Reading Whisperer Approach

[mybabyian]

I am not saying that one method is better than the other, however I would be skeptical of applying research done on teaching kids to read to teaching babies and very young children to read.  I would be interested in knowing what age was studied in the research readingwhisper is quoting.  Learning language is not the same for older kids as it is for babies.  Learning to read is likely different too. 

In  any case, I can’t see what harm it would be for a preverbal child to know sight words (or verbal for that matter).  It would seem to me that if I child can recognize “bat, book, ball” by sight they would then have a better reference for B makes the sound “b”. 

To Natacion, I think you have already gotten great advice about just making it fun and focusing on input rather than output.  I great book if you are interested is The Read Aloud Handbook which I try to always keep in mind when teaching my son.  Basically, if you instill a love for reading in your child you will have a reader.  There are many ways to teach children to read and if they are motivated they will learn.  My son loves books so I know I am doing my job well even if he can’t “read” yet. 

The author has some things to say about the studies done on reading which I think are interesting.  For anyone who is interested here is a link to a page on his website about phonics and the National Reading Panel (NRP) report.

http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-ch1-pg2.html#phonics

[ReadingWhisperer]

The National Reading Panel certainly didnt say that reading aloud to a child wil lead to reading:-) Neither does the Rose Report (the UK gov report) or the AU Inquiry into the Teaching of Reading. Reading to your child cant teach a child to read and you dont find any research that supports that...but of course you will find whole language supporters who disagree. Do they think its a conspiracy - that every single independent government report has the same findings?

Of course we should be reading to children - its fun and bonds us and instils and early love of books and stories!! But they wouldnt learn to read because of it. Put children on a desert island and they will develop their own language- but will never learn to decipher the words in a book left there...

I think my point re speech might have been misunderstood- or I didnt explain it well. 

I didnt mean just speaking- I meant enriching their language- helping them develop good speech and language skills. Helping them to develop phonoological awareness. This is ESPECIALLY important with children who have speech delay or any other difficulty.

I have PERSONALLY taught thousands of children to read and spell as I led two childcare/ preschool centres. You cant teach every child to read and spell before school without knowing you are doing something right. Children who remained in the top 5% of their classes throughout primary school. Children who entered school not only reading and spelling but confident learners with a quest for knowledge. So putting actual scientific research and brain imaging studies aside- isnt it worth considering what I am saying?

Watch the video clips of me working with children from 2+ - our new Shaping Reading Brains playgroups start in June.

I do know why it can HARM children to know sight words.

And 'b' doesnt make the sound b- it is one of the sound pics that respresent the 'b' speech sound. When children can hear speech sounds it is easy for them to then understand how we represent these speech sounds on paper. Starting with phonics confuses children. They learn that s 'makes the s sound' (agh) - but what happens when they want to write about 'rice'? Or 'grass' or 'science' ......

No - speech doesnt have to come early- but this approach helps to develop it- and as long as they can HEAR they can read and spell. Its the hearing part that is vital.

When children go to school and find reading difficult it impacts themm far more than we first thought. Often parents tell me - but I read with him, he loves books...

Just keep your minds open. Many of you have perceptions that are based on a myth but dont want to let go of them because these are familiar to you- you know them. Watch the clips - its free- I gain nothing from showing you my teaching other than to help you help your children. And thats my life mission. Helping as many children around the world as I can.  Including yours.         


Watch the clips! 

[ReadingWhisperer]

Insert Quote
Speech usually is first - by convention and simply because most people speak to their children and wait for them to start speaking before addressing print (whole words/phonics) so I presume you mean more than just speech - again what is it that you mean exactly (I am interested and would also like to do this with my fifteen month old who is only beginning to speak and is actually saying most words as just their first consonant) Also a 17 year old who has stabbed other children has endless years of speech behind him but is lacking something else regarding speech if he cannot read - what is it?

And for those of us using whole words to increase vocabulary (and speech)  are we supposed to be breaking the word into its parts to teach blending from babyhood? What is your advice for people teaching babies speech and print - I have a feeling (I could be wrong) that you are wanting a child to Hear first, then Speak, then associate letters with heard sounds and finally read??? Just trying to clarify your method without having a clue.

Sorry- missed this. A GREAT question. Thank you.

