Next step in learning to read

[mtbmomma]

My DD who turned three last month, really wants to learn how to read.  While I'm a big proponent of delayed academics, I also believe in following your child's lead and I think that mentally she is close to ready.  She already knows all the letters and there sounds (she learned her letters at 1.5 years, and sounds by 2).  She can figure out the letter words start with, usually the ending letter, and can read most three letter words if she tries sounding them out.  We play some games like matching objects to their written names, or sorting objects by the letter they begin with (this is very easy for her), and read to her all the time.  We visit the library a couple times a week, and bring home 10+ books every couple weeks, which she will sit and listen to forever.

So, my question is, what is the next step for us to take.  I sort of suspected that she wouldn't really start reading for a couple years, since she doesn't seem to have the patience to sit and sound out every word in a book or sentence (and I don't expect her to).  But recently, she seems really interested in learning how to read, and has asked me several times to teach her.  Should I just stick with what we have been doing so far, and eventually she'll just get it?

Any suggestions on other fun reading games we could do?  I don't want to get into flashcards or workbooks, and we do look at Starfall occasionally, though I'm not a big fan of computers or tv for this age group.  

Thank you all for the suggestions (and just so people don't get concerned, we spend most of our time playing pretend games, doing puzzles, building with blocks, painting/crafts, and exploring/playing outdoors.  DD has just always loved books.)

[moominmamma]

My eldest and youngest began reading shortly after their third birthdays. I basically did what you're doing and nothing more. My eldest never asked to be taught. She asked occasional questions: "Why does I-C-E spell ice? It should say icky!" I explained exactly what she was asking about, and left it at that. Sometimes another question would follow, most often not. One day she was reading fluently. My youngest did ask me to "show her how to read" and I just explained that there were lots of skills that went into reading, and I was already helping her learn the kinds of things she'd need to be able to read: playing rhyming games, matching games, first-letter games, writing things down when she asked, answering her questions. When her brain was ready, it would figure reading out. She was satisfied with that. I think she just wanted to be sure there wasn't some trick I hadn't yet thought to mention! She too learned to read easily, early and without any "next step" of instruction. 

Miranda

[Daffodil]

I'd say there are a few different skills that could be seen as the next step.  One would be moving from slowly sounding out a 3 letter word to being able to do it instantly (which just happens eventually through practice.)  Another would be learning to recognize some common sight words like "the" and "a."  Another would be to learn some more advanced phonics rules, like the sounds of "oo" and "ee" or the sounds of digraphs ("sh" "ch" "th") or silent e.  All of those steps could be happening at the same time.  If she wants you to teach her something, or if you want to teach her something, I'd focus on one or all of those areas, being prepared to drop it if she doesn't find it interesting.  When my DS was at the stage where he was just starting to move on from sounding out 3 letter words, he liked a game we called "Read It and Do It."  I'd write out a command for him, something like "hug Mom" or "get a pen," and he would read it and do it.

[tankgirl73]

Sounds a lot like my daughter!  At pretty much the same ages she was doing the same things.  She was reading the simple c-v-c words at around 3.5yo.  And she stayed at about the same level until she was well over 4.  Then suddenly she had a 'leap' and we learned a whole lot more phonics 'rules'.  And she kind of stayed at that level of decoding for awhile.  Then just recently she's had another 'leap' and is using lots of context clues to figure out complex words and chunking longer words and recognizing all the sight words and just reading more *naturally* without all the 'decoding' steps.  She just turned 5 this week.

(I was an early reader myself, started reading on my own before I was 4.  So I'm with you on the 'delayed academics but follow the kid' stuff too!  ;))

Some of the things she enjoyed...

Magnets on the fridge, or just cards on the floor.  These were ones I made with a starting consonant on one, the ending sound eg "at" on the other.  Also some with pictures to match.  cat, rat, bat, hat, etc.  Having them just on the fridge meant she could play with them whenever she felt inclined to.

Reverse reading... Where she *builds* the words instead of decodes them.  If she's not writing letters on her own yet, then some kind of 'movable alphabet' does the trick.  This is something my daughter has been LOVING lately.  A couple of months ago she suddenly and spontaneously started writing lists and stories all. the. time!  It's very much 'invented spelling'... sometimes we'll overhear her, just sitting with a pencil and some paper... "dear... duh duh duh duh... eee eee eee... uh uh uh... wuh wuh wuh...."  But she's doing it all on her own, and I don't think that it's a coincidence at all that this is concurrent with her recent leap in 'natural' reading!

Progressive Phonics.  Free program.  You can read the books on-screen, or if you're keen on avoiding excessive screentime you can download them as pdf's.  One of the (many) reasons this program is great is that the earliest readers are not restricted to just the easy words.  The *parent* reads the bulk of the story, and the kid's words are printed in larger red type.  It's great for the young kids who really are probably not ready to progress a *whole* lot, but who want to 'really read'.  By sharing the reading, they feel like they're accomplishing a WHOLE lot while they actually don't have to learn a whole lot more at a time.  Plus the stories are really funny.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons -- this program isn't for everyone.  It's a love-it-or-hate-it thing.  But it's worth mentioning.  The progression is slow and incremental in a way that's appropriate for young reader-wannabes.  So they can feel like they're actively "learning to read" without being rushed. Some kids are bored stiff by it, others are fascinated.

