Learning to Read

Hi, R.--Worksheets and workbooks are useful, and I've used them too, but they can start to seem like just "work" to little ones. Please don't push him or yourself so hard that you're getting frustrated; that could make him view his letters and books as chores, not fun. And reading should be fun for you both! Like someone below said, remember, he's not even in kindergarten yet, and play is still his main thing. You didn't say whether he's in preschool; a good preschool program should include letter recognition (but friends who have taught preschool have warned me against overly "academic" preschools that push worksheets or make promises like "your child will read before kindergarten"-- that's asking too much of many kids). A good preschool also could help you identify whether he has any other issues like hearing that could affect the ability to sound out letters. The Leapfrog and other tools are great helps too. But to me, most important of all is read to him as much as possible so he finds reading fascinating -- teach letters some when he's receptive but read, read, read to him, not just at bedtime but throughout every day, with books always at hand even when you're out of the house, even reading books you may think are "above his level." (I bet you're already doing all this, since you value reading!) Try following the words with your finger so he fully gets that what you're saying connects to what's on the page. Turn regular library trips into the most fun excursion of the week-- make a big deal about how he's old enough to pick out some books for himself and use his very own library card. If he doesn't have a card yet, make it a celebration the day he does get one (libraries usually will give young kids cards, I think my daughter got one at about five). And find out what books really interest him; I've had friends whose boys lost interest in books once the boys were old enough to get past board books because the boys weren't interested in the topics -- boys often prefer factual books about earth-moving equipment, or sports-based stories if they're into sports themselves; I think there are even Lego-based story books that are aimed at boys! Before you get too frustrated with teaching him letters, focus on making the stories those letters form into the most interesting thing he could be doing. And one last thing; if you don't already limit his TV and/or computer time, try that starting now, before he gets so acclimated to having "screen time" that screens, not books, become his preferred go-to entertainment. Good luck!!

1 mom found this helpful

5 is very young, try and be patient. I had great results with "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons."

hi R.,
you are wonderful for recognizing that the frustration is getting in the way and looking for ways to reduce it. i'm SO sad that little ones are being shoved into formal 'learning' so young these days. honestly, he's only 5. many kids do read younger, but many don't, and the idea that all kids have the same benchmarks is absurd. having them reading and writing by kindergarten is best for teachers, not for kids.
the problem with working at it so hard is that reading does indeed become work and that's a pattern that will never go away. i'm sorry you lost your job but the time with your kids is SUCH a gift. please use it to bring joy into your lives! read him books he loves. have him sit next to you and move your finger under the words to direct his eyes there, but don't demand anything of him but the joy of the story and shared warmth with you. in every activity you do you can incorporate emphasizing letters or spelling things out, but in a fun and natural way that won't turn it into drudgery. be patient, both with him and with yourself.
khairete
S.

Hi R.,
I have taught all three of my boys to read using the "Alpha-Phonics" book. It is actually a program that is used to teach reading to children and to adults as a second language.
I have three boys with very different learning styles and one with a minor auditory processing issue. It has worked for all of them, but I have also supplemented with some phonics flash cards.
It is very important that children don't get into the habit of "guessing" the sounds. Some of the reading programs actually encourage this. Also, do lots and lots of read-aloud. Boys have a much shorter attention span and it helps to play some phonics games that are active, like "find the..." and have him run and find toys or other items that begin with the sound. Label things around the house that begin with the sound you are working on, just the letter. Have him write the sound and say it at the same time. The goal is to have him using his eyes, ears and motor skills together.
Keep the lessons short, but do fun little exercises throughout the day. It's important that he sees letters as a fun code rather than something that is constantly frustrating.
Good luck!