Poor literacy is correlated with poor behaviour- we know failing starts to affect children as early as first grade. If a child cant do something - and especially if not emotionally resilient- they choose to avoid. So the chance to learn to read gets slimmer and slimmer. And any child who isnt reading by 7 is statisitically unlikely to ever catch up. So they cant cope with the rest of the curriculum- you need to be able to read and spell to do history, science etc as well! Its why - as I said before- many US prisons use year 3 and 4 reading scores to predict how many places they will need in future. So although they could speak- most of them- its far more than speech as you have realised. For most its problems with phonologcial awareness- our focus! And its NOT to do with intelligence or how much time parents spend talking to you and sharing books. You can only change the way the brain processes this info by training it. MANY do not do this naturally or easily - and as Ive said before if we dont focus on speech sounds and speech sound pics with them they will fall further and further behind- this is when teachers often say they have special needs or even dyslexia. And yet in 12 hours plus of being trained in the ways Im talking about the brain starts changing. But teachers keep trying to same things over and over again, that wont work for that child. Even if they do starting to teach 'phonics' - the usual 'remedial tool' isnt enough.
I recently did a pre-school study with 12 children. I have recorded which has poor phonemic awareness (as usual this was 3- generally its 20 - 30%) and I can accurately predict that these children will be at the bottom of the class in high school - if even attending. The school he is going to teaches the whole language approach- which is why I know they wont be given the training they need. So sad- to predict when 4 or 5 that they are going to fail- and through no fault of their own!   

Speech actually doesnt have to come first- another myth:-) The brain can start processing speech sounds ready to become a 'reading brain' from birth. Infact the earlier you start the better. Youll see me doing this with children while playing in the sand pit who may not utter a word- either because they dont want to, cant, or dont need to. But the teaching is still 'going in'!!!

And if you do the ground work with speech - as well as stories, singing etc- then when ready to start introducing pictures of those sounds the child finds it easy to understand the link. The funny squiggles are not just something they learn to look at and say a 'sound' parrot fashion style. Its meaningful! Its one of the pics that represents the speech sounds they are hearing and are, or will be, speaking.

Ive started a youtube clip for you, to explain what you can be doing with your 15 month old to develop these links. Part 1 below- I finally get to 15 month olds in part 2!! Will post that one later. I do this for anyone interested in learning more or at least considering new ideas or fun ways to engage with your child - with the view to improving their 'reading brain' and preventing difficulties. Watch the clip from Children of the Code - its so much more than just speech- its teaching children about speech. Then the print makes sense! 

So yes- speech first- even if the child isnt speaking yet!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/i7tnS58_G0I&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/i7tnS58_G0I&rel=1</a>

[mybabyian]

I was not suggesting that reading aloud to a child will teach them to read, only give them the desire to learn.  That's all.

[Mandabplus3]

you know reading whisperer, I would find it much easier to digest your comments if you approached us all with a more open mind! I find it hard to take your comments seriously when you spend half of every post telling us we are all doing it soooo wrong. Lets be completely honest here. I said it before..there are HUNDREDS of mums on this forum who have successfully taught their children to read using whole words. Hundreds! Some added phonics some didnt need to as their child intuited it.  It obviously does work. So perhaps you could stop saying it doesnt. We are happy to hear about your experiences and acknoledge that ( perhaps) it will not work on every child. Although I do believe it WILL work on every child who is taught starting very YOUNG and consistently, in an environment of fun and love. So starting with a 4-5 year old needs a different method yes.
Also dont assume we are all only teaching one child or our own. I am qualified early years teacher, I have experience with MANY children, yes including reading recovery for those 7 year olds you claim will never catch up (I can assure you mine do!)
We all know on this forum that reaseach into early reading is pitiful! Since you keep mentioning this new research plese do post a link for us! Brain imaging is as far as I knew inconclusive reguarding childrens reading. Not enough money has been thrown at it yet.
Perhaps you could try and be a little more open minded like we are 

[cliffwill88]

For centuries has passed by, popular folktales and stories have influenced many children in shaping their beliefs, imagination, creativity and their hopes for the future!

Many classical stories are still living in our memories and continue to inspire us, most especially the future writers. Many famous authors are late bloomers, discovering their ability to bend the reader’s imagination at the flourished years. Gained experiences and bittersweet circumstances are the key references.
Kids can tell stories, too! Sometime in our younger years, we have wished to at least write our own stories and have it published on school newspapers!

Children writers can express their own thoughts without worrying about the stiff standards of adult literature… just letting the imagination play around and flow in utmost level they can reach! Stories that can be appreciated by adults and cherished by their fellows!

