Learning to read....

[leighi123]

Ds has been doing great with learning to read.  He really really wants to be able to read everything and is frustrated that he cant.  

We spend maybe 20min a day working on reading  - mostly sounding out words, doing 'word families' things like that.  And up until a few days ago he had no problem with this, and can read all of the words we have been working on (some he just reads, some he has to sound out).

But the past few days he all of a sudden cant do it!  These are the SAME words he has read many times before.  He will look at a word, say the sound of each letter, kinda start to sound it out and then say a totally random word that is no where close.  And he is trying and getting mad because he "doesnt know that word"  (i.e, he will look at the word "that" and say "th" "a" "t", "thhhaaaa" "ear"! - I'll ask what was that word? and he will say "ear", I ask him to look at it again, say the sounds, sound it out, and he does the same thing again!  -  or he will read "ram" as "rat", even if I point out more than once that it ends with a "m" not a "t")

Its frustrating for both of us, especially sense the methods I've been using for a while were working beautifully until now.   

Should I try a new approach? Keep on trying? skip a few days of reading work and then try?  Something else?   He tells me that he really wants to learn how to read! 

He is 3.5 BTW.  

[evelynsaenz]

I am a teacher and homeschooled my 3 children for years. My oldest is in college. Each of them are avid readers. I have taught mostly preschool though first grade.

Since your son is just 3.5. I would suggest that you drop it. There are many more important things for your child to be doing and learning at that age. How about reading to him, taking him out to experience the world, and playing with him. If you want to include more literacy, try taking him to visit the zoo, for example. When you come home, draw or paint a picture of his favorite animal. Then write the name of the animal underneath the picture. Then go to the library and check out a book or two about that animal. You will be teaching him that reading is fun and informative. Keep the reading instruction informal. This will keep him eager to learn when he is ready.

I can tell that you are a wonderfully caring mom who wants the best for her child. Relax. He will learn to read.

[sublimeliving]

If he wants to learn to read, I would try a different approach. Have you taught him all of his blends (sh, ch, th...)? There are some really good reading curriculums out there. I would research them and pick one to try out. I think 3.5 is the perfect age to get started. : )

[bandgeek]

When my DS hits a wall with anything, we just take a break for a while.  Being so young he may just be overwhelmed.  If you step back and give him some time, you may be surprised what he's able to do when you start back up again.  DS always surprises me with what he's learned when I teach him nothing. LOL 

[Leersia]

Taking a break seems like a good idea!  If he doesn't want that, I might try the "I See Sam" books with him.  I learned about them on this forum, and they have been a huge help for my son's reading).  They are designed to be 100% decodable, and progress very slowly, introducing one or two new sounds per book, if that.  He'll have success right away and build on it very slowly.  They were developed with govt. funds in the 70s and the first two sets are in the public domain and available free to print here:

http://www.marriottmd.com/sam/index.html

Instructions for using them (and the sets beyond the free ones) can be found here:

http://www.3rsplus.com/reading_free_resources.htm

Best wishes!