I am a homeschool mom with 5-year old twin boys. I have been researching programs for teaching reading and am planning to use the "Code" system: Book 1 is "Get Ready for the Code", 2 is "Get Set for the Code" and 3 is "Go for the Code." Go to www.epsbooks.com for their reading and phonics products. It is a workbook based program, so you guys are ahead of the game with what you are already doing. I wish you luck in this adventure!! :)

I really commend you for your efforts to get your son prepared for kindergarten. It's not like when we went and we weren't expected to be able to read or know much about phonics and such. We were pretty much taught to read there. Now, they have moved the first grade curriculum back to kindergarten, so kids are expected to know more when they start. We had the same problem with our daughter that you are having with your son. No amount of tutoring or extra attention seemed to help. The frustration on her part as well as ours was tremendous. She seemed to be trying very hard, but nothing was "sticking." We knew something was wrong because she is very bright but just wasn't grasping the concept of reading. Well, her first grade teacher agreed with us, that she was far too smart to not be getting the letters, their sounds, etc. and suggested we get her tested for possible learning disabilities We did, and it was the best thing we ever did for her. Turns out it wasn't just us who thought she was smart -- at the age of six, her IQ was 120. But the problem was that she was dyslexic. I am in no way saying that this is what is going on with your son, because at five years old it's difficult to assess what is his normal development and a possible learning disability (some don't even want to test a child until they are about 7, which in this case would have been disastrous for our daughter to wait so long). I am just saying that if your gut instinct as a mom is telling you that something isn't right, you should listen to it. Keep doing what you're doing, working with him on his reading and phonics. If you don't see improvement over the summer, I would suggest getting him tested. This is just my 2 cents worth, but reading your post just brought back everything we went through with our daughter.

Hi! Have you tried www.starfall.com ? I have used that website with my 3 yr old since he was about 10 months old and this has helped him to master letter recognition, the sounds of the letters, and he can even read 5 letter words! Give it a try...it's like a game for them...you will all love it! Don't forget to let your 1 yr old try, too! :) By the way, it's free!

You can call the Hpt Library reference dept. at ###-###-#### and ask to speak to the lady in charge of Literacy. I took a course years ago (free) and they had a program one time there where kids were tutored for free. They also teach ESL (english as a 2nd language) a wonderful program. In addition you may want to try the backpacks that have books and audio tapes to read along with. My kids learned amazingly well with this method, it helps in comprehension & retention too.

Also, at West Hpt Community Center on Briarfield Rd. (next to Lindsay Middle School,) they have a friend of mines, Mrs Burton that offers tutoring in all subjects, (Jacobs Well) you can go there and find out info. or call.

This is up my alley! I am a kindergarten teacher! I sing the song, "Who Let the Dogs Out" but only use the words "Who let the b out buh, buh, buh!" I also have them repeat the sound as they trace the letter. We say, "B says buh". We repeat the saying every time we trace a letter. I do so many different things with letters that my mind is racing trying to type everything. We go through books and point out the letter in uppercase and lowercase form and say the sound it makes. There are so many more ideas you can try but remember, at this age repetition is a big learning tool. Depending on maturity will depend on how quickly they catch on too. The main thing I always tell parents is no matter what you do with your child make it fun and enjoy your time with your child. They grow up so fast. If it gets stressful then you are pushing too hard. Find out what the time span is for his attention and frustration and never reach that point because it will only cause you heartache in the end. My son has a vision learn problem and I realized later that I pushed him too hard when he was younger and I now have a lot of regrets. People need to realize we need to let these kids be kids and stop pushing them to over achieve. So my final words to you would be to have fun with your son, do not stress over his learning now (he will get it when he starts school), have fun with whatever work you do do with him, and remember he is only 5! Good Luck and best wishes! I hope I helped!

I was having the same problem. My daughter learned quickly but not my 4 yr old son. Then I bought Letter Factory by Leap Frog. It is a cute DVD about letter sounds. It is about 35 minutes. I am not big on lots of TV but let him watch it once a day and within several times he had most of the sounds down. Now if he gets stuck I have the movie skit to pull from ie what letter was thirsty? I didn't think it would work but it did and for 10 dollars it is worth a try. Also, I taught my daughter to read by "teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". Haven't tried my son yet.

