reading progression

[cassidy336]

My son just turned 4 and we have been doing Brillkids/YBCR since he was 20 months.  We haven't been doing it much lately but I've been waiting for him to read.  He would recognize a word here and there but I was waiting for him to actually read. About a month ago he got glasses and his reading exploded.  I will get a library book and he will just read a sentence out of it as fast as I can. He reads things off signs and websites and I love nothing better than to hear him read.

My issue is that he won't read to me nor will he let me use my finger to point out words when I read to him.  He reads when he wants to but I don't think he has the confidence to read a whole book, but I know that he could.  He really doesn't like to be tested so I am not pushing himt.  He looks at books all day by himself and sometimes he will say that he recognized the words but most of the time he says he just looks at the pictures.  He has a 1 year old sister who is into everything right now and I would love for him to be able to read books by himself because I just can't sit and do it as much as I want to right now.

My question is how does he go from where he is now to actually reading whole books?  Is there anything I need to do?  I showed him a word flash powerpoint yesterday and he said that he knew all those words. He is also good at sounding out words.  I guess I'm not sure what helped him the most so I don't know what to do more of. 

[arvi]

Good job! I know how delighted you are.

Do you  mean he is wearing eye glasses now? May be others will chime in about the transition to reading independently.

[cassidy336]

Yes, we got him glasses about a month ago and they really help. I think he wasn't reading because he was having a hard time seeing.  He insists on wearing his glasses all the time and I think they are making reading easier.

[akalori]

I think it will just take practice.  Just keep reading with him, it will happen.  I spent a lot of time doing most of the reading with her watching me point to each word.  I encouraged her to read some of the text too, but I was careful not to overwhelm her.  Still today my daughter can read more than she does.  Lots of print on a page is overwhelming.  She prefers books with lots of space around the words.  From your description, he is reading well.  The stamina will come eventually.  Also allow him to read the same books over and over again.  Reading books that she has nearly memorized has built her confidence and stamina.  My daughter will pick up a new book and read only a few pages by herself in the beginning.  After a few fragmented reading from different sections of the book, she tries the whole book by herself.  Once she is familiar with the book, she will read it over and over again quickly.  It isn't memorization instead it just a way to built up her comfort level.  School age children learn the same way.  I have an older one that learned to read the traditional way in school.  Also your son may be taking a little extra time because he is still gaining confidence in his vision.  Good Luck, Lori

[linzy]

At that stage we got lots of easy reader books from the library. Initially they have a word or two on a page, then a sentence or two, then a paragraph... Then just sit with them and read. Maybe initially switch off pages. Another thing that worked for us was putting him to bed a half an hour early and letting him read(or even just look at books) by himself before bed. If he doesn't fee like reading that's fine it just means that it's lights off time. BOth my 4 and 1 year old do this now and I love to look in and see them each engrossed in their book.

[Tanikit]

While the term "emergent reader" is usually used for children who have been taught mainly using phonics, I think it applies to any reader who is not quite independent yet and still gaining in fluency. My daughter is also at this stage now and the thing that makes them get to independence is to read and keep reading which usually means the parent must read with them - either allowing them to read to you or you read a sentence and they read the next sentence (and gradually move to them reading a paragraph and then a page) and of course you must just keep reading to them - usually books more difficult then ones they could manage themselves so that they can aim for this later. I am not sure how much personality and how much age has to do with this - my sister was reading independently at less than 3 years, however her child only became independent at 4 years and my daughter who is not quite 4 years old has been reading sentences since 2 years of age but is not yet an independent reader.

[marimari]

I started teaching my oldest baby when she was 2y and she is 4y, she is reading...I think that maturity is essential to have progress!

[cassidy336]

I talked to my SIL yesterday.  Her daughter is in public school kindergarten and she is reading about where my son is.  I was happy to hear that he is going through a normal stage but a bit shocked that kids aren't supposed to read more than that when they are done with kindergarten. 

I also tried letting him read new PowerPoints that I downloaded for my daughter.  He can read animal names and colors and was reading some sentences; he read to me for over 1/2 hour.  All of this was new so I know he was reading and not just that it was memorized. Maybe he learned to read on the computer and he feels more comfortable reading here than in books.  I'm going to make him a few PowerPoint books now and see if he will read those.

[akalori]

That's great.  I agree that it is easier to read on the computer.  It takes more eye coordination and concentration to track print across the page especially when there are distracting pictures.  In your son's case, he just got his vision corrected so he just my need more practice to develop his eye tracking.  It sounds like he is almost first grade reading level.  I bet that his reading skills will increase even more quickly once he gets used to his glasses.  Great job - you must be so proud.  Keep us posted on his progress.

Lori

[khatty]

Amazing stuff Parents!  Cassidy, Your son is reading and I can see that you want him to read more.  My dd also went through a stage that sounds similar to this.  She wouldn't read on her own and she would push my hand away from the pages if I tried to track the words.  I agree with the idea of getting very simple books with larger print to help with confidence.  I know that my dd liked when I would read a sentence but leave out the last word for her to read, eventually we worked up to her reading a sentence, me reading a sentence, then page, then book - it just all takes time.  You are one the correct track, you just need to have patience, because the magic is within him and he will get there on his own schedule - you have done an amazing job getting him this far.  If he prefers the computer have you checked out readeez?  They are video clips with words and songs, very catchy and slightly more interesting than straight flashcards.  Or the reading library on starfall.com is also a good idea. My dd still loves starfall.

[cassidy336]

I haven't heard of Readeez, it looks interesting and I'm going to have him check it out. 

I do need to be patient.  I know several families who homeschool but no one in real life who does this stuff and is attempting to homeschool a 4 year old who will be happy to discuss evolution with you.  No one I know seems to be able to tell me what will happen next because their kids are only slightly older and not at all in the same place. 

[cassidy336]

I just wanted to say that we found Readeez and we love it!  There are tons on Vimeo and You Tube and you can set up play lists so that they all play.  I just wish there were more of them.  We have memorized all these and want more!

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