Phonics for Toddlers

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:28:51 GMT

Charmaine_chong — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:28:51 GMT

Hi DC mummy,

Please use only one phonics program or method.

I exposed my 4yo son to Leapfrog DVD and half a year later to Montessori phonics enrichment class (one to one teaching for a term, has stopped the lessons).

I knew that some letters sound different eg: a, o, v, x, q.

It is pointless to send a child to so many phonics enrichments, the child will be confused and may not benefited.

My child was very annoyed and asked me, how to sound,for letter a, to sound ah or air?

Afterall, what we want our child to learn is reading. Phonics may be one of the express way, but not necessarily. I knew some of my friends’ children pick up reading naturally when parents reading loads of books together by pointing words daily.

You may want to check with the teacher and pratise at home.

Hope it helps.

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 03:34:59 GMT

DC Mummy — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 03:34:59 GMT

Hi Parents

My 3 year old son is going to fullday preschool + weekend enrichment class (TCS under ICR) + JG (Edudrama) for phonics. I have also exposed him to the higly recommended learning website - startfall.com.

I just realised that my son may be confused by the sound letters taught by different resources. Any parents here share the same experience? For example, how does the letter \"A\" sounds? I thought it sounds \"Air\" pulling the chin down but starfall teaches the sound like \"Ah\" :? Which is correct?? Am I wrong to exposed him too many different enrichment classes at this age? The reason I have signed him up these programmes, not becos of KS. I am thinking since he has nothing much to do in the weekend, might as well go for some lesons which takes only about 1-1.5 hour. Besides, he enjoys going for these lessons. Am I wrong?

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:07:12 GMT

buds — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:07:12 GMT

Okie.. noted.

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:16:48 GMT

happypoppy — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:16:48 GMT

Hi Buds,

I’ve sent you a PM. Hope to hear from you.

Thanks in advance!

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:10:07 GMT

buds — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:10:07 GMT

I will PM you.

I have also edited your post to edit your hph number.

Not safe to publish personal email, id and hph number

on cyberspace, okie dear..

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:10:47 GMT

qq_guy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:10:47 GMT

titank:
Hi Buds, are you a freelance phonics teacher? Conducting 1 to 1 or group class?

buds:
I do assessments for by word of mouth recommendations
and these are usually the children whom no one else wants to take or
they've been everywhere exhausting all means possible & still have yet to
see much or any significant results. Usually for special cases like this i try to
accommodate. And due to the special reasons... these children i selectively
agree to teach, they would be on a one to one basis.. As for group lessons,
hmmm... well... i cannot confirm this yet at the moment due to my move...
hopefully erm soon. I may be doing groups again.. see how..

hi are you teaching phonic, i m staying at yishun. i like to send my gal for phonic. XXXX-XXXX

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:13:10 GMT

buds — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:13:10 GMT

titank:
Hi Buds,

Are you a freelance phonics teacher? Conducting 1 to 1 or group class?

I do assessments for by word of mouth recommendations and these are
usually the children whom no one else wants to take or they've been
everywhere exhausting all means possible & still have yet to see
much or any significant results. Usually for special cases like this
i try to accommodate. And due to the special reasons... these
children i selectively agree to teach, they would be on a one
to one basis.. As for group lessons, hmmm... well... i cannot
confirm this yet at the moment due to my move... hopefully
erm soon. I may be doing groups again.. see how..
it all depends.

Aniwaes... may i ask why are you still asking around,
cause from what i recall, your children with ICL
already correct?

You may PM me your story, titank. Sorry
i overlooked your query, brader. :salute:
Been busy la..

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:04:02 GMT

buds — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:04:02 GMT

wildboys:
Hi Buds, would you be able to share what kind of personalisation you did for your students? Keen to learn from sifu here... ehh but if trade-secret then it's ok lah, understand

Some stuff are best left unsaid.. :evil:
And some stuff are best left to be seen..
with own eyes. :love:

Think of it as a buds special for the children
@ buds house. Not so much of a trade
secret but a personal touch can only be seen &
felt, not mentioned. Hee. Hope you understand
what i mean..