Hi R.! I'm a Reading Specialist, now stay-at-home mom. I have a presentation online that you can download at http://naturalchristianparenting.com/2008/01/14/teaching-.... I think you will find it helpful. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!

hi R.,

phonics is the best way to teach your children to read and later on they will learn how to spell better than others. to me he sounds like he is not ready. i would put it away and start with his name and sounding those letters for awhile. when he's ready he'll grab it all!! also music is a good thing for him to listen to. see if you can get him a dance video. this helps them mature quicker...

blessings, L.

Hi R.! I am B. Deck, an Educational Consultant with Usborne Books at Home. I have lots of educational books, learning materials (especially math and reading), art, kits, music, cooking, etc. I taught all 5 of my children with these materials and books. We have a lot of homeschooling parents that order from us. You can take a look at www.ubah.com/X2733. If you see anything you like, you can order directly from the site. Let me know if you need any help choosing!!

I also do E-shows from my site. It's a great way to get free books to use as Holiday gifts!! You host a show and invite people to order from the site. The more books ordered, the more books you get for free!! All you have to do is the inviting, which I have a great email for!!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. Have a great Saturday!!

B. Deck
____@____.com
www.ubah.com/X2733

I have 6 year old twins. My daughter is right on track but her twin brother was having problems. Even when he talks it was a little slurred. I kept asking if that was normal and I was told that he was fine. Until he turned 5 and was starting kindergarten and then we found that it was not normal. We got him in speech and found that he does not reconize letter sounds and that because he did not reconize the sounds he could not say them right. He has been in speech now over an year and you can understand him plus he reconizes all the sounds now including the vowels. So it is possible that if he is struggling that maybe he to is having problems with letter reconization.

the first thing you need to do is RELAX learning should be FUN not a CHORE everyday I would read simple books from the library I let them pick them out I would read to them tracing the words with my fingers they would follow along remember children learn to SIGHT read first Phonics comes later when I finished they would try to read my greatgrandson did the same thing when I read to him he is now seven and reads very well the workbooks are fine along with the stories evie

I am not familiar with Kumon workbooks, however, my daughter didn't read until she started Kindergarten (also missing cutoff by days) and is doing just fine...I know you are wanting to get him ready to start, but I suggest by working on his reading for @ 15 minutes and then making it fun by putting words and letters to songs. My kindergartener now is reading very well and sings all the time (that's how she's being taught) and is loving letters and sounds. I also have a friend who made an alphabet book with pictures of familiar things...A for Aunt (with a picture of aunt tiffy etc) so that may be a fun activity for you both and that will help him remember the sounds by connecting with the picture. Have fun and try to keep it easy and fun for him too...once the frustration is recognized they shut off! It wasn't easy for me to try to teach my kids to read before they started school so you are going above and beyond...which is A+ for you, but I wouldn't worry...you've helped him start off well and he'll pick up just fine in Kindergarten!
Good Luck

did he ever learn the alphabet song that teaches the sounds they make like ah-ah-apple buh-buh ball cuh-cuh cat and duh-duh-dog ect..... i still have it stuck in my head 20 some years later. its easy to remember things when there is a song stuck in your head. if he hasnt get a tape/cd/movie of it and play it alot until he knows it. once you know what letters sound like you can read most words. good luck.

Can someone tell me where I can buy the Kumon workbooks you are using to help your child learn to read ????
thanks so much
B. S.
write your problems in sand, and watch them blow away
write your blessing in stone !

BossFree-DebtFree.com

Have you thought of music? My mother taught me to read at home with a program called "Sing, Spell, Read and Write." I really struggled with learning to read (this was the mid-80's) and hated the process because it was all about HAVING to remember. With the music, however, I easily remembered because it was fun and I enjoyed singing. I don't know if that curriculum is still 'out there'; however, I'm sure there are resources that put phonics to music. You can even make up simple songs for vowel sounds, etc.

