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Hi there! I was hoping for some advice about helping a 3 year old re-gain reading interest. My youngest will be 4 in July. Right at 3.5, she began decoding on her own and was quickly reading sentences and short level 1 readers (slowly and with encouragement - was never fluent). We never pushed her or worried about attempting to get her progress because of her age. Anyways, it seems that after (in her mind)"mastering" this skill, the novelty wore off. Now if I try to read a book with her or even get her to fill in a simple word while I read to her, she refuses saying that she doesn't like to read.

She writes well for her age, I think, and writes all over paper and drawings she makes (the other day she drew a picture of our family and wrote "love" and "famil". This makes me thinks that she still knows how to sound out words. It isn't important to me that she reads at this point, but I am a little concerned that she says reading is "not fun" and that she "doesn't like it". Any opinions or advice on this? Thanks in advance!

I'd consider getting her vision checked (or do your own test informally and on the sly), and stop applying even slight pressure for her to read. She'll be back to it soon enough. She's likely reading on the sly now anyway, but just doesn't want to perform in front of you. In the meantime strew plenty of interesting new reading material at an appropriate level, and continue reading to her-- with no requests to read a single word.

This is good advice. I never thought about her vision at all! I do think she is reading on the sly for sure... she is the most obstinate child ever - out of my 4 anyway. Lol. We went to Cheddar's the other day for lunch, which she had never been to, but heard her dad and I mention to each other at some point. When we pulled up, she said "Cheddar's"! When I said "How do you know this is Cheddar's?" She furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms. Turkey.

Not that this will be helpful advice at all, but fwiw, my kids were like that about a lot of things when they were 3-4 years old - they'd be really into one type of new learning thing for awhile, we'd get excited about it and they would move on to something else. In some ways I can't help but think that it's the first developmental stage where they are focusing on how to completely confuse their parents

I wouldn't worry about the reading too much - it will come in time! I also don't know that I'd be for certain she's "reading" the Cheddar's sign - my kids all knew how to "read" the restaurant signs long before they could actually read - they knew the names from having been there before, and the signs usually have distinctive logos.

polarbear

Get a level 2 reader. Tell her if she wants to stay up past her bedtime she can stay up late to read. When my son tries a challenging book he only reads a page or two before he gets tired. Books on his level he can read anywhere from a few pages to the whole book in one sitting. Alternate which level book you offer. I'm not sure how the leveled readers match but from my limited experience my son reads level 2 chapter books and grade 1.5 books so I think they're the same level. Example Fly Guy and Goodnight Moon are grade 1.5 and The Magic Set and Henry and Mudge are level 2. Those are books he can read as much as he wants to which is usually a lot more when he can stay up late reading.
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny is grade level 3.5 and Maximum Boy is grade level 3.7. That's two books he's struggling through. That means he can only read one page or two pages and it literally makes him tired. He'll still gladly try it if it means he can stay up late reading. But then he doesn't stay up late he gets tired and goes to sleep.
That getting to read past bedtime really got my kid past the hump from "being able to read" to actually reading. And actively reading has recently lead to an interesting part in the book where he kept reading because it was a very interesting part. That's the first time he's done that so I think he's transitioning to where the decoding's automatic enough for him to start enjoying the story. We're on the cusp between reader and fluent reader. You're on the cusp between emergent reader and reader. The part that works to get past both "humps" is to offer to let them read past bedtime, it's the one time of day with a built in motivation.
Scholastic book wizard (google it) lets you know the level of many books.

I also agree with lucounu. No offense to La Texican, but her method would have turned off both my kids, or at least made them suspicious.

I am obviously working with a sample size of two here, but my experience with having a child who started reading at just-4 and one who started reading at just-5 has been that the younger child has much less stamina. He is decoding very well, but tires quickly and lacks the attention span that DD had when reading clicked for her. I am just now seeing him read a whole picture book at a time (aside from very easy early readers; I'm talking about a real picture book), though if you tested his actual ability and fluency he would probably be at about an early 2nd grade level. Still, he is a pretty different animal than a typical late first-grader reading at a grade level, you know?

