Teaching my 4 year old to read

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t stop and ignore the posters who are too lazy to work with their kids. Lots of kids read by age 4.

But other ones don't.

Look, I've worked with a four year old on 100EL and it didn't take. But it worked awesome with the same child at five. She just wasn't ready back then. Please note that this particular child was the fourth child I've taught to read, and the third by 100EL.

You can maybe plough through it. But time is a limited resource, and if it is a serious struggle, at that age, I think that time it is better spent on other things.

That may not be the best for that child. You have four kids so no you aren’t devoting the time I did. That’s why I had. Less kids.

There is some truth to this, but a large brood is a wealth flex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why should a four year old be reading? What’s the point?

Is this a real question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why should a four year old be reading? What’s the point?

To prepare them for K and make their live easier so they can read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t stop and ignore the posters who are too lazy to work with their kids. Lots of kids read by age 4.

Speaking as someone who taught my kids to read, that’s ridiculous.

Kids develop at different rates. It’s like saying all 4 year olds should be 3.5 feet. That’s apparently taller than average, so the percentage might be relatively small (and I don’t know the actual percentage), but across the population that surely adds up to a lot of 4 year olds. Meanwhile, the majority of 4 year olds will be shorter, but will almost certainly get there and surpass it eventually. Every child grows at their own pace and barring extreme outliers it’s commonly acknowledged to be normal and healthy.

Yes, a lot of 4 year olds learn to read. Some will even learn at a younger age. The vast majority, however, learn to read somewhere around the ages of 5-6. Part of that is undoubtedly exposure to effective instruction, but a significant part of it is also developmental readiness, which like most attributes (including height) varies by individual. It’s good for the human race that we have diverse combinations of strengths and weaknesses. Reading is an important skill everybody should have, but it’s not critical that everyone acquires it before they turn 5.

Many more 4 year olds could read if their parents attempted it. I see many parents are scared off of it by naysayers so they wait until 6, but some of those kids could have learned it earlier. Everyone should give it a try in the 4s and if it doesn't stick, fine.

If you blow it off till age 6, you miss the potential to catch learning disabilities. A lot of kids are more ready but it takes a lot of effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's not too young. Try other methods.

+1 Four years old is great age to learn to read. Try an app that has games integrated into the lessons.

Please do not get an app with games to teach your child how to read. I am a teacher and This is the saddest thing I’ve read all day. If you can’t spare 10 minutes a day to teach your child then just wait until they go to K. Four year olds shouldn’t know how to operate an app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's not too young. Try other methods.

+1 Four years old is great age to learn to read. Try an app that has games integrated into the lessons.

Please do not get an app with games to teach your child how to read. I am a teacher and This is the saddest thing I’ve read all day. If you can’t spare 10 minutes a day to teach your child then just wait until they go to K. Four year olds shouldn’t know how to operate an app.

I taught two kids to read with the help of an app (one at 4 and the other at 4.5) and with both children I sat with them and did the app activities with them for 15-20 minutes a day. The animations illustrating the blends helped it click for both children in a way that my whiteboard-and-marker and picture cards couldn't do on their own. You are neither a parent nor a teacher and you have never taught anyone to read. Why are you even in this thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's not too young. Try other methods.

+1 Four years old is great age to learn to read. Try an app that has games integrated into the lessons.

Please do not get an app with games to teach your child how to read. I am a teacher and This is the saddest thing I’ve read all day. If you can’t spare 10 minutes a day to teach your child then just wait until they go to K. Four year olds shouldn’t know how to operate an app.

Oh get off it. There is nothing about PP’s or OP’s post to suggest anyone is trying to avoid spending the time required to teach their kid.

If someone looking for ways to help their kid learn is the saddest thing you’ve read all day, what planet do you live on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's not too young. Try other methods.

+1 Four years old is great age to learn to read. Try an app that has games integrated into the lessons.

Please do not get an app with games to teach your child how to read. I am a teacher and This is the saddest thing I’ve read all day. If you can’t spare 10 minutes a day to teach your child then just wait until they go to K. Four year olds shouldn’t know how to operate an app.

Oh get off it. There is nothing about PP’s or OP’s post to suggest anyone is trying to avoid spending the time required to teach their kid.

If someone looking for ways to help their kid learn is the saddest thing you’ve read all day, what planet do you live on?

I am an academic language therapist and am absolutely against this. It isn’t developmentally appropriate at 4. They certainly won’t learn a skill like blending sounds from an app if they are struggling in real life. Kids need immediate positive error correction. Also, start with two sound words. and Continuous blending can help. Use words with continuous sounds in beginning (m, s, l, etc). Lots of repetition with a few sounds helped my kid who struggled with this. The “Teach your Child to Read” book is fine for some kids but others need something more interactive. Google Orton Gillingham strategies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t stop and ignore the posters who are too lazy to work with their kids. Lots of kids read by age 4.

But other ones don't.

Look, I've worked with a four year old on 100EL and it didn't take. But it worked awesome with the same child at five. She just wasn't ready back then. Please note that this particular child was the fourth child I've taught to read, and the third by 100EL.

You can maybe plough through it. But time is a limited resource, and if it is a serious struggle, at that age, I think that time it is better spent on other things.

That may not be the best for that child. You have four kids so no you aren’t devoting the time I did. That’s why I had. Less kids.

There is some truth to this, but a large brood is a wealth flex.

