Teaching reading to the independent learner.

[minkajane]

DS hates sitting down and learning with me. I've tried doing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which he tolerated for about three days before he refused to do it anymore. He can sit for hours at the computer doing lessons, but if I try to sit down and do something with him, he gets antsy.

He's showing a LOT of interest in reading and with the 100 Easy Lessons thing, was beginning to sound words out if they had letters he already knew (he knows about half of them). So how do you teach a child to read if they want to do everything on their own? I'm letting him play on Starfall right now. Are there any other websites that can help a kid learn to read on their own?

I guess it's a good thing we decided to go with an online school - I think DS would be miserable if I tried to do a traditional homeschooling program.

[splotchy1]

It's not a complete system, but have you let him play on Starfall.com? If he is still in the beginning stages, it is good for teaching and modeling some things.

[minkajane]

I mentioned that he was already playing on Starfall. Today he's been doing the sign language lesson, which is good because it teaches him the signs, the letters, and the sounds all at the same time.

[4evermom]

My ds learned to read by playing fun computer games (not ones designed to be educational) and otherwise puttering at the computer (google searches, etc). He started out asking me "what does that say?" all the time. Then, he asked me less and less. Now, he reads to himself and asks me if he isn't sure or if he wants to confirm he got it right. Just being available to answer questions and read when asked is probably all your ds needs. My guy hated starfall. He did learn to read at an older age (between 7 and 8) but some of that is because he was always interested in reading things well above his grade level and he had no incentive to try to read 1st grade level material at age 6.

He's pretty selective about books but I've been finding ones of interest to him and reading most nights before bed. Sometimes he follows along with his eyes and I know he is picking up on the finer points and sometimes he just listens to the story with his head under the blanket. Being read to aloud allows independent learners to confirm what they think they know and learn new things without feeling like they are being taught and without feelings of pressure or expectations.

[Grace and Granola]

Have you heard of literactive.com? I find it much more interesting than starfall. My ds really loves it, though we started it after he was already sounding out words, so I'm not entirely sure what the beginning section is like. But overall, I prefer it to starfall.