We also have the Fridge Phonics toy by Leap Frog, and my 2 1/2 year old loves it and has learned a handful of sounds just from that. I would however with your 2 year old start letters and sounds at the same time. I think that if they are old enough to know the letter, they are old enough to know the sound, and I have seen kids become great readers when they learn the letters and sounds together.

Go get The Letter Factory Video by Leap Frog. My daughter watched it over and over and by the time she was finished 2 times she knew ALL her letter sounds. It has helped her so much.

Please stop pushing your 5 year old to read! I promise he will learn to read when he is ready. Just keep reading TO HIM. My grandchildren go to the Waldorf school where they do not teach reading until the third grade. My other grandchildren go to another private school and they are reading by first grade. But are the first graders comprehending what they read? Doubtful.Maybe memorizing. My Waldorf grandchild is in the second grade and is starting to read beautifully on her own. She is bright and will catch up with her cousins and more than likely surpass them someday.Look up the Waldorf method of teaching reading on the Internet. Many home schooled children learn with their method. Play and getting along with others is much more important at that young age. I know a teacher with a masters degree in teaching gifted children who believes every child is gifted in some way, given the chance.And she believes that camping or hiking is the best thing you can do for young children...they learn science,and many other wonderful things just having long nature walks and observing plants and small animals.Frustration and pressure does not help to build a good, calm and decent character in your child.There is plenty of time to deal with that as an adult.

Hi R. -
Letter Factory! It's a Leap Frog cartoon movie, I learned about it from my sister (a stay-at-home mom who pre-schooled her son) and my kids love it! The main character is Tad, and learns his letters and the sounds they make at the letter factory where his dad works. There's a great catchy song they sing for every letter (The T says ta, the T says ta, every letter makes a sound, the T says ta!). It's a fun video, and there's a follow-up Word Factory video if your son ever gets tired of Letter Factory (we've been watching it for 2 years now - arrggghhh!) Good luck!

-D.
4 year old boy, 2 year old girl, 5 mo old boy

I am not sure if this is related at all, but when I was trying to teach my now 5 year old her letters and sounds, she was just really stubborn about it. She would tell me she already knew how to read, and didn't need to learn this stuff, and before that, would give me a run around...telling me "K" was "M" and mix up all the letters. It honestly took me a while to even understand that she really did know all of her letters and sounds! She just would not show ME. When she got into preschool and kindergarten, she did wonderfully. The only thing I could get her to be excited about doing dealing with letters, was I got this workbook full of pages on letters, did a few pages on one letter a day and put them into a binder for her...her very own alphabet book.
Is it possible that he is just giving you a hard time about it all because you are mom? And he is too anxious to get on with something else rather than "studying" his letters?

Try showing your son a picture of something and the letter it starts with. He will probably remember the sound better if he can associate it with an object he knows...Cat for the hard C sound.

Another option is to simply read to him but have him follow with his finger in the book while you do.

Best of luck.

Hi R.!

First of all, kudos to you for working with your son rather than just leaving it up to his future over-worked, under-paid teacher. I have a four children two sons 4&7 and two daughters 13&16. Since I work from home, it isn't neccessary for my 4 year old to arrive early to preschool on a daily basis. Therefore, I need to work with him as well. There is nothing wrong with sitting down studying for a little while at a time. However, when he starts getting distracted you can either stop for awhile or change to a different activity. I also like to sneak learning into fun things throughout the day. For instance, you could label things in your home to help reinforce letter sounds.
Sorry to hear you have recently lost your job. Perhaps it was meant to be though...If you might be interested in working from home, I have found the BEST opportunity out there. It's Jewels By Park Lane, I have it listed in the business reviews. If your are interested let me know.
Best wishes with your son!
T. G.
www.myparklane.com This is my web site.
www.jewelsbyparklane.com This is the company website. You can check out the opportunity video here.

