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My 3yr 1mo daughter just started reading this week. She probably could have earlier (?) but a few days ago I just picked up an easy "first reader" and pointed to a word, she sounded it out, then I pointed out the next, ect. About 1/2 the words she sounded out and the other half she knew by sight.

First off, this counts as reading, right? I know she's not a fluent reader or anything but she read the whole book and I've picked up some other books around the house since then (which happened to be easier) and she can read them too. I just point to the words and slowly, very slowly, she reads.

She doesn't seem to particularly like getting started but once she is reading she gets into the story and talks about it. Any tips on helping her move past this CVC reading or do I just keep pointing to the words and she will get better? My first child so I have no clue

It's so odd because I just purchased this "hot dots" thing a few weeks ago and since she knew her letter sounds was planning on going through each vowel middle but she already knows how to do it. It just seemed so quick.

I know 3yr 1mo isn't that early to read compared to most kids here (I've heard of a lot of the kids on here reading at 2) but still I guess I'm just surprised at how quick it was? Today she started listing words she knew by sight and I wrote them down for her then showed them to her later and yes, those are the ones she knows (plus others).

So:
-what are some good very easy first readers with a plot?
-Is this just what I keep doing? Having her read to me? (as mentioned, this is my first child so I have no clue)
-Any suggestions?

I love the Mr. Putter and Tabby books, by Cynthia Rylant, but they are a little harder than "very easy".

I'd ask your local children's librarian to point out the "emerging reader" selections to you, and bring home a variety-- see what clicks.

Different kids have wildly different tastes.



DD liked not the Bob books but a snarkier full-color series... trying to remember what those were. Ahhhh-- looked it up on Amazon. Now I'm Reading Those are really lovely-- and more interesting/complex than the Bob books, IMO. They have more of a Sandra Boynton kind of feel to them, plot-wise.

Dr. Seuss, of course.
Henry and Mudge.
Biscuit.

There are also phonetically controlled readers for Clifford the Big Red Dog. My DD4 loved those as she was learning to read.

I just want to re-calibrate you: Yes, this is crazy early! Crazy early compared to "normal," and also even compared to some of us here on this board.

I know is's a little old fasion, but both my girls loved reading Dick and Jane when they were beginning to read. It gets harder as you keep reading and only introduces a word or two at a time and keeps repeating words from the first page. They had a hardcover where it was long and got much harder toward the end, so they were reading much better by the end. Plus the stories are funny to a three year old...not so much a 5 or 6 year old.

I think that my son is pretty much in the normal range of reading.

He's just now getting there in first grade.

He's just not that into it.

He loves math, though.

I think it's his goal to do math faster and better than his sister who is three years older than he is.

I used to write stories for my DD(now 10) at that age. It was easier for me to create the stories rather than drag my two little ones to the library. The only catch was I'd have to make my printing PERFECT or she'd be distracted by it. It's funny, looking back... I used to wonder if she'd ever be able to read "normal, human printing" instead of "times roman perfect" printing, lol. (I'm happy to report that yes, she can ;p )

My sister sent me two great books for my early reader:

Katie Did it!
Big Egg.

Also, I think it's good to practice spelling, as well as reading. My daughter gets practice at school using the Montessori movable alphabet, and at home she gets practice playing TeachMe First Grade on the Ipad, which has pretty impressive handwriting recognition software. Previously she got practice finding missing letters for words in TeachMe Kindergarten. Starfall (available on the web and as an Ipad app) has word-building games, too.

From what I've seen, most early readers memorize everything, and do not decode things phonetically. My daughter had the opposite approach, in which she could apply phonics very well, but would get confused by even the most common words if they didn't follow the rules exactly as she understood them to be. Your daughter's hybrid approach will probably prove very effective. Don't be surprised if she learns to read very well very quickly.

This was my DS... it was easier for him to memorize rather than decode.

DD, on the other hand, just did both... without any issues... She was just really, really comfortable and fluent from a young age. It's interesting how they're each unique.

Interestingly, DD is also a crackerjack speller, and has never practiced or studied her spelling. DS, on the other hand, struggles in this regard and needs lots of drills and written practice before he masters some words.

I would say...be careful not to push her to do more than she wants to. Sometimes they see that we are invested and decide to stop. Don't stop reading more complex books aloud! Easy readers tend to be a snore.