I would just pick up some fun books and read them to her while you use your finger to follow the text. That got my DD who could read read books. We used late first grade leveled readers like "Frog and Toad." But...I do think that is how my phonics oriented girl became a whole language reader and now hates to have to sound out a word.

re: stamina--With DD3, stamina is always trailing behind the other reading skills. The second grade level books-- those books that are usually beginner chapter books like "Mercy Watson"-- overwhelm her, and I have to actually sit with her and guide her through. But, once she reads these thicker book to me she can pick them up and read through them. She remembers all the tricky words. That helps with confidence.

But, she could never read a late second grade leveled chapter book like a "magic treehouse" or "Ivy and Bean" book even though she could decode most of it. Those are a roadblock. Instead, we have gotten out some of her favorite picture books that are third grade or above. She has strabismus, so we know when she is having vision issues. Her eye turns out. So, in a way it has helped us to know her limits.

We also spell out long words to her orally. I wish she could write, but she is not there yet. But, I have heard of some kids spelling and writing before reading. Maybe, this is your DD's path.

Also, DD had a lot of fun reading her old "Wild Animal Baby" magazines. One day she read almost all 24. The text was simple but the words were big. They are meant for parents to read to babies. And, she was actually interested in reading to learn! So, maybe look into simple non-fiction.

There's no way I'd be offended by someone doing things differently than I. Here's a 30 minute video I watched this morning by a Waldorf teacher about the benefit of delayed text exposure for little kids. http://vimeo.com/9181078/. I always say "there's many angles to the dangle". I didn't make that up, a friend did. But I wholeheartedly agree.

It's so cute when Waldorf schoolers start talking about research!

LOL at lucounu--I have to kinda agree.


Right. This is where my DS is, too--he could decode those books, probably (and he does pick up chapter books and read a paragraph here and there) but it's way too much for him to tackle now, which is fine. Picture books are amazing and span such a range. Honestly, I'm pleased as punch to be done with our brief stint in easy readers. I mean, I love Cynthia Rylant, but.

What about a reading "contest?" At my kids' school, to encourage reading, the school has like a contest. They gave little prizes for reading- the child could read the book or even you read to your child. It got both of my boys reading very well.

You are not the only one! I really like Arnold Lobel and "Little Bear", but the rest of those leveled books were just a means to an end. Cynthia Rylant is better than most. I really love Kate Dicamillo. Her "Mercy Watson" series has just the right amount of text on a page, and she uses great vocabulary. Words like--Porcine, Opinion, Crisis, Folly, Admire, Contentedly. DD seems to really pick up vocabulary faster when she reads the words herself.

I am not looking forward to the drivel that are those serial chapter books, but I understand their place as endurance builders. And, kids seem to love them.

Another idea along the lines of contests. Many libraries have summer book clubs. I know Barnes and Nobel has one as well. You only have to read 8 books for that one, which we'd accomplish in a day. So, instead I am going to pick some longer books for her to read me.

We also go to the book store about three times a week and read books. We sip a drink together and read. She begs to this.

We have done very well with comic books-- old Disney ones have clean content. And with the magazines from Cricket. (Ask magazine is mostly in comic format but treats interesting topics. Muse is aimed at older kids but DS5 loves it. Muse has relatively short articles, but at a nicely sophisticated reading level, so endurance is not a big problem.)

And pictorial science books. And a beat-up atlas. And art history books.

There is a large trove of this stuff around and accessible throughout our house. The kids like to stash things behind the couch they're working on...

DeeDee

Let's see...for a kid who is three...you should probably completely forbid her from ever reading again. She'll be going through Tolstoy by the end of summer. ;-)

Seriously, though, I would just back off and not worry about it. Like others have said, make books available -- maybe take her to the library or to a bookstore and let her choose some books that she might like (but be prepared for her to refuse). Casually ask her at different times if she wants to read...but, again, be prepared for her to refuse. She's just acting her age. :-)

Don't worry. Her skills won't "leave" her. Early reading isn't a straight upward line -- it's a pattern of gain...then plateau...then gain...then another plateau. She'll regain interest at some point and take off again.