Leap frog has an array of toys that teach phonics. They also have several dvds. My youngest son who just turned four loves "The Letter Factory" and "The Word Factory". There are also Leapster games that teach phonics. It makes it less of a chore and a lot more fun. Your son will be playing and learning and you won't get as frustrated. I have two boys 7 and 4. My 7 year old could read by the the time he turned 3, my yougest is just putting letters together now. Good luck.

I had the same problem when my sons were 4 and 3. I got Leap Frogs Letter Factory on video and every day for one week they watched it and at the end of the week they both knew every letter and sound. They also have one that teaches them to read which they learned the next week. When my son went to K-5 he was in the smartest class. I only wish I had gotten the videos sooner. My little girl will probably be reading at 2!

R., My girlfriend taught her child to read witht this book. He is 6 now, in Kindergarten and reads at a 2nd grade level. IT is amazing. It is a totally different approach. I have the book but did not stick with it for my 6 year old... BUT MY 3 YEAR OLD IS GOING TO GET IT WHEN SHE TURNS 4.

Check out: http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/06...

go on line and try rising star learning this works for everyone including ADD. I am teaching my 4 yr old grandaughter to read. She really likes it you do alphabet, numbers, 2nd set of 3 cd's teaches vowel sounds. Hope this helps. web site www.risingstarlearning.com

Try "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." Good luck!

I'll second starfall.com. My 3 year old loves it and is finally starting to connect sounds with letters. It has multiple levels for different stages.

Leapfrog makes videos, called letter factory and word factory that have been invaluable in teaching my 5 and 7 year old how to read. I homeschool all 4 of my kids. I love the leapfrog products. You can order them online or get them at toys-r-us.

Hi R.,

Maybe your son is a visual learner! Maybe his Executive Function is not yet matured at this point in his life! There are many reasons that his brain doesn't work as fast as you may expect. Dr. Laurie Dietzel who is a clinical neuropsychologist may be able to answer your concerns. Her e-mail address is:

____@____.com hope she can help you.

Good luck. D.

I would HIGHLY recommend the Leap Frog videos. I'm not big on tv time, but these videos are amazing!! He'll learn his sounds in no time:) If you get them, let me know what you think.

Hi R.,

I'm a Kindergarten assistant here in Va Beach and currently have a son in kindergarten. Don't worry so much about getting your son reading now. I would focus on getting him to remember the letter sounds. It will be hard for him to learn to read if he can't remember the letter sounds. My son could not read when he went to kindergarten and now he is reading above grade level. Leapfrog makes a great video called letter factory that goes over the letters and the sounds. Both of my boys love it and it really helped my oldest. To help my students in the classroom we show them pictures that start with the letter and get them to name the picture, the letter it starts with and the sound that letter makes. Repetition of this will help him. I hope this helps an if you have any other questions feel free to email me at ____@____.com.

K.

How to Teach Your Baby to Read
www.gentlerevolution.com

Easy and Effective

LeapFrog makes a small toy that goes on the refrigerator call 'Fridge phonics'. The base and all of the letter are magnets. Kids take each letter and place the letter in the base. When they push on the letter it sings a song and says the sound of that letter. 'A says ah, A says ah. Every letter makes a sound A says ah. There is also a button that will sing the alphabet song. My 6 year old really liked it. My 16 month old loves pushing the buttons and tries to sing with the full song.
M.

I have a solution for you! Buy the DVD, Leapfrog Letter Factory. It teaches kids the sounds all of the letters make in a very fun way, and the kids remember it! My son learned them so quickly from this, and I have bought it for all of my friends. Everyone raves about it. I am sure you will get other responses that recommend it. It really works, and they learn it fast!! It is not expensive either. Good luck!

Hello R.