As PP, I would class it as a large brood is a "thinks teaching kids is a fun" flex. We did a lot of oral vocabulary and memorizing poetry that year, which she was entirely ready for. And some numeracy which ... well maybe, but she enjoyed it more than reading, at that age. I am pretty sure I could have made reading happen, but there were many other things where I feel her time was better spent at age four.

Perhaps if there was a hx dyslexia to worry about, but in OP's case, a four year old who didn't get stuck until blends doesn't intuitively seem like a child at risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t stop and ignore the posters who are too lazy to work with their kids. Lots of kids read by age 4.

Speaking as someone who taught my kids to read, that’s ridiculous.

Kids develop at different rates. It’s like saying all 4 year olds should be 3.5 feet. That’s apparently taller than average, so the percentage might be relatively small (and I don’t know the actual percentage), but across the population that surely adds up to a lot of 4 year olds. Meanwhile, the majority of 4 year olds will be shorter, but will almost certainly get there and surpass it eventually. Every child grows at their own pace and barring extreme outliers it’s commonly acknowledged to be normal and healthy.

Yes, a lot of 4 year olds learn to read. Some will even learn at a younger age. The vast majority, however, learn to read somewhere around the ages of 5-6. Part of that is undoubtedly exposure to effective instruction, but a significant part of it is also developmental readiness, which like most attributes (including height) varies by individual. It’s good for the human race that we have diverse combinations of strengths and weaknesses. Reading is an important skill everybody should have, but it’s not critical that everyone acquires it before they turn 5.

Many more 4 year olds could read if their parents attempted it. I see many parents are scared off of it by naysayers so they wait until 6, but some of those kids could have learned it earlier. Everyone should give it a try in the 4s and if it doesn't stick, fine.

If you blow it off till age 6, you miss the potential to catch learning disabilities. A lot of kids are more ready but it takes a lot of effort.

Finish society doesn't have that problem. Kids start at age 7 and they are one of the top countries leading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t stop and ignore the posters who are too lazy to work with their kids. Lots of kids read by age 4.

Speaking as someone who taught my kids to read, that’s ridiculous.

Kids develop at different rates. It’s like saying all 4 year olds should be 3.5 feet. That’s apparently taller than average, so the percentage might be relatively small (and I don’t know the actual percentage), but across the population that surely adds up to a lot of 4 year olds. Meanwhile, the majority of 4 year olds will be shorter, but will almost certainly get there and surpass it eventually. Every child grows at their own pace and barring extreme outliers it’s commonly acknowledged to be normal and healthy.

Yes, a lot of 4 year olds learn to read. Some will even learn at a younger age. The vast majority, however, learn to read somewhere around the ages of 5-6. Part of that is undoubtedly exposure to effective instruction, but a significant part of it is also developmental readiness, which like most attributes (including height) varies by individual. It’s good for the human race that we have diverse combinations of strengths and weaknesses. Reading is an important skill everybody should have, but it’s not critical that everyone acquires it before they turn 5.

Many more 4 year olds could read if their parents attempted it. I see many parents are scared off of it by naysayers so they wait until 6, but some of those kids could have learned it earlier. Everyone should give it a try in the 4s and if it doesn't stick, fine.

If you blow it off till age 6, you miss the potential to catch learning disabilities. A lot of kids are more ready but it takes a lot of effort.

Finish society doesn't have that problem. Kids start at age 7 and they are one of the top countries leading

Finland has almost no non-native students. The US is wildly more diverse both in birth language and ethnicity. The Finnish language is spelled 100% phonetically, while English has a lot of non-phonetic sight words (including many many common words). No reasonable comparison is possible.

[Anonymous]

Too young

[Anonymous]

With a sample in the thousands, albeit with very few kids worried about getting their next meal, most students (90+ %) were able to read basic Bob book level by end of their 3year old year if they started recognizing their letters, by using a Phonics-centered literacy approach to teaching. By end of 4 year old year, a similar percentage were reading a 2nd grade reading book comfortably. By end of K, there was wider variation with the top students reading at 5th grade level and lower students at 3rd-4th grade level.

Despite the naysayers, there is no reason for OP not to be teaching DC to read and every reason for DC to ask for suggestions on how to help DC over the blending hump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's not too young. Try other methods.

+1 Four years old is great age to learn to read. Try an app that has games integrated into the lessons.

Please do not get an app with games to teach your child how to read. I am a teacher and This is the saddest thing I’ve read all day. If you can’t spare 10 minutes a day to teach your child then just wait until they go to K. Four year olds shouldn’t know how to operate an app.

Most 4 year olds are on tablets at some point during the week. The best thing parents can do is find apps that are educational and fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With a sample in the thousands, albeit with very few kids worried about getting their next meal, most students (90+ %) were able to read basic Bob book level by end of their 3year old year if they started recognizing their letters, by using a Phonics-centered literacy approach to teaching. By end of 4 year old year, a similar percentage were reading a 2nd grade reading book comfortably. By end of K, there was wider variation with the top students reading at 5th grade level and lower students at 3rd-4th grade level.

Despite the naysayers, there is no reason for OP not to be teaching DC to read and every reason for DC to ask for suggestions on how to help DC over the blending hump.

Not all kids can do phonics based. Mine didn't, and were sight readers. Much to my surprise mine just stared reading one day at age three. We pointed to words when we read, did apps, and other reading games with no expectation for them to learn it. Some kids pick it up more easily than others but starting young is good as then you can catch and help more if there are learning disabilities. Most kids are interested but parents and preschools are not teaching it.l