Speaking of it, here we go... The boys bedtime is 8:30.  It's 9:30 he's sitting here reading his second book tonight.  The practice had drastically improved his skill.  Honestly I don't totally listen with undivided attention.  Sometimes I do watch closely.  Sometimes he skips a sentence.  Sometimes he reads every word.  I'll correct a word if I hear one wrong.  What I think is funny is when he read "The Magic Set" I said, "You need to read that page over, I didn't understand those last two sentences you read".  He said no.  I looked at the book.  The part I thought he was misreading was a character casting a magic spell and what he read was what was on the page.  I thought he was getting too tired to read.  We won't be able to do this once school starts, but honestly he can stay up late reading and it's fine with me.  

I've read a few chapters of "Writing With Skill" so we're laying a foundation for book reports later by asking him two questions.  What was the book about?  What was the most interesting thing that happened?  That's teaching a 2-3 sentence summary for outlining skills.  Fun !!!

You know....I felt this way, too. But the scene has really improved. There is drivel, sure, but after all, many wonderful books ARE series books (think Narnia, Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables) and they're so important because they allow kids to build that relationship with characters. And they do make library checkout come faster! It's always a letdown when DD finishes up a beloved series (well...okay...I admit I was glad when all 80+ of those infernal Rainbow fairy books had been put to bed).

10:38 he finally gave up.  But he just spent an hour and a half struggling through a tough book, he read 18 pages of  "Bread and Jam for Frances" gr. 2.1.  I just don't see him doing something like that during the day when he can watch cartoons, play outside, play with his toys, play with his sister, ride his bike.  

He read "tangerine " as "0 range"
"rye bread as every bread.  I didn't correct every mistake.  I told him to use a bookmark under his sentences and sometimes I even helped hold the bookmark for him.  Some parts he struggled, sounding out every word.  Some parts he read smoothly and naturally. Don't know if that helps, Johanna, but we're one year ahead of you.

Oh man! My six year old was started reading those fairy books when she was done with all the junie b jones books. There are way too many if them and she likes to re-read again and again her favorites! I have taken them, hidden them and I have tried forbidding them. They hey found, or borrowed and they WONT go away! She is just finishing first grade. She receieved an end of year DRA of 38. She was assessed by the reading specialist at her public school. At that level, she had to produce a writing response to her reading to demonstrate understanding.

Anyway, I have no idea how she went from a DRA at the end of kinder to a DRA 38 ending first when all she does is read those stupid fairy books!

When she was three and four, I knew she could read but would only read one page to me and quit. She also would not fill in words that I knew she knew. The less I worried about her reading, the more she picked up a book. I let her read anything she wants. I even let her try Hunget Games. She read twelve chapters before she decided the book wasn't for her.

Op. You dd sounds like mine did at that age. Some of her refusal to read to me was just pure obtinance, but upon entering kinder, we found she wasn't tracking and needed glasses for convergance. She also needed six months of vision therapy.

Good luck!

Sydness--don't worry. My DD now thinks the Rainbow Fairy books are dumb (she's eight) and wants to give her remaining copies away. There is hope! I just went ahead and let her read them all...whatever. I did ask her, "Did you notice that the plot is the same every time?" once or twice, though.

My other advice is to heavily strew the path with better fairy books and get out of the way (we did this and she did read them).

The "stupid fairy books" are effective because they offer a predictable plot and structure. They allow kids to build their endurance, learn plot prediction, and slowly build their reading vocabulary. While insipid and nauseating to the adults, they serve a very solid purpose for kids learning to read. I made my peace with them.

OP, I see absolutely no value in pushing a child to read before they're in school. All skills and interest wax and wane naturally as kids grow and develop. Follow the kid's lead.

I was just glad I didn't have to read them aloud. Can you imagine? Same with Magic Treehouse.