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:47:32 GMT

Charmaine_chong — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:47:32 GMT

Parents,

Feel free to download phonics cards that contributed by daddude (forum at brillkids). He used phonics to taught his son at age of 22months successfully.

I just copied the whole message here. Here you go.

All,

Merry belated Christmas! This is all I'm going to do--up to 42 sets, which is just a few word lists short of all of them in the back of Flesch's great pro-phonics polemic, Why Johnny Can't Read.

Download them here:

http://www.mediafire.com/FleschCards

Sets 31-42 are much bigger files, because I guess MediaFire now allows larger file sizes.

Also, I have revised my \"How to Use These Cards\" file (which I will reproduce below). It has a lot more detail than the old one.

Feel free to rehost/share these if you like (not for profit).

\"DadDude\"

=========

Some notes from the producer of these cards

Here’s how I started out my very young son reading, using these cards. First, some background. We had read a lot to him. In the end, that is much more important than working with flashcards. We both read and did these cards during mealtimes, when he was a “captive audience.” He recognized his ABCs by age 18-20 months, through a combination of many, many trips through alphabet books, the LeapFrog Alphabet Bus (any number of other tools would do the same), and probably some other tools.

We began with these cards at age 22 months, and he was physically able to pronounce all of the (simple) words on the cards. I was not just showing the cards; I did ask him to say the words on the cards. But it wasn't as brutal as this may sound. We took it in stages and I was gentle every step of the way. Also: I went whole card set by whole card set, rather than adding new individual cards and retiring old.

Here is the step-by-step procedure we followed:

1. The first time through a card set (typically, 12 cards), I didn't ask him to say anything. I just read the word (while running my finger under it); then pronounced each letter slowly and clearly (\"kkk--aaa--tt\"); then a little faster; then put the whole thing together. Then I turned over the card and gave my boy the card, and talked about the picture. Sometimes, if the word was new, I would try to explain the meaning of the word in as simple terms as possible. Words I felt I couldn't explain, I didn't use (and are not in this package).

2. The second time through the card set, I would begin by doing the slow-sounding-out thing. Then I would repeat, but speeding up a little. Then I would ask: what is it? And then he would get it, almost every time. After doing this several times, he would get the \"game.\" If he ever had any trouble with a word, I would, of course, simply read it for him. The aim was always to keep it low-pressure.

3. The next few times through the cards, sometimes I would ask him to sound out the word, but he wasn't as interested in this. He would usually just read the word right away, or else wait for me to sound it out, and then read it. Whether sounding it out himself out loud, silently, or having me do it, I think he got the idea.

4. After he was reading all of the cards in a set without mistake or much of a pause (or me sounding them out at all), we'd move on to the next set.

5. I taught him to say \"that's enough.\" If he said \"that's enough\" when we were doing cards, we would stop instantly and not do any more that day. If he seemed reluctant for a few days in a row, we'd take break for a week or so. If after a week or so we came back to cards and he still wasn't interested, we'd take another break for a few weeks—even a month, once or twice. Then we'd come back to them and he'd be all interested again. I can't expect it would work that way with everyone, but it worked that way for us--go figure.

6. After a couple months (ten of Flesch’s word lists, or so), I don't think I sounded out the words much at all after the first time through a set. I would sound out the words the first time and after that he'd be able to figure it out himself. Sometimes he would stare at a word without saying anything for a while, then he'd just come out with it. I think he was sounding it out in his head. He now (at age 3½) reads silently--very fast, as far as I can tell. I watch him reading books, over his shoulder, and I look at his eyes moving over the page. I obviously can't tell if he's catching all of the words, but the eyes are going back and forth very quickly and moving down the page quickly. He is able to answer questions about what he’s read.

7. After a few more months (by the time we were to Flesch’s word lists 20-30 or so) I almost never had to sound out words in advance. I would just explain the new rule, maybe just giving an example or two, and then he would just read the new words perfectly the first time. But we kept doing the cards anyway, to solidify his phonetic understanding. I was glad we did.

