Teaching a child to read?

Question

Is teaching a child to read and write before kindergarten put him at a diadvantage? My 3.5 yr old grandson and I have been playig with lettersand number. He knows his alapbet, the phonucs to the lettes and can count to 20, add and subtract single diget sums. He loves his books and the next step is reading. My son says stop teaching him stuff, he'll be bored inschool and the other kids will make fun of him. I am my granson's primary caregiver and we have so much fun learning stuff.

Answer 1

As a teacher I can say that you should definitely continue doing what you are doing. I have overwhelmingly noticed that the kids who were not read to as a child were the ones who struggled with it later in life both academically and socially. Consequently, these students were the ones who hated school because they were behind the other students. As far as your sons assertion that he will be made fun of, I can say that kids are going to tease each other no matter what and the only thing that you are doing by reading to your grandson is that he will have the confidence and skills that he needs to succeed in school and the workplace.

Below are a list of sites that you may find helpful

http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/reading.htm
http://www.readingsuccesslab.com/Reading-Tips/ReadingToYourChild.html
http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/bibs/earlylit.html

Answer 2

Teach him anyways. It'll be good for him and he'll understand eveything in school. I was able to do all that when I was in preschool. I didn't get made fun of or anything. I just got chose to read more often then the other kids but I didn't care. I'm only 13 right now but because I've been reading since I was like 3 I'm at a college reading level maybe a little above that.

Answer 3

Keep reading to your grandchild. Teach him the letters of the alphabet, but also teach him the sounds they make. Teach simple everyday words. Have him try to say the words on his own, find little books with words that repeat, so that he sees the same words over and over, sometimes these are called pattern books. Your grandchild will not be bored, he will be smart. Children who read and read well at an early age, excel in school and are happier. Good reading skills help them with math, science, history and so much more than just basic English. Remember, it is very important for him to see YOU reading. It sets a good example. Have him count stacks of pennies or buttons. Sort things by colors ( have him help with the laundry and sort clothes by colors before washing, just for the fun of it.)
Keep up the good work.

Answer 4

I worked a lot with my youngest before he started school. He knew his alphabet, numbers up to 100, shapes, colors and knew every sound every letter made. By the time he started K-4, he was sounding out words by himself, teaching himself to read. Don't worry about him getting bored at school, there are so many other things going on there is always something for them to do. My son is in K-5 and participates in a first grade reading group, he's not the only one in his group either, there's a little girl just as smart, in his class and same reading group.

Answer 5

Trust me, there is no disadvantage. Speaking as a child who learned VERY early how to read, I was never bored in school. If a child is bored in school, they should be sent to a school where they can go at their own pace, not the pace of everybody else around them. If you teach a child that he has to be average, he will be average. If you want him to be smart and different and unique, teach at the pace he wants to learn, not what someone else thinks would be "good" for him. Maybe your son is just afraid that his son will be smarter than him if he gets a head start.... :)

Answer 6

I think it is a good idea for you to teach him how to read and write because when he starts going to school he will already know all things they are teaching at that time and he will be far ahead of everybody and maybe he might skip a grade at some point.

Answer 7

The most flattering and loving thing that you can give another human being is your complete attention. Listening. You have built a relationship where your grandson sounds like he is thriving on learning because you are giving him this kind of attention. The only way that this could be bad is if your time together becomes more about academic achievement and bragging rights, than the attention and love. Maybe balance your time with other things too, like making shapes out of cookie dough and then eating them after you've baked them...learning to toss a ball...learning to hop and skip and jump....taking trips on different kinds of transportation, ie: a train, a bus, a boat, etc. AND learning to socialize and make friends. Your grandson is lucky to have someone who loves him so much...as are your son/daughter-in-law.

Answer 8

It's not an advantage or a disadvantage. Most kids can read and write before first grade.
Unless your child attends a private school or catholic school that offers accelerated programs or even a semi accelerated program for the gifted your child will suffer while having to wait for other classmates to catch up to him.
Take much caution when deciding how to train a child: If you start now to train him one on one and to crave learning, please do not put him in public school, it will be an injustice to him.

Answer 9

There is some truth to what your son says, but your grandson will continue to learn anyway, and even if you don't teach him to read, he will learn it quickly when he goes to school and probably surpass his peers very quickly. Think of other things you can teach him if your son doesn't want you to teach him to read. Teach him how to make stuff, how to play the piano, painting strategies, other things that are less likely to be taught in school. There is so much to learn!

Answer 10

It's possible to invest a lot of time and money trying to find approaches to teach your kids how to learn and enhance their reading skills. Is hard to instruct a small child how to read, and also tempting them to learn is a challenge in itself. But it does not have to be this way as you got assistance from this program https://tr.im/cvR33 , Children Learning Reading program.
With Children Learning Reading you can train your son or daughter how to split up appears and separate phrases in to phonemes, a vital point whenever your kid is merely learning how to spell.
The reading program from Children Learning Reading program makes it simple for kids to read rapidly and effectively, from easy phrases to phrases until they learn to see stories.