We have a large class of "in your head only" books in our house. Fairies, Junie B, MT, anything Classic Starts, and all Magic Schoolbus (they just don't read out loud well).

Books I read to kids must be for mutual enjoyment. We're weird and unreasonable parents in that way.

geofizz, ITA re: Magic Schoolbus! Not linear enough for a read-aloud. That's one of the best things, in my opinion, about reaching the independent-reading milestone...not having to read these things out loud any more

Funny. I was going to say: I have never actually read one of the fairy books! Maybe my disinterest helped her make them her own. She also used to enjoy scooby doo books read to her because of the predictable plot. If my husband, who is pg did not tell me to let her keep reading the same "stupid books," I would have never found their value. But it is true. I messed up my earlier post because I am typing with my thumbs, but little one went from a DRA of 18, which is end of first grade to a DRA of 38 which is end of third grade. This happed while she was a six year old and in first grade and mostly ONLY read those Fairy books. There MUST be something to them! And these tests look for reading fluency as well as comprehension and summarizing skills. So, these Fairy books taught all that! Lol. Okay, to be fair, she has read SOME other stuff. Like she got all interested in that surfer girl who lost her arm to a shark and read a fifth or sixth grade book on her. But that was short lived. I really DO think that if you let them read what they want, they like reading more. At three, your dd might like reading the shopping list to you. You can through some hard words on it. Instead of writing "apples" you can write "red, juicy, deliceous apples" and make it her shopping job to remind you what's on rhe list. So she doesn't feel like she is being quizzed on her reading abilities, but you can still keep tabs on how she is decoading. And another thing that my dd has loved for the past four years. Books on cd.

Dear Lord, my DD5 has just discovered these and will read nothing else. I looked it up and there are now well over 100! I guess with a quartet of ghostwriters, "Daisy Meadows" can churn out about a book a week.

Oh dear, I haven't encountered Rainbow Fairy yet, thank goodness from the sound of it! DD6 just got into Junie B. Jones at the end of Kindergarten, but I quickly discovered that those were "read it to yourself" books, along with Magic Schoolbus and some others -- glad to see it's not just me.

As for the question at hand, I would say just leave it alone and don't worry about it -- if she has books, she will get back to reading them when she doesn't feel like she's on display. It's probably just been too big a deal lately. Ignore her reading or lack thereof, and "seed" an occasional irresistible tidbit of a book around the house. She'll bite.

Getting the vision checked is a good idea too. Although it may be very hard to get an accurate assessment if your child is only 3.
My younger one is 7- when he was 5, we learned he has alot of astigmatism, which doesn't usually go away. We got him glasses- he wore them 6 months and then started taking them off in first grade, so we let him not wear them.
However, I noticed that he would frequently get up and stand by the teacher during class, to look at the white board she wrote on. He also rubbed his eyes alot during reading with me at night.
We just got glasses again- for now, just while reading. He reads very, very well, and he is reading alot faster and more fluently with them on. No more eye rubbing. I think he was getting eye strain.
My older boy is hearing impaired. Neither of them can really articulate things like, "gee, I didn't hear that." Or "gee, I didn't see that very well." I don't know if it is b/c they are boys or children or what, but you can't assume that they will always articulate when something isn't right.

A good pediatric ophthalmologist can get a very accurate assessment. My younger DD has worn glasses since she was 8 months old. If you suspect any kind of vision issue, it's really important to get it checked because a lot of vision issues at that age really have more to do with the brain than the eyes. If the eyes develop in a way that is out of sync with the brain, it has to be caught early or else vision loss can occur (and be permanent).

IMHO every child should get a vision screening by age 2 or 3 just to make sure they don't have any of these developmental vision issues. It's a simple appointment but it can save a lot of heartache later.

OK . . . stepping down off of soapbox now

PS. I'm so relieved to hear I'm not the only one who hates those rainbow magic books. I can't decide if it's because they are terrible or because I wish I had thought of them first. I could be making my fortune now