What Books Do You Use to Start Teaching Preschooler to read?

[happymomma]

My 5 year old DS is interested in reading but we haven't started. I am interested in seeing what others have used to start the process on teaching your child to read. Someone had suggested Bob Books and then a friend of mine said that their preschool uses Read in Bags books. But I haven't see anything about the RIBS. I would love input on what everyone has used successfully.

Thanks so much in advance.

[Piglet]

DS1 is my bookworm. He devours books (and reads faster than I do). He really liked the Dr. Suess books that were geared to early readers - ABC, One Fish Two Fish, and most of all Hop on Pop. Hop on Pop is really a great book for sounding out easy words.

[sunriseiz]

I think it will depend alot on your DS, but we 'used' the Dick and Jane Collection and BOB books. I think for DD the repetition was really good so that she could pick it up and 'read' by herself quickly. I'll be interested in other suggestions!

[o_mom]

We started with the Bob Books. Set 1 and 2 went really well, but set three took a big jump in difficulty. I switched over to the Now I'm Reading sets. They have multiple sets at each level. I think there are 3 different level one sets, for example. Now we are on to 'early readers'. Our library has them color coded and he is on the easiest ones so I just tell him to pick out the ones with the blue dots.

[kijip]

We used the Brand New Reader sets. They are great.

http://www.amazon.com/Brand-New-Readers-Red-Set/dp/0763620629/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225671856&sr=1-1

T just loved them. There are about 10 thin books in each box set. We passed them on to a friend with a 4 year old recently and she loves them too.

[wendmatt]

My DD wanted to learn to read so a friend recommended "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". I cannot say enough good things about it, it was amazing. She learned to read at age 4 and is now at a second grade level or higher. She always loved books and just wanted to be able to read them herself so it worked great for us. I know Amazon carries it.

[stefani]

We are using "Dick and Jane" series and I have a few Brand New Readers books as well, but that seems to be a little more difficult.

I am thinking of getting the BOB books.

Check out sortfloorbooks.com, I got the BNR at quite a deep discount there.

[brittone2]

Bob books here too, although DS really has to be in the mood (they aren't the most stimulating IMO ;) ). We do a lot of reading of chapter books, and then I'll just point out occasional words and he'll sound them out. I try to not do so many that it is annoying and distracting, but it at least involves reading something more interesting to him than Bob books.

We do a lot of word play games. So I'll write or say, "kite." Then I'll ask him, if we changed the K to a B what would it be? We get all dramatic and silly with this game so he likes it, but I think those kinds of word play games are fun. We play games about rhyming, changing endings, etc.

We have Boggle Jr. and some letter dice from Haba. He'll use the cards from Boggle Jr. and spell out words and play around with them (kind of like the Montessori idea of a moveable alphabet).

We homeschool, and DS's reading (he's 4.5) is coming along without us really pushing. I bought the Explode the Code series and he thinks some of those pages are fun. I don't *require* him to do it as for him I think demanding he do workbooks kind of kills the fun for him. If I make them available without requiring them, he'll often pull them out for some quiet time during DD's nap.

If you do any computer time, Starfall.com is recommended by many parents.

[squimp]

We started with letter sounds. She watched the Leapfrog Letter Factory video. Once I realized she knew all her letter sounds, I sat down with her with the Bob Books and helped her sound them out. It was extremely painful and hard work for her at first, but within a couple weeks she started to sight read. Sight reading, meaning seeing a word and knowing what it is, as opposed to having to sound out each word. We loved starfall.com too, once she started to sight read.

In Montessori schools they don't say the letter name, they look at the letter and say the sound. So "T" is not "tee" it's "tuh". (It's also in cursive, but you don't have to do that). She spent a year at Montessori and I think that philosophy helped, thinking back. We also read to her every night at home before bed; this started the day she came home from the hospital.

Our problem now is getting her to stop reading at night and GO TO BED. Like mama like daughter.

It also depends on the kid. I know an early reader who used Hooked on Phonics - that system has all these charts and rewards - some kids love that and it totally worked for him. One thing I noticed about reading is that you can't really teach them to do it - it's something they just do. You can help them, but they have to want to do it.

[randomkid]

One thing I noticed about reading is that you can't really teach them to do it - it's something they just do. You can help them, but they have to want to do it.

:yeahthat: My oldest stepdaughter learned to read early and easily. My younger stepdaughter (21 months younger) loved to have books read to her and really wanted to read, but wasn't quite ready and put too much pressure on herself, trying to keep up with her sister. I remember becoming concerned because at 6 years old, she would try to read and mess up simple words like "an" and "the". Once she started 1st grade, it was like something just clicked and she started reading overnight. For a while, she became a more avid reader than the older one.

DD is 3.75yo and I just read to her and point out words. She spells them out loud, then says the word. Not sure what I'll do when she is older. FWIW, when I was a kid, I was required to read Dick and Jane books in school. I *hated* them! I likely will not use those with DD.

BTW, what are BOB books?

[brittone2]

BTW, what are BOB books?

Early readers. Lots of "Mat sat. Mat sat on a cat. The cat sat on Mat." types of sentences ;) Hence why I don't love them but DS requests doing them sometimes.

I also agree w/ the PPs about following his lead, but not worrying if he's not ready yet. DS goes in spurts with wanting to work on his reading, but I don't press if he isn't in the mood. We just keep our home environment rich with a wide variety of reading (fiction, nonfiction, chapter books, simpler early readers to build confidence). We do lots of books on CD (DS enjoys going to sleep with these on). I honestly think having an environment where reading is pleasurable and varied is probably the best thing you can do overall. Of course, since he's asking, I'd feed his interest, but if he loses interest or isn't catching on, I wouldn't worry.

[lisams]

Do you get the Scholastic book orders? They have wonderful sets of books for sight words and phonics. We have two sets and DD loves them. They are great for beginner readers. Each set had something like 20 books and was about $19. They are illustrated nicely and most of them are topics that interest DD or that she can relate to. We tried the BOB books but DD didn't seemed interested in them, and I can see why. They just didn't "grab" her.

[kijip]

One thing I noticed about reading is that you can't really teach them to do it - it's something they just do. You can help them, but they have to want to do it.

I totally agree. All steps to reading from letters and sounds to reading words to reading early readers to beginning reader books to devouring chapter paperbacks where of T's own doing. While we might have been able to speed it up a bit (he knew his letters and sounds before he was 2, something he taught himself), we never really had to teach him anything, just read with him and answer questions. I am glad we did not force the issue or try and get him reading sooner.

[squimp]

BTW, what are BOB books?

Just type "bob books" into amazon. They come in a little boxed set of about 10 short books. I'd just get one set and see what you think.