8. As he became better and better, his interest in the cards waned, and we rather gradually tapered off using cards. The last time I was regularly making new cards was a little over a year after we started. Since then I did make one set of cards but I felt rather silly doing it, because he knew the words perfectly well--it was pretty pointless. So that's why I'm not going to be able to go over all of Flesch's word lists, I'm afraid. If someone else wants to finish my work, I'll be happy to upload it to the MediaFire space.

Frankly, the whole process was pretty painless, and I recommend it, but I am not a reading expert. I hope the step-by-step instructions above make it more plausible, if you've had doubts. If your child is old enough (obviously, this can't be done with kids whose mouths/voices can't make the sounds) and you don't have any philosophical objections, try it and see if you have similar luck. Of course, your mileage may vary. I'd be curious to hear if anyone had an experience similar to ours, though. My wife, who witnessed the whole process, was totally convinced that it was my cards, more than Your Baby Can Read or anything else, that taught our son to read. I agree.

We just finished re-reading Pinocchio this evening, not at all an easy book for a 3-year-old, and he read most of the last page by himself, pretty quickly, with excellent intonation, even making the character voices and everything. At age 3 years 7 months, I think he's sounding out words (not necessarily understanding them--that's harder to measure) at about the fifth grade level.
[/i]

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:42:53 GMT

Charmaine_chong — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:42:53 GMT

Hi wildboy,

Thanks for sharing.

My girl is on wink to learn program. My son didn’t learn well using right brain method.

So, he learns through phonics + peter and jane readers. He is doing well.

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:06:05 GMT

wildboys — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:06:05 GMT

Hi Charmaine, I started flashing when they are about 6months old but not as consistent as the recommended method, though still \"regular\" enough. Then the frequency slowly dropped and I totally stopped by 18months old because they were not so keen already. Nowadays, once in a blue moon bah if got mood, for Chinese words (hehe). However I realised for my kids, they will be keen to look again if I \"flash\" on the computer, but I didn't do that very much because I didn't want to expose too much computer to them at too young a age. Maybe you want to try that for your elder child, if old enough?

Hi Buds, would you be able to share what kind of personalisation you did for your students? Keen to learn from sifu here... ehh but if trade-secret then it's ok lah, understand

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:15:55 GMT

Charmaine_chong — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:15:55 GMT

Wildboy,

Great work!

Early stimulation by reading loads of books to young tots really help a lot.

May i know at what age that you start flashing and how long it last? And why do you stop flashing?

I started my eldest at age3 with flashing without result. It didn't work for him. I use wink to learn english and chinese for my younger one at age of 9 months. She is now 18months. I hardly tested her but over times, she would show me that she can recognise words.

Buds,

It will be great if you could move to east or centre. :idea:

I believe that you would be the next best teacher that i discovered.

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:32:56 GMT

tamarind — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:32:56 GMT

wildboys:
I recommend leapfrog phonics dvds and starfall too

My two children started reading simple words before 2.5 years old. My elder one can read well by 3 (as in blending to sound out new words), and my younger one (now 2y8m) can read simple books by himself with simple blending skills. No phonics class at all. I started reading to them at very young age (2-3 months old). I use a variety of methods with lots of personalisation, including flashcards (when younger), word games, and stories & songs (hardcopy or softcopy) which they greatly enjoyed.

Wow that is really very impressive ! Thanks so much for sharing. You have certainly proven that phonics can be taught at home, and the results can be far better than any enrichment classes

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:56:59 GMT

titank — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:56:59 GMT

Hi Buds,

Are you a freelance phonics teacher? Conducting 1 to 1 or group class?

