preschool is going to end up as a benefit. Because while some red flags might show up in preschool, trained professionals are going to be very reluctant to diagnose dyslexia in a preschooler.

Buahahahaha. One of the "trained professionals" that taught one of my kids in kindergarten couldn't get her act together enough to even hold reading group in class, much less actually teach my child. We've definitely had great experiences with other teachers, but it's not always that easy.

My current preschooler actually does beg me to read with her since that's what she sees her siblings doing. Admittedly she reads "Mat sat" and quits, but I'm not going to tell her "no" when she hands me a BOB book. Neither am I going to make her go on to the next page when she quits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to teach my child to read. There seem to be so many methods out there that I was hoping for advice on the best method for a preschooler.

Thank you!

How old is your child? What’s the rush?

I’m not the OP but my kid kept asking to learn. He is also a preschooler.

Just to chime in that it's highly unusual for kids to be reading in preschool. If you are teaching your child some early literacy skills because they are asking/showing interest - great! But overall, children are not usually developmentally ready to be really "reading" in preschool. Reading is a complex brain activity that requires many fundamentals (not all alphabet/phonics based) to be acquired first. There is no evidence that early teaching of reading equals greater success later in school/life and a lot of evidence that teaching reading too soon can actually be detrimental later on.

So OP, if your child is interested and you just want to support/encourage that interest with some relaxed supplemental activities great. But otherwise, there is no need to be teaching children to read in preschool. (Or in K for that matter)

Can you link to research showing that reading too early is detrimental? I am curious to read it. Thanks!

NP here. This is an overview. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/22/earlyyearseducation.schools

Anything more recent? I find so many flaws in this report.

+1

You guys are too much. You ask for article, it’s link is sent to ya, but now it’s too old of an article? How bout just an article agreeing with you, is that what you want to see? I’ve seen stuff in the past about reading to early can be detrimental also, but no I don’t remember where I saw it

It also wasn't relevant. It's about formalized training for children, not learning at home. I agree with that article that formal academics shouldn't be pushed to younger children and academics shouldn't replace playing. But this thread is about parents teaching their own kids when they're ready. I don't think spending 20 minutes a day on reading skills is going to be "detrimental later on".

I am genuinely curious to see the articles you referenced because I researched this before teaching my DS and found articles on not pushing formalized academics, but that learning through play was fine. Also I ran across a few articles on the deficits of how schools are teaching reading. Here's one if you're interested:

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/02/677722959/why-millions-of-kids-cant-read-and-what-better-teaching-can-do-about-it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to teach my child to read - same as my mother taught me well before kindergarten. All this hair-on-fire-nonsense about teaching reading is ridiculous. Millions of kids read well before kindergarten and go on to have successful academic careers.

Agree. I see what PPs are saying about not pushing kids too soon on academics, but alot of the elements of reading can be accomplished through games, songs, and learning through play.

+2. I taught both my kids to read before preK. We’re big on reading in our house and I wanted to be the one who opened this amazing door for them.

[Anonymous]

Bob books

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to teach my child to read. There seem to be so many methods out there that I was hoping for advice on the best method for a preschooler.

Thank you!

How old is your child? What’s the rush?

I’m not the OP but my kid kept asking to learn. He is also a preschooler.

Just to chime in that it's highly unusual for kids to be reading in preschool. If you are teaching your child some early literacy skills because they are asking/showing interest - great! But overall, children are not usually developmentally ready to be really "reading" in preschool. Reading is a complex brain activity that requires many fundamentals (not all alphabet/phonics based) to be acquired first. There is no evidence that early teaching of reading equals greater success later in school/life and a lot of evidence that teaching reading too soon can actually be detrimental later on.

So OP, if your child is interested and you just want to support/encourage that interest with some relaxed supplemental activities great. But otherwise, there is no need to be teaching children to read in preschool. (Or in K for that matter)

I have a first grader and have been watching several of her friends' parents panic now that they are getting reports that their kid is behind in reading. They're paying for expensive tutors and canceling summer camps so their kid can go to summer school. Absolutely meet your kid where they are, but I also wouldn't wait to introduce reading if your kid is ready.

I'm sure many will say that panic about a first grader's reading is unnecessary and their kid will eventuallu catch up, but I'm still glad I bought Bob books and started working with my daughter before it felt like an emergency. (For the record, we did 10 minutes per day of reading practice starting at 4.5 yo. The rest of her life was play. I can assure you that it didn't stunt her development.)

Hmm...

Well, if your kid is behind in first grade reading, I would guess you would have had some trouble teaching them to read in preschool in the first place. And getting some extra support in first grade from professionals whose job it is to teach children to read is probably the way to go. So sounds like it all worked out.

This is what school is for. This is why teachers have degrees. The idea that parents need to teach their kids to read before schooling starts just in case they might be behind is really kind of crazy.

I have 2 kids. They both went to preschool. One really didn't show any organic interest in reading and letters prior to K. Fine. He still learned when he got to school. The other did show more organic interest and was reading signs and things around her in preschool on her own. Great. She was generally ahead of the curve when she got to school.

With both, we read to them a lot at home and followed their lead.

Have you had kids in school recently? They're not doing a very good job of teaching them to read.

I'm one of those parents whose first grader is behind in reading (we're not in full-on panic mode, but we have made some adjustments to our days to help incorporate reading and writing into day to day activities at home). Based on our experience so far, I am 100% planning to teach my younger child to read before she starts Kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

There was an entire thread about this a few weeks ago but now I can't find it. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?