Well, what do you think?

[ReadingWhisperer]

you know reading whisperer, I would find it much easier to digest your comments if you approached us all with a more open mind! I find it hard to take your comments seriously when you spend half of every post telling us we are all doing it soooo wrong. Lets be completely honest here. I said it before..there are HUNDREDS of mums on this forum who have successfully taught their children to read using whole words. Hundreds! Some added phonics some didnt need to as their child intuited it.  It obviously does work. So perhaps you could stop saying it doesnt. We are happy to hear about your experiences and acknoledge that ( perhaps) it will not work on every child. Although I do believe it WILL work on every child who is taught starting very YOUNG and consistently, in an environment of fun and love. So starting with a 4-5 year old needs a different method yes.
Also dont assume we are all only teaching one child or our own. I am qualified early years teacher, I have experience with MANY children, yes including reading recovery for those 7 year olds you claim will never catch up (I can assure you mine do!)
We all know on this forum that reaseach into early reading is pitiful! Since you keep mentioning this new research plese do post a link for us! Brain imaging is as far as I knew inconclusive reguarding childrens reading. Not enough money has been thrown at it yet.
Perhaps you could try and be a little more open minded like we are 

I havent said that at all- Im saying that parents dont know what will work until theyve tried things. Is easier for teachers to guage success as they have at least 30 a year- and can see their results over 5 or 10 years. But look at the most popular method of teaching reading in schools (flashcards) and the results- its not working. And this isnt actually whole language because its not really book rich- the whole language method should be book rich! 
http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20120522/NEWS01/205220311/Group-protests-West-M-reading-curriculum Some parents are even picketing now because they say that chiildren deserve more.

It actually doesnt matter if you start teaching a child to read at 2 or 4 - for long term success- but you must start by 5. The three things all government reports agree on (and reading scientists) is that the 3 most important things with reading (decoding) - to guarantee success with every child (not just the lucky ones who can learn whatever you do) is that you start early, develop phonological awareness, and teach the alphabetic code (phonics). 

The original 'whole language' approach has some great merits- it encourages a book rich environment - encourages comprehension and creativity. The phonics approach has great merits- it teaches the alphabetic code directly and systematically- which MANY need or they wont read.
'Flashcards' used heavily is a part of the whole language approach I disagree with other than to support early comprehension as we can create more complex sentences (see my clip ). But primarily Im urging parents to take an approach that takes the best of all and ISNT prescriptive - one size fits all. Im asking them to focus on oral abilities- then print- teaching children the alphabetic code within a book rich environment. My point has been to start with speech - even if the child isnt speaking- focus on helping them hear the parts in speech.

As I keep saying, I am not just talking about reading Im talking about spelling- and oral abilities. This is the part I am stressing. I was lucky enough to have almost 10 years with children aged 6wks to 5 - my guinea pigs! This is why I became so interested in language, literacy and communication - and in developing verbal intelligence - almost from birth!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQIpb56DxDw

I would very much imagine that there actually was a lot more involved with these hundreds of children you speak about, that you probably dont even realise. For example speaking with your children. Many parents who arent doing this arent joining forums like this! The fact that you are here means you want more- and if you are keen then you are likely doing alot more of the things we need for children than you even imagine. Im suggesting you can do more.
I havent said parents are doing things wrong- Im saying that parents could give children more. Ill be uploading clips of how I teach 2 year olds soon- the from before showing progress in 3 hours is a 4 year old.

I started another clip today and will discuss toddlers in part 2. If Ive taught thousands to read AND spell myself, evolving over time as I learnt more- and was appointed by the Education Dept to report on early years education quality. I am open enough to actually video myself my students (the whole lesson- not just the good parts) and put myself up to some major scrutiny.

So before I leave let me assure you that my purpose is to speak out about helping the highest number of children and to give parents who want to do more, more info ideas and support. For many it will be an extension of what they are already doing. For many it will mean they can replace flashcards and give children even more skills- including being able to spell unfamiliar words. If you have a child with poor phonological awareness you might not even know until the end of first grade- even if they seem to be reading the books you are currently giving them. Most teachers arent even given  training in this. Which is why Ive posted.

