Phonics/ Reading help for almost 5 year old DS

[daisy13]

My DS is going to be 5 in about a month. He goes to Pre K now. He used to be in a Montessori preschool and we moved him to a regular private preschool this year.

He is struggling with phonics. He is a very active and playful boy. Since he was a baby, he has always been more interested in running around, legos , playdoh - and vehicles. He is obsessed with vehicles.So when he comes home, all he wants to do is sit around with his legos or play with his trucks and cars. While I am glad he is a very active child and is fairly independent ( can entertain himself for hours ), his teacher has been expressing concern that he is falling behind. They are teaching "blending" ( blending vowels and consonants phonetically). He wont sit down with me or his teacher for even 10 min at a time to practice bending.

How can I get him interested? I have tried Bob books and other similar books. He WILL NOT sit down .I recently tried the "hooked on phonics" app- thats seems to hold his interested- probably because its on my phone which he will do anything to get a hold of .

Any of you have a similar child? What did you do ? Any other phonics app that I can use? This might work the best.. In the short term, I guess its ok to use the phone as a bribe to get him interested..

[georgiegirl]

I wouldn’t push it at all. He’s not even 5 yet. Does he know his letter sounds? That’s really all I’d focus on now, not blends. Let him play and be a kid. He can learn blends next year in kindergarten. Only 1 out if my 3 kids was interested in reading before kindergarten.

ETA: there’s no point in forcing it. It’s like trying to teach a 9 mo old to walk. A very few can do it, but it’s pointless if they aren’t ready. Eventually he will be ready.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Totally agree with pp. I think your school needs to get with the times! My ds2 got “held back” at our private preschool for similar reasons. Guess what? When he started kindergarten, he was exactly where he needed to be in terms of early reading skills. When he was old enough, things clicked and he steadily progressed. He wasn’t in the top reading group but truly who cares? He was totally fine. It’s one of those things that until they’re ready it just won’t happen. And if it seems to, they might not have actually learned anything, merely memorized some stuff.
Your kiddo sounds totally perfect! It’s your school that has unrealistic expectations. I sent both of mine to the same school and there had been a huge academic shift in our 5 year gap. They said it was parent driven...lots of tiger parents that wanted more academics. I’d chosen it because it had been so chill and play based. It’s a shame that we aren’t letting kids be kids, imo.
All that to say don’t stress and don’t push it. Early readers, late readers...it all evens out.


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[KpbS]

Blending is NOT developmentally appropriate for preschool! Do not let the teacher worry you. This is a kindergarten skill that is taught after all of the letter sounds are mastered.

He sounds perfectly normal and healthy. Let him play and I would think of switching preschools for a better, play-based program.

[ourbabygirl]

ITA with PPs!

My DC will be 5 soon, and we just had the preschool conference. My first two were reading by this age (not from anything I did, they just figured it out on their own), but this child only knows about 15 letters, and definitely doesn't know any blending sounds! I think playing and emotional/ social skills are way more important than academics at this age! I heard somewhere that it all evens out by 3rd grade, and teachers can't really tell which kids were the early readers. So as much as I'd love for my kid to be reading right now, or at least knowing the whole alphabet, I'm not too worried.

Keep letting your kid be a kid and enjoy playing!

[doberbrat]

I like abcmouse for basic letter sound identification etc. Nothing more is needed for K. If he knows his letters & numbers and can recognize his name he's good. If he knows letter sounds, even better.

I would practice sitting still and not interrupting - I literally had "sitting still" practice time the summer before K but my kids didnt go to preK. 5min here and there will help. Try to let him enjoy this year!

[daisy13]

thanks for the reassurance folks. DS is a happy friendly happy kid. The teacher tells me that he feels bad- because all his friends are "blending" and have progressed to reading small CVC word books. DS also mentioned that he wants to " read life his bffname".
My DD was reading by the time she was 4- nothing that I did . She just naturally had the aptitude and picked it up at school on her own.

DS , on the other hand is advanced in physical skills- like he has been riding his bike without side wheels for a while now.

While I am in no hurry- I dont want him to feel left out or behind ..

Edited to add:- Yes. he does know all his letters, sounds and numbers..

[georgiegirl]

thanks for the reassurance folks. DS is a happy friendly happy kid. The teacher tells me that he feels bad- because all his friends are "blending" and have progressed to reading small CVC word books. DS also mentioned that he wants to " read life his bffname".
My DD was reading by the time she was 4- nothing that I did . She just naturally had the aptitude and picked it up at school on her own.

DS , on the other hand is advanced in physical skills- like he has been riding his bike without side wheels for a while now.

While I am in no hurry- I dont want him to feel left out or behind ..

Edited to add:- Yes. he does know all his letters, sounds and numbers..

Sounds like he’s perfect and his school has unrealistic expectations. I wouldn’t worry about it and actually discourage him from working on blends.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Sounds like he’s perfect and his school has unrealistic expectations. I wouldn’t worry about it and actually discourage him from working on blends.


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Yep! This is a good moment to remind him (and yourself) not to compare abilities. Everyone has areas they are stronger in. And that’s ok. The school shouldn’t be using peer pressure to make him feel bad about something he can’t help!!


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[Melaine]

Everyone else beat me to it. He is doing wonderfully and perfectly aligned with what a four year old should be learning, experiencing, and playing. Pushing reading so early does NO favors for children or the classroom. To be honest, I question his teacher's expertise if she is coming to you with this as a concern. She just doesn't have a very educated view of preschool development and learning if she thinks he is "behind" in any way. I wouldn't worry about it one little bit.