Hi Steven

Thank you for your reply.

I like your idea of writing song lyrics on a whiteboard. I'll do that when my daughter is a bit older and we're at the sentences stage of the Doman approach.

Thanks for your reassurance about "extracurricular" word flashes.

Hmmm, I didn't realise that Doman said to start couplets after 50 words. In all respect to him, that seems too soon to me, particularly for a baby under one. I might aim for 100 (similar to where you're at) or even 150 / 200.

Cheers again!

Gemma 

Hi there

I'm from New Zealand. My daughter is 7 months old and I'm interested to read about the various learning opportunities that are available to her. It is important to me that she enjoys learning and it never seems a chore. I want her to have fun without pressure.

I look forward to reading and posting here.

SG

Hi Stodd

I'm new to all this, but FWIW, I read that parents need to be a step ahead of babies and children, and sensitive to when they're losing interest. At that point, the activity should be put away and resumed later. I think persisting when someone seems bored would be a mistake (and one I've made!)

Best of luck,

Gemma

Hi all

I thank you in advance for your feedback on the following:

Over 40 years ago, my mother used the Doman method to teach my brother to read. He's on the autistic spectrum and had a brain injury at birth. He reads fluently and with comprehension.

Now, I have a 7-month-old daughter. For four weeks, we've been using the Doman method. I've adapted it to suit our situation. This is how we do it:

5 words a day, 3x a day
Each word kept in the collection of 5 words for 5 days, then retired i.e. in total, each word is shown 15 times
New words introduced as words are retired

So far, I've made about 40 words and I make more every couple of days.

What I want to know is: How long do I continue the single word programme with my daughter, before moving on to couplets? How many single words should she know before we move along the reading pathway?

Also, she has heaps of playtime on the floor. I spend a lot of time on the floor with her, chatting, repeating her vocalisations back to her, etc. I have a small whiteboard and from time to time, I write words in big, red letters on the board. For example, if she's playing with something red, I write "red" and flash the board at her. This is separate from the word card process described above. I flash the whiteboard words a couple of times over the play period.

Do you think this is potentially confusing / interfering with the cards?

I'm trying to keep this process structured and at the same time low-key and fun i.e. no pressure.

Thank you for your help.

Gemma