And as I said before, put research aside and look at results. This may sound immodest but I can guarantee that if I teach a class of 30 five and six year olds in any socio economic area for just one term all will be LOVE reading and spelling and be learning to their potential.  Watch my clips  - youll see why- and see that I love teaching! Im sharing this for free. I dont benefit from it?! Im doing this because if even one of the parents reading this considers whats Im saying and tries it they could not only help improve skills, but actually save the child from feelings of low self-esteem when they struggle to spell all the words they want to get down on paper! Thats how I see it- not being able to read and spell by 6 is not good enough. Every child deserves it. But not every child can do it without a specific approach. Dont risk it to be right- and try to shoot holes in what Im sharing or criticise my approach- consider it fully- and then decide what you think will be the best option for your child. 

Reading recovery was scrapped - for good reason- and, again, I wasnt referring to your lucky child who caught up- Im speaking out for the hundreds of thousands who dont. I wont apologise for that:-) They shouldnt have to catch up or need reading recovery- but they do if not given help - the help Im talking about- early. 
And Im sharing it for free. What would be my motivation?

I have an open mind to exploring what works for children. If a teacher has every child reading and spelling (and learning) with confidence early I go in to learn and see why- and share ideas. What Im not open to is depriving ALL children of the chance to become readers and love reading.  And it doesnt matter how much you love your child and have the best intentions, what matters is the end result (their love of learning). By the time you realise what youve been arguing against isnt working for your child it could be too late to restore their self confidence back to the levels they deserve.

Watch my clips - and watch the playgroups- and just stand back, logically, as if a child- and work out which might be the way that would be most likely to be effective for them.

Its an approach that starts from the child- and progresses with the child- and as they all tell me, including students who come to me apparently with dyslexia (and are reading and spelling well within 3 months)  'it just makes sense!"

If I have even reached one parent I am leaving happy..

Please- at least listen to Dr Tallal- Professor of Neuroscience (Rutgers)- Dr Heckman (Nobel Laureate - Dr Shonkoff -National Academy of Sciences etc This clip also talks about the children you are interested in - ie pre-school aged children.- and I hope give you more 'interest' in exploring what I mean about the importance of starting with speech- and not just speech but exploring speech sounds. And why the way in which the brain works is so exciting to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj2rBxKRZSc&feature=player_embedded#!

I posted here because parents who want to help their children are here. And even those children who are loved and supported (unlike MANY I work with) may not find reading and spelling easy- and would really appreciate overcoming these problems actually even before they become problems. If that makes sense. Some children are lucky and learn whatever we do- Im speaking out for those who dont. even the most intelligent of children can have reading difficulties - and can often mask them because of their intelligence. They learn to memorise a whole bookk after it is read once! They learn 200 flash cards. So Im just urging you to be careful in your assumptions- and remember that we cant see what is happening when children are 'reading' - only what we think we see. And it can be easy to fail to realise they have poor phonological awareness. Even if your child is one of the hundreds reading, this will also help their spelling.

Thank you

Emma Hartnell-Baker BEd Hons MA Special Educational Needs

[Frukc]

If I have even reached one parent I am leaving happy.. 

Well, you can be happy. In this forum we share methods, tips and experiences on early education. Your input is significant and your experience is reputable. Thank you very much for that and you can be sure that many parents will study your materials very carefully. Karma to you

But usually we share our methods without attacking other methods. Such a kind approach makes the audience even more perceptive

Probably there are some misunderstandings because of ages. My first kid (now 4 years) learned to read with mixed approach; she knew phonics but I did not stress it very much. Whole word approach dominated in our learning. Her teachers now say that she is much above the average, not because of her reading but because of her vocabulary and thinking. I think, nobody is writing governmental reports on her literacy because she is too young.

My 2 year old knows phonics and I show him whole words. I use self-made flashcards. He learns words easy and it seems that he has a very good memory. If the method will not work - I have plenty of time to switch the method and to teach him to read until someone will start to compile governmental reports on him.

In this forum, we teach babies and toddlers to read. If we are not successful we search for help and other methods. Probably you write your governmental reports on 6 - 7 year old kids. Probably, nobody is teaching 6 - 7 year old children to read with whole word approach in this forum.

If you meet failures of whole word approach  you should study them, too. Possible reasons:
- too late (method is not recommended after 5 year age except for children with brain damage);
- too superficial approach. if parents do not go deep in their kids interests, kids just refuse to watch.

I just do not believe that parents show thousands of words with ease. That is not easy; that is a continuous fight with own laziness and for kids interest. Many parents start - and give up within few days. Probably, when a governmental person comes and asks "why your 7 year old is not reading", it is easy to answer "we use whole word approach" instead of "we did not care and we left our kid 24/7 at the TV". like "a cat did it in my pants".