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:22:29 GMT

buds — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:22:29 GMT

Yes. For every student. No matter how many students the management

ALWAYS tried to squeeze in my class. I ALWAYS had more than the max.
More than the standard ratio. Sometimes i do feel it was more than what
i could handle. It wasn't easy nor was it fair to me or the students, but i
loved every minute of it. I looked forward to every single class i had to
teach.. i couldn't wait to see their awe struck faces and smiles at what i
brought to the table each week. And when i sensed all's silent over the
table and all eyes on me, sometimes i can see their jaws hanging open..
and it can be so quiet till i can even hear their heartbeats... i knew that
their attention was the display of their hunger to learn and that was all i
needed to keep giving more. The hugs i get at the end of the lessons,
the pride of the children who cannot wait to tell their parents what they've
done for the day, the faces of eager parents who enjoyed the extra touch
of also getting to know how to do it themselves, cos some parents like to
learn together as their children learnt too. I tell them this way they also
can work with their other children on their own : no need to enrol in
centre.. , geesh... i just really love doing what i do.

I have had the pleasure of being colleagues with the most motivated
group of teachers and staff... who also enjoy personalised teaching
like myself. After work while we packed up, we'd all chat about how
much fun we had during lessons that week. And we'd share the stuff
our children came up with.. we journal our thoughts for every individual
child and already thinking of what fun stuff we could do the following week.

Like i said, it really depends on the individual educator..

I'm went solo a long time woh and put my experience for children who
have exhausted all means of support from everywhere else.. children
whom other places have given up on.. it brings me great satisfaction
that i made a difference. And on the side when i had the time after i
resigned.. i volunteer-teach the needy and underprivileged. The funds
come from fellow volunteer friends and also the $ from the very special
children i managed to help.

For now, i have ceased catering to the masses... but i will be back out
there...

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:53:38 GMT

wildboys — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:53:38 GMT

wow! for every student? I salute you can pm me your school? So I can recommend to my frens who are looking for quality phonics school, thanks

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:22:45 GMT

buds — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:22:45 GMT

wildboys:
No phonics school can \"personalise\" these for any child.

Ehem.. i can. So, mebbe can dun blanket sweep all schools arh..

Really depends on the educator you get.

Passionate ones really go all the way.

Sorry to butt in, but just my 2 cents.

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:22:40 GMT

wildboys — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:22:40 GMT

I recommend leapfrog phonics dvds and starfall too

My two children started reading simple words before 2.5 years old. My elder one can read well by 3 (as in blending to sound out new words), and my younger one (now 2y8m) can read simple books by himself with simple blending skills. No phonics class at all. I started reading to them at very young age (2-3 months old). I use a variety of methods with lots of personalisation, including flashcards (when younger), word games, and stories & songs (hardcopy or softcopy) which they greatly enjoyed. No phonics school can \"personalise\" these for any child. Because these are so relevant to them and about themselves and their interests, they are so keen to work with them and it was always fun and never a chore. First they pick up words that are of interest to them, then sight words (which make reading easier) and then initial sounds of the letters and then blending Hope this helps.

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:17:46 GMT

Charmaine_chong — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:17:46 GMT

Hi dar,

My baby girl (born jul08) knew 80% of her lettersounds. The magic is expose her to leapfrog DVD and read loads of abc books or cards + stories books by running your fingers while reading.

Just expose her leapfrog 5-10 min daily, if she does not like it, stop few days and try again. Remember to sound out together with your baby. This is what my helper do.

My helper helps me to read loads of books daily, play classical music, nursery rhymes and watch wink to learn english (flashing method) daily.

When i reach home, i read to her chinese and english but not daily.

I paste it on the wall, when we walk pass or on the road, she would point and tell me. We read words on the road.

There is still user call daddude at brillkids forum, he taught his son phonics when he was 22mths , prior than that he read as many books as possible everyday, let him watch your baby can read dvd, leapfrog.

The child must know lettersound well before blending. Then he started teaching words. He has posted his phonics cards on the website with pictures. You can just download and teach.

The child pick up thousands of words within 6 months. Reading very well at 3.

Reply to Phonics for Toddlers on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:50:32 GMT

dimsum — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:50:32 GMT

JMO, at 18mths old, there’s no need to send her to phonics enrichment class. She’s learning how to talk now. So, you and other caregivers are the best teachers to stimulate her linguistics development. As for learning alphabets and simple phonics, I strongly recommend starfall.com (Free) and leapfrog letter factory. I think you will find them more effective and MUCH cheaper!