What to do next?

[galroz]

My child is 25 m.o. and I've been showing him powerpoint slides downloaded from brillkids and other websites you suggested (thank you!) for a couple of weeks. I haven't followed Doman's advice for retiring and introducing cards exactly. He's reading quite a few words now but I am concerned that I probably show him too many at a time. We do it 3 times daily just before he starts to eat. Today I introduced couplets and he was really excited, can't say that for the single words except for animals with sound effect. I am thinking of buying LR but we'll probably have to skip a lot of lessons and I think I can probably manage with powerpoint. I have the following questions:
1. How many slides are appropriate for his age?
2. When you introduce couplets and phrases do you still continue with single words? I've quickly read Doman's book but that wasn't clear for me.
3. Is it worth getting LR at this stage and what is the contents in semester 1 and semester 2?
Thank you so much in advance.

[Tanikit]

Sounds like you have been doing a good job - the idea is to keep his interest!

1. I found categories of 5 slides was usually enough even at that age, but it varies from child to child. The curriculum on LR shows 3 categories of 5 slides each all in one go with pictures in between and my DD coped well with this. If he does not seem interested you can even show one slide at a time and if he seems keen 15-20 even.

2. Yes, you will have to continue with single words so that he learns more words but probably decrease the single words as else it will take you too long to show all the categories. Some words are only introduced in the phrases as they have little meaning on their own ("the" bird or Jim "is" singing) etc.

3. When my DD started LR they did not have a curriculum and I made most of the shows myself - I would not base whether I bought the product on the curriculum as it is a very adaptable programme - you can do what you like with it, make your own shows, download off this forum, follow the curriculum, even write whole stories. It really is a good programme simply because you can use it so broadly and adapt it to what your child needs at the time.
I did however do some of the curriculum when it did come out when my DD already knew a large number of words and could even read sentences and she enjoyed it - it was a change for her and there were plenty of words on there she did not know and many she did know but she liked doing both. Later on there were sentences and phrases and she liked doing that too.

At the saem time you need to keep reading to your child and also teach left to right and decrease word size gradually so there is plenty to get on with.

[galroz]

Thanks for your advice. How old is your daugher? How long did it take to learn to read sentences? I've noticed with by son that he forgot already some of the words that he knew when I show them to him again. Should I be concerned? Should I keep showing them after they have been retired? Another concern is that he can't stay still to read him a book, always wants to play with it or to do something else.

[annisis]

Josiah has "forgotten" words only to magically recall them again... ya know, when he wanted to.

As far as reading goes, I leave his book out when I am not reading to him. And, yes, he will play with them and even "pretend" to read them. He is still a small child so books are stepped on and left strewn about, etc. At other times, he actually reads the books that I have taught him the words to. I usually let him decide when I read to him. He has even managed to open his door at midnight and came running out squinty-eyed with book in hand. Forget his blanket! LOL Awwww. That was a cute night.   

Maybe instead of one book in a sitting, you could focus on one book a week or so. Maybe print the words really big on a poster board or dry-erase board and show the corresponding picture. ? One sentence a day... or more depending on what you feel is right.

[Tanikit]

My DD is now 3 years and 2 months. I started with LR when she was 8 months old though it was in beta testing then so I didn't do very much. From 12 months I showed her word cards but every now and then we would have a break for a few months and I never did quite do Doman style - I just showed her what she wanted at that time and also what she had the concentration for. I also did LR.

Shortly before turning two she was speaking in lengthy sentences and I started her with sentences and before she was 2.5 years old she was reading entire books which I did with her with flashcards stuck on the wall to make sentences as she could not read a book itself (maybe the print was too small or it was too overwhelming) She was 3 before she began to read books themselves.

As for the words - its ok to forget them - it is much easier to remember a word in context than just a single word on a flashcard as there is more meaning in a sentence (and this particularly applies to words like "the", "and", "is") The more meaning a word or phrase has for your child the more he will remember it - so teach him his favourite words first and make phrases meaningful - he may care about a sentence that says: Today we will get some ice cream. But be totally unable to read: The cat sat on the mat (as long as you do get him the ice cream that is)

I taught my DD the phonetic alphabet at 18 months and started showing her how to blend basic phonics at about 2.5 years - she only showed she could blend by herself a month before she turned three.

The only thing I would say is: don'tgive up, be pateint and keep trying new things that excite your child.
 I wen t througha stage of having DD read recipes or shopping lists as this was the only thing she really wanted to read.

[Tanikit]

Just wanted to say regarding not sitting still for books - it is a mistake many parents make - a child and esepcially a toddler can still listen and concentrate and learn while moving - they do not have to sit still to listen and nor do they always have to look at the pictures either. Maybe try reading to him when he is building with blocks. My DDs best time to listen to stories (even longer chapter books) is when she is playing with her toys in the bath - and I know she is listening because if I ask her anything about the story she knows the correct answer. Sometimes when she is busy with something else she will ask me to show her the pictures, other times I will just show her and sometimes I just read.

Naturally you can't point to the words like this, but at least they are hearing and enjoying stories and the words can be a separate activity (for now)

[hypatia]

Thanks for this reminder!
I reading the 'read aloud hand book' and the author says that we stop reading to our children once they know how to read on their own, and he advises reading through teenage years. He would read news articles to his son while he was doing the dishes as a teen.

[Tanikit]

I also don't think you stop reading to your child for a very long time for a number of reasons:

1) A parent reading to a child can teach new vocabulary better than the child can do it for himself (just by reading with more understanding and inflection they pick it up)
2) A parent can use a more advanced book to discuss various topics with a child that need to be discussed and that could be missed by the child who has less experience (moral issues, identity issues and anything else for that matter)
3) A child who is newly reading is usually not up to standard - they can more easily listen to longer and harder books than they can read them themselves so would miss out on these stories til much later at which time there interest may be waning.
4) Things like newspaper articles are always great to discuss with children but without someone else's opinion can seem pretty boring.

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