We will study and try your method. You should also try whole word approach. You will see that it is not easy and probably there something is not "clean" in these cases of failures.

But look at the most popular method of teaching reading in schools (flashcards) and the results- its not working.

Is this a popular method in schools? It is never, never used in my region. Sounds very interesting. At which age and in what amount? 

[Mandabplus3]

hmm never seen a flash card in any of the schools I taught in. Saw some phonics (digraphs, blends) flashcards in use and a few word walls for referece...must be somewhere but not in Australia. I would use them in a kindergarten though 

[ReadingWhisperer]

- the majority of schools in AU use sightwords/ flashcards to teach reading and spelling- and send home 'readers' with words they couldnt possibly decode and so have to memorise or guess. And guess what- we have 46% of the adult population (15- 74) unable to read well enough to follow a cooking recipe. Hopefully this will change with the implementation of the new National Curriculum- Ive certainly seen a massive rise since January, of schools requesting Jolly Phonics training etc.

You can also do a Bachelor of Education here and spend less than 2% credits on the teaching of reading. When you combine that with the fact that we keep lowering the bar regarding who can teach here (many who have appalling literacy and language skills themselves) its quite scary- and why we created Read Australia™. Wages are so bad that people who work with student leavers tell us that the brightest and most dynamic wouldnt even consider education as a career. But Australia is another story- and many of us are fighting to change things for children- and for teachers! They deserve so much more support and training.

Learning to Read in Australia article if interested-   

http://www.early-reading-centre.com/LearningToReadInAustralia_Coltheart_Prior.pdf


Please, please, please, please see that whole language and/ or phonics cant work for all children. However starting with speech and developing phonological awareness and the foundation can ONLY benefit EVERY child - regardless of if you use flashcards or phonics:-) Phonological awareness is NOT phonics. Phonological awareness is awareness of speech sounds and how our words are created in their smallest parts.

Yes- I have tried the whole language approach - Id never criticise something I hadnt used and committed myself to really trying. This was actually the first 'method' I used 20 years ago- we were told to use it when I first graduated as a teacher. During the first year children werent getting the results I wanted- so I started ALSO using 'phonics' (Jolly Phonics to be exact!) and so the journey continued. Ive tried everything - poor kids who had to go through  MY learning journey! After 20 years and thousands later- of ALL ages (although my oldest tend to be teenagers) I now use an approach (not method!) that works for every child. Yes, every single child. Because the approach changes according to each child- and what they need- as youll see if you watch my clips- especially of the playgroups we're starting in June. And we see hundreds now at the Early Reading Centre... although most of these are older (7+) and dont want to be filmed. There are a few short sessions shown on the youtube channel of some 10 year olds though- eg to show why I never teach consonant blends. (but lets not start an argument about that )

I guess I write to much and dont explain myself well enough. Dont think of a 'method' - think of a child and what they need. Its why I dont support any program - they are prescriptive and only as good as the parent or teacher using them! My other point was also that you can do MORE than get children to memorise flashcards.

Did you watch the clip ? I mention when I use flashcards with littlies- when and why!! The main issue being 'why'.

http://youtu.be/i7tnS58_G0I

When training schools I ask them to constantly ask themselves 'why' am I doing this? - will it meet the needs of each child? - and if not why are you doing it? Even after the first weeks of Prep (5 year olds) I get teachers to differentiate- so that he or she is teaching in small groups- not a whole class- and that these groups are created based on learning styles etc. I also make sure they know which are the children likely to have poor phonological awareness- as this is the target group - the ones most likely to struggle. In the first week when I ask children to tell me what word the 'sound teddy' is saying (he only speaks in speech sounds- the children have to translate these into words) I can tell who they are. Also who will overcome it quickly as they are 'curious' learners.
Children with poor phonological awareness struggle to hear the words 'sun' 'man' 'hat' etc if I say the sounds with a second inbetween. I ask them to wiggle fingers when they hear the 'sss' sound - and can see who doesnt wiggle. I ask them how many sounds they can hear in 'cat' etc. There are lots of things we can do to see which children hear speech sounds in words - and which need help. This only helps children - ALL children- and certainly wont do the children who will suceed whatever we do with them any harm (infact it will help their spelling)

Take care   

Em   

[Korrale4kq]

