Dani was exposed to songs, books & TV at a young age. I was one of those parents who said I would not let my kids watch TV until they turn 3. I know there are families who do that, and that's awesome! But I gave in....I needed my 10 min coffee breaks to keep my sanity, cooking time, and just peace during meals. My husband and I definitely tried to limit her time with the screen. Let me just say that we had really good days, and really bad days. Why am I talking about this? I don't completely discredit the things she watched as a child. I honestly believe that the songs and things she learned from certain shows helped her a bit. When Dani turned 3, I started to really look into things that might help her learn in a more structured way.
I ordered a few Kumon books that had simple activities for young children. She really enjoyed doing that. They had special books for kids to learn using their scissors, easy writing/drawing exercises. But I did not want to go down the route of having her simply do workbooks. Children learn by playing and engaging in different ways, so I took her to various classes and played games that might help facilitate learning.
One day I was at the bullseye section at Target (where you will most likely find me) and found sight word flashcards. I bought it to add to my pile of "future learning tools" for Dani. Little did I know that the cards would unleash the confidence that got Dani to start reading. I took the flashcards on our summer trip because I felt bad that she was going to be playing all day everyday. Mom guilt? Yes. I saw a mom on instagram who had a daughter reading at age 5. That got me excited because my husband and I love to read. All the books I loved as a kid, I wanted to share with my daughter. Just knowing that it is possible for a child to start reading that young was a motivator. It seemed like an impossible feat, but I wanted to try and start slow with Dani. By this time she was close to 3.5/4 years old. We went through about 5 cards every few days. I made it in to a game. She was the word monster. Dani had to start about 3 feet away from me. Every time she got a word correct, she got to move closer. Once she got close enough, she got to "eat" (tickle) me. She loved it. I would teach her how to sound things out, but I knew she was also memorizing what she saw. Kids are smart and are great memorizing at that age. I was okay with that. I saw the confidence build and that's all that mattered. In order to learn how to sound things out and to keep trying, a child needs to feel like they can do it.
I know this is probably the unpopular opinion when it comes to teaching kids how to read. Starting with sight words can make a child simply memorize and not fully understand the phonics portion. I completely agree. If sight words are all they do, then that might not benefit the child long term. Phonics should definitely be incorporated in between as you work with your child at their pace to understand certain rules of reading.
Once we came back from our trip, she had become familiar with most of the cards. I pulled out a book and tried to have her read the words she already knew. She got a lot of it correct which made her so excited to try other books. When we encountered words she didn't know, I helped her sound it out. Fast forward to now, she is almost 6 and reading books on her own. There are still words she does not know, but Dani is willing to try. I am not an educator, but I feel that a lot of times kids do not start to read because they are afraid to mess up or are embarrassed. Like a lot of things, kids need to build confidence in certain areas to try. Dani still has a lot of things to learn, but I feel that her early reading and writing started with the flashcards which gave her the push she needed. :)
Comentários