A question for our educators

[lukkykatt]

My 4 yo has started to read on his own. The only thing I have ever done with him is to read books to him (meaning that I have not been actively trying to teach him in a structured way). He will not be starting Kindergarten until Sept. '05.

My question is, what is the best way to let his reading progess until he starts K? I've been getting him books like "Hop on Pop" from the library - anything else I should be doing? And I guess he has been learning by sight - I just wanted to make sure that he will not be consfused if he starts learning Phonics or something else when he starts school.

Any tips will be appreciated!

[Karenn]

That's so exciting! I think the very best thing that you can do for him is to keep reading with him, and keep getting him books from the library. What you've been doing has obviously been working, so I wouldn't mess with it.

Chances are, once he gets to school, he will start learning some phonics, but hopefully that will add to his knowledge rather than confuse him.

It's so nice when reading comes so effortlessly to someone! The way I see it, your only job now is to continue to foster a love of reading and books. A lot of the rest will fall into place on its own.

[jk3]

That's fantastic. Keep reading with him + fostering his love of books. Keep it fun + light. He has many years to learn so you want him to enjoy the experience.

Jenn
DS 6/03

[LucyG]

That's great! I would just make sure he has a variety of things to read. There are so many good high-interest, lower level books out now. A good series is the "An I Can Read Book" series. They are ranked levels 1-3, and provide more variety than simple phonetic material, when he is ready to move on to concept books. You can find them at Target and Walmart, in addition to school book fairs and Barnes and Noble, etc.

[lrucci]

That is wonderful!!! It amazes me how easy some children learn to read, while others struggle at it sooo much. I agree with what the others have said - keep reading to him and have him read to you when he wants. There are a lot of books out that are geared toward beginning readers. If you go to the bookstore, someone there should be able to guide you to books that are appropriate.

Some children learn by sight and others are very phonetic. English is a hard language to read phonetically, so it's great that he can pick up words by sight easily. Most children who are reading going into kindergarten have no trouble learing phonics. Depending on the kindergarten situation, he may receive a higher level of reading instruction - meaning it won't be as heavily focused on phonics- since he is a reader already.

Keep up the great work Andrea!

Lisa
Mom to Kyleigh 7/19/03

[casey118]

That is great. I would check out the Read-Aloud Handbook- it has a lot of very useful information about reading to your kids and their reading progression.

Kimberly
Momma to Jack