I learnt to read at 3 because I tagged along with my mum when she taught remedial reading to students in my brothers class. This was back in the early 80s.
When I entered first grade I distinctly remember the approach that was taken. It was a balanced approach with phonics and high frequency word readers. I remember our little coloring books with the rhyme
Ants on and apple a...a...a...  Etc

Then I used to take home little books each night. I remember the orange spine and after doing research I am assuming that they were part of a series called Queensland readers.  Each page was the same filled with high frequency words, with the exception of one word that was inferred using a picture clue and the beginning letter sound. Not a single flashcard was used.  This is the method I had wanted to use with my son to increase is fluency and comprehension, however high frequency reader sets are hard to find.


I was stoked to find out  that in Ohio they do use the balanced reading approach introducing phonics alongside whole words.  They only use flashcards in the class for games and to increase reading speed.  In Kindergarden (Prep) they are now reading at a second grade level. And all the kids in the class are reading at the same level.
The best part about their reading program in all is that the kids spend less time on reading instruction. Less than 30 minutes a day.  This opens up the school day to work on other areas, and a lot more content is covered.

My friend works for the Sacramento Unified School District (k and 1st grade)which has adopted a heavy phonics program and they spend at least 3 hrs of their day on reading instruction.

[Korrale4kq]

I am also finding tha while tutoring middle and upper elementary students, they have the mechanics of reading mastered. They can decode pretty much any word and read anything fluently.  What they struggle with is comprehension. Many of these students were taught with the in vogue phonics approach at the time and were excelling readers in the early elementary years.
I have just found from experience a balanced or whole language approach from the start has better comprehension levels.

[Korrale4kq]

I also know kids that love and thrive off flashcards. I taught a girl to read a decade ago using word family flash cards. It was the method that worked for her. She later went on to become elementary valedictorian, and is thriving in middle school.  So I don't  think that there is any WRONG method of teaching reading that won't work. Nor is there any single RIGHT  method of teaching reading that will work. There is no one fits all solution. So as parents and future homeschoolers (as some of us are) we work at tailoring programs to suit the strength and weaknesses of our children.
Right now my son with limited verbal skill thrives in flash cards and whole language. And it works.

[ReadingWhisperer]

Three hours a day? Thats awful. I only spend 15 minutes a day teaching print (phonics) - the rest of the teaching is alongside everything else and focuses on speech, language and communication.
If I was teaching in the Sacremento school Id put in a complaint- no-one who understands children would recommend 3 hours of phonics - or any prescribed method- of teaching in primary school.

And yet again theres that mention of flashcards / whole language and phonics- and not on how much time is spent on the very foundation- phonological awareness. Thats not whole language OR phonics:-) A balanced approach has to include phonological awareness- but, as  Professor Tallal says- we arent really aware of how we learnt - or of why our students are learning. We cant see the process. Many dont realise how much we depend on our phonological awareness regardless of whether being taught using whole language or phonics- or a combination. 

I havent heard of QLD readers and they certainly dont have them now. I actually heard that QLD teachers arent allowed to send home readers in prep now.

Aaaarrrggghhhh :-)

Its brilliant that there are people here from all over the world and with different experiences. I too have taught many children using the whole language approach using flashcards- as I said before, we had to use this 20 years ago when I first qualified. But when faced with a whole class to teach I quickly realised I couldnt possibly get all children reading and spelling with confidence in this way. Now I do what is needed to get every child reading and spelling by 6 so they can get on with reading to learn. 

I do hope I have encouraged some to think about the phonological aspect regardless of whether they want to use flashcards or not- and that if using phonics realise it can only take you so far.  Of course children can love flashcards if their parents have fun with them- Im suggesting that they could have even more fun starting from speech and then learning how we represent it. Flashcards can be detrimental to children with poor phonological awareness- if your child doesnt it wont do them any harm. Im for anything that means having fun with your child.

If you have a very young child or a child with limited speech then 'Shaping Reading Brains' is definitely an approach that will benefit your child- please do ask speech pathologists. The difficulties lie with children who are hearing impaired. If they have normal hearing then having fun with them exploring speech sounds is something that cant harm any child - and is highly beneficial to all.  

We are also looking at the role musical training can have on the development of reading brains

http://youtu.be/yhyzIwOn72o

[Korrale4kq]

Back before it was prep it was preschool and entirely play based. the only thing we were taught as how to write our names. Not other letters or math were introduced.

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