And of course... just reading together.  Which I'm sure you're doing lots of already.  :)  My daughter loved it when I would hold her hand and move her finger along the words as I was reading them.  And (again I'm sure you know this but it's worth mentioning) don't worry if she 'camps out' at the same level for a long time.  If all she reads is c-v-c for the next year, then have fun with that.  She'll leap to the next level when she's ready to -- my girl sure did!

[SweetSilver]

I'm with you-- a big fan of delayed academics who also wants to follow their child's lead.

We do the same as some previous posters, which is essentially keep on reading.  When the interest to read on their own began, I would revisit some old favorites from the library and even checked out baby board books.  These they chose to practice on their own in the moments between one game and the next. Sometimes when we would sit down at reading time I'd ask if they wanted to read the book, but I asked sparingly and figured they would tell me if they did-- and they did!

If your dd "gets" puzzles at 3yo (and enjoys them), we really love decoder puzzles, where you figure out what letter goes with each symbol.  The ones with a joke at the end are the favorites.  I just have the puzzle books available for them to choose just like their other toys.  These are definitely not workbooks, which have a goal and aim for comprehension.  They are puzzle books, which are about having fun (though they often come with stickers which we simply pull out and us for fun.)  This is a nit-picky difference to make between workbooks and puzzles, but all-important for me.

Sometimes my 5yo asks to run my finger under the words.  This annoys my 6.75yo, but I can do it in short spurts.  I'm not a huge fan of it because it turns storytime into a lesson.  But as you are finding, often your kids want to make it a lesson.  I don't take this as a license to embark on reading curriculums, or assume that because they ask they are ready for full-blown instruction.  I take it to mean that they want a turn to practice their reading, or to have you point to the words as you read, or something simple like that.  A week or several might pass before they ask again (actually at their age it's pretty much every day now, though before there really were big stretches between).  

In the meantime, we always always always have storytime.  Really storytime, not ulterior-motive-storytime.  

[mtbmomma]

Wow ladies, thanks for all the great ideas and advice.  I do follow along under the words when we read occasionally, and she seems to like that.  I also have mentioned at times the sounds of diagraphs, but never anything formal.  Maybe I'll make up some games using those next.  Sweetsilver, those decoder books sound like a lot of fun, we may have to try them out.  

Thanks for the reassurance as well, sometimes its hard to just trust that what we are doing is best, and not to second guess yourself.

[Grace and Granola]

You've got a lot of great advice!  I just wanted to say that I was in your boat about three years ago and I had no idea what to do as the "next step," and I was discouraged from doing ANYTHING because it's not "developmentally appropriate" to teach a 3yo to read.  So, I waited, because I didn't know any better.  What a huge mistake!  DO DO DO follow your child's lead.  My ds lost interest because I didn't teach him and it became harder later.  Good luck!

[mtbmomma]

Thanks Grace and Granola, I will take that into consideration.  

[Red Pajama]

I suggest looking at an education catalog, such as Lakeshore learning.  If you can afford some of the neat things they have, go for it. If you can't, it's a great place for ideas.

One thing I picked up there is sight word games. They have so many. we createdone of our own, with just construction paper and cardboard from cereal boxes.  I traced circles onto construction paper, wrote some of the sight words (dolch word list, or 100 first words, or simlar) onto the circles, and then colored them to look like planets (or flowers...or whatever in your case) Trace over words with sharpie, and then cut out circles of cardboard and write the matching words onto the circles.

To play, you take turns taking out a word, finding it on your board, or giving it to the other player if you don't have it.

[mtbmomma]

I will definitely check that catalog out, I think she would love that game.  She has been really into board games recently, and would love one that incorporates reading/spelling too.   Every time I mention reading or spelling, she informs me that she is "really interested in learning to read and spell", it is quite cute.  

[SweetSilver]

Once she gets the hang of reading, any game where you draw cards to ask questions or take directions is good for reading practice-- math practice, too!  i love board games as a learning tool.  Oops!  Did I say "learning tool"?   Yikes!  I mean that board games are a lot of fun for all of us and it gives the girls practice in many areas.  (There.  I don't "do" learning tools, but as you see it really just boils down to semantics sometimes!)

[Grace and Granola]

one thing my son loved to do when he was very young and just learning to read was to use the computer.  I would open up a word document and set the font to large and a neat color.  Then he would fiddle around on the keyboard.  Then I would show him that he could spell words.  What does cat start with..... type C....what's the next sound....A....etc.  He would be so proud to sound out a word and spell it.  It's a great tool for kids who aren't coordinated to write without getting frustrated.

[mtbmomma]

We have done that as well Granolla and Grace.  She can write three letter words like "cat", "dog"... that way.  We also like to write words on the side of the tub with foam letters.  I just made up a "board game" modeled after the game Sequence using preliminary sight words.  Pretty much, I wrote the sight words on cards, and then on a large piece of paper divided into a 5X6 grid (I think).  I covered them all with contact paper.  There were three words left over, so I just wrote bonus on the corner of those cards, and they can be used to put a chip anywhere on the board, or to remove someone else's chip.  Then we just used the chips from our Sequence game.  We dealt three cards to each player, and on your turn, you choose a card to play, find it's pair on the board and cover it with a chip, then discard that one and choose a new one.  The first person to get 4 in a row (straight or at an angle) wins.  We played it tonight, and she really liked it.  She read some of the words herself, but mostly I just told her what they were, since I figure they are sight words, and it wouldn't be too fun for her if she had to read too much.