I loved your story Antje!  Sounds like you guys are having fun! 

I LOVE these books cokers4life, thank you for creating them.  What I like about them is the separated text and that they contain truly interesting facts, at the same time it's done very professionally and very beautifully.  I can't wait to see more in this series.

My boy loved it, but I think we'll use the power point and click through instead of auto forward, because we like looking and talking about pictures. 

I hope you make many, they are lovely, and I also think it's a very good way of flashing words to non readers. 

I asked this question about a year ago, and I'm still asking it (to myself.)  I've done lots and lots of whole words, fast flash and slow, full sentences, fast and slow, sounding out, fridge magnets, flashcards, and hours and hours of reading dragging my finger along.  I always follow my son's lead, he enjoys he's learning times with me, loves Little Reader and we use it for all kinds of stuff all the time, but he's not reading.  Only occasionally showing me something amazing, but ask him to read any word and 99% of the time, he refuses or gives a silly answer.  Worst of all he sometimes seems to really make and effort and he still can't read.  He knows his phonics, he can blend when I sound out, he even sounds out correctly sometimes, but actually read a word? - no way!  He read his first word out loud 2 years ago, and it was a word I didn't teach him (or even tell him once,) but these accidental readings are extremely rare.

So maybe he'll mysteriously start to read fantastically well sometime in the next couple of years, or maybe he'll just never be a strong reader, who knows?  But I bet he's better off with all we've done so far (and what I plan on continuing) than what he would have been without it.  Also, if I assume that he has not learned a thing about reading, he's learned a lot about language and many other things.

I very nicely asked him the other day, why he can't read and what I could do to help him learn (even though he's 2.5 years, he sometimes gives me good answers if I approach him in this way.)  He plainly answered, "I can read Mama, I have a mouth... so I CAN read."  Who am I to even question that? 

Anyhow, answers I got last year were along these lines:
Your child already can read, she's just not showing it, maybe because she does not know it, maybe because she chooses to hide it (for the attention she gets when you're reading to her.)
Start on phonics.
Shift your attention to some other learning area.
Change to or supplement with other reading software and DVD's.
Don't focus on output, she's still very young, focus only on input, some kids just hate to be tested.

Something else that you brought to my attention is the breastfeeding.  I also gave Wilhelm a sippy cup to drink from, then we'll do LR (between the age of 12 months to about 24), that kept him (I'm ashamed to say it) quiet and still so we could do a bunch of lessons in a row (math, music, extra LR bits.)  This died out and I now enjoy having him an active learner instead.  Maybe the relaxed receptive state of nursing (or sucking on a sippy cup) brings the association that reading (being read to) is a passive activity from their point of view, so they only receive but their response doesn't count, why do they ever have to respond then.  This is the first time I think about it in this way - Yikes!  Is that where I went wrong?

She sounds like a very bright and wonderful little one! 

When teaching reading don't forget about readingbear.  Learning to read also boosts a child's overall language development.

As I understand it, children learning multiple languages can be speech delayed, but they do catch up and then end up with all sorts of advantages for being multilingual. 

I can't find the one I have online, "Children's Dictionary" NorthParadePublishing, but my advice would be to try and choose one that goes beyond the basics (not first 1000 words) but one that still has multiple images per page.

Here's one such book that I personally feel is a good resource (and close to the one I've got)
http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Illustrated-Dictionary-DK-Publishing/dp/0756651964/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377031431&sr=1-5&keywords=children%27s+dictionary

And my answer to if your little one is ready to learn how to read is - YES YES YES YES, I believe that a child can't be too young, nor can any person be too old to learn anything.  Just keep it light, fun and take your child's lead.

Hi justbeinmommy, I'll send you the demo and some details in an email tonight, regards! 

Hi justbeinmommy,

I'm currently working on a LR full sentences course which would be perfect for any young LR English curriculum graduate.  What I'm doing is turning the slides into full sentences, so a slide will read "Can you clap your hands?" with that text and audio, then when the image and video of clap comes up the audio simply says "clap" - basically an inversion of the original course.  You will only be able to use it if you are a US English user because the media is locket.  (I would love full sentence versions for the Chinese and French Curriculum too, but I will not be able to do those without help.)  I'm hoping to have it done by September/October-ish.  I have a demo of this ready and my boy likes it a lot!

Let me know if you are interested.

First off, I just want to state that you will need to own Little Reader for this project to be of any use to you. 

This course has been running for long, most of the work has been completed and new people are mainly asked to search the internet for images or do voice recording, averaging about 10 hours' work in total per team member. 

Anybody asking join gets a Personal Message in their inbox on this forum, and we communicate further from there. 

The course is scheduled to be completed at the end of November. 

You can read more about the specifics of what the course includes in this post here on the forum:
http://forum.brillkids.com/collaborations/wouldn't-you-just-love-an-800-fact-little-reader-country-course/msg100684/?topicseen#new

@Juli, I've made a note of you wanting to join for future courses and thanks for your enthusiasm!  We have not finalized anything yet, we're not even sure which course we will start work on next, but sending either me or Skylark a PM will get you on our list of volunteers and we will be sure to contact you when the time comes.

@swarnavenkat and dr pradnyac, I sent you both personal messages, check your inboxes please

Hi dr pradnyac,

Thanks for your compliments and interest in the Country Course project.  Unfortunately this course will never be available to buy with money.  When you help in creating this course or following courses, you gain access to it.  This country course is scheduled to be finished at the end of November and thus far, only the 38 people working on it will get access keys for the course, but anybody willing to help with our courses, this first one or future ones, can also gain access.

Hi Bascom,

Yes, when you purchase the basic you get exactly the same software as the deluxe, you will just not be getting all the fancy little books and things (but you will have the software versions of all those books)

I also purchased basic    Would have love the extras though...

Hello IrisGranstedt, it's never too late to join! I'm sending you a PM.

Welcome dianabln,

Just start very very small.  Leave your cards lying around the house, when you're playing and you have one at hand (specially when he's in an very good mood) just show one card, leave it aside and continue playing.  Be very patient, take it very slowly, it might take weeks, but he will show you when he's getting more interested and then add more from there.   Believe me, you'll reach a point when you don't have enough cards to show him and he's asking for more and more.   



Nothing wrong with starting with only one card once a day. - Just my 2 cents.