On Camdyn's first birthday, we got him the Leap Frog "Letter Factory" and "Word Factory" DVDs. He wanted to watch them about a million times a day. By the time he was about 18 months he knew the phonetics of the alphabet, was learning the alphabet names, and learning the ASL alphabet signs. We Would take what he would learn from the DVDs and practice with him in the car or during music time before bed. We Would even spell and sound things out with him. Camdyn wanted to read when he was two. He was so mad that he couldn't. That Christmas we got him the Leap Frog Magnets that you put into a 3 letter base and it helps you sound out and spell the word (We did not pay nearly as much as the one in the link). when we were living with my Mother in Law, she started working with him too. They would spell words in the carpet with their fingers and sound it out until he got it. Then they would do rhyming words. He picked up the patterns of the English Language on his own and is able to read big words (like "ridiculous", "supervision", biblical names/words, etc.) because of him picking up the patterns.
I have also learned that Camdyn is a visual and hands on learner. So anything that has at least one of those helps. Also, if he is not interested in learning something, I don't push the issue because then it will teach him to hate learning that subject, and I teach it to him when he asks me questions regarding that subject or he shows interest in it, that way learning is always fun for him! The same even applies to reading. When he was about 18-20 months old I tried to teach him to read using his letter blocks, but he wasn't ready for that step yet, even though he showed interest in learning how to read when we weren't doing it with blocks. He just didn't have the attention span to sit down with me and try to read himself (but each child is different). Even though Camdyn is reading, learning ASL, science, and other things, his sister, Abigail is learning at a slower pace. It is not because she is not as smart as he is, or because I am not working with her as much, it's because she naturally likes to go at a slower pace. She is just as smart as Camdyn is. Abi is 3 years old and is just now becoming interested in learning her alphabet. And that is OK, and perfect for her! She will eventually get to the same level as Camdyn, it doesn't matter how fast she learns the same thing. Every child needs to go at their own pace, don't rush them or slow them down.
In Summary, my biggest tips for teaching children how to read and teaching any subject is: 1) learning what their unique learning style is, 2) be creative and find ways that will help the individual child learn best and be fun for them, 3) If they are not ready for that subject, don't push them/make them learn it, they will come to you when they are ready. Also, if it is something they love learning, but after a few minutes (or longer) lose interest, they are ready to move on to something else, let them. Lessons don't have to be 30-60 minutes. It can be 1 min. 4) use everyday activities (cooking, cleaning, looking at signs while walking or driving, etc) as learning opportunities (for example, we do math while cooking, or draw letters, numbers, words in flour). We never do sit down lessons unless the children ask for a sit down lesson.
Another thing that has recently started helping us more with our children not only in learning how to educate them better, but also to help support each child's unique nature is Carol Tuttle's book "The Child Whisperer". (We are not being paid to promote her book. We just absolutely love the things she teaches!
We hope you have enjoyed this post and that it is helpful. We love homeschooling our children. Even if your children go to school, you can still be their teacher at home. The more involved you are in your child's education, the more they will thrive in their education. ~ Shreyna
Camdyn reading at 3 yrs old