While I know you are trying to keep your child ahead of the learning curve, I think you should just pull back and allow him to gain confidence in the areas where he is actually picking up and it will all come together. I also find it easier for children to learn in just everyday situations along with small doses of specified times committed to learning at this age, so every opportunity you get to repeat a word or sound do it and allow your son to repeat it and when he does praise him as he gets more confident he will catch on to things. My 5 year old reading wasn't where "I" wanted it to be when he first started out in school and now the teacher tells me he is reading at a level 4+ and he had just turned 5 when school started. :I just read to him everyday and practice sight words and he has flourished, he use to just make up words as he read and now he actually sounds them out, but I always sound words out to him to help in the process, in the car, outside, kitchen, everywhere. We do have hooked on phonics, but I really don't think you can pay enough money to engage in life opportunities to teach your child. We have used it on and off, but the best results have come from just everyday opportunities to teach and for him to learn. I would not spend another dime because if he isn't ready it is just going to frustrate the both of you and keep in mind that you have been reading for years and he is just learning. Keep your head up, don't give up because your son is the future and I know what you mean when it seems like he is playing games,oh the frustration, I have so been there, but I realized that he did because he probably really didn't know or was just getting bored!

Hi R.... I have one website, one word.. all you need for this situation.. okay, here goes----

Www.starfall.com ---- FREE

he'll love it, you'll love it. Guaranteed!! And your 2 year old will love it too... They'll be reading soon. Guaranteed!

L.

Leap Frog has a "toy" that teaches letters and the sounds they make. They have two actually, one that focuses on one letter at a time, and another that does three letter words. It teaches them what the letters make and how to sound out the three letter words they make. It is called "WORD WHAMMER". My daughter got hers for Christmas, but I have seen them at Walmart and Toys R Us and Babies R Us. This might be something worth investing in b/c it is a fun "toy" that teaches as well. I think they range from $20-$40 depending one which one you get.

Hope this helps.
A. T

Hi, I'm a home schooling mom of 5. I have a high school senior, 9th grader, 3rd grader and 2 kindergarteners. I was trepidacious when it came to teaching reading. The older two attended a private school until 4th and 2nd grades so reading was already under their belts. I had reservations about being able to teach reading. Oh, I was great in math (middle school trophy to prove it), but reading was sooooo important I didn't want to mess that up for them. Our best tool was Leap Frog DVDs. Letter Factory was the secret to learning letter names and sounds. They sing a neat song that teaches the sounds and we've referred to the song many times. The DVD also has games to play right on your television. There are a Word Factory and Story Factory DVDs in the series also. They are available online at Walmart.com and Kmart. I found the best selection and availability online. You also might try Amazon.com. The best advice I have to give you is don't fret, don't give up and be consistent. You have been give a great gift to be able to be home with your children and to teach them what you know they need. Treasure this time with them, it passes quickly. I want to encourage you to know that they will get it. My third grader is proof. She is now reading chapter books; and just think, I was the one who taught her how to do it. Please know that boys and girls learn differently so try different approaches based on gender. Who knows, you may love it so much that you might want to try home schooling permanently. I'd love to help.

J.
Roanoke, VA

Try Leap Frog. We have an alphabet catepillar that does all kinds of phonics. In particular, it sounds out each letter and sings a little song about "every letter makes a sound." My girls just love it and have learned a lot from it.

It sounds like your son is pushing back because he's not ready. 5 is young to read, believe it or not. A reading specialist once told me that children and boys especially, aren't really ready to read until 7! Try taking a break and when he's ready to learn, he'll let you know and it will come easier. Everybody reads at some point and if you push too hard, the love to read might dissipate and that is most certainly what you want!
Mom of 3 - girl almost 9, boy almost 6, girl 3

Hi, my name is C. and I have two sons age 8 and 5. My older son learned how to read when he started kinder, but my mother in law taught him at home using a book that I bought "teach your child to read in a 100 easy lessons" By Deigfried Engelmann. It should have taken him only 100 days to read if you do one lesson a day, but it took him almost a year because he did not want to do it and he had problems focusing. Boys are not as mature as girls and they usually take longer to mature to a point that they will pay attention. However, it was the best thing we did for him, this book used phonics to teach and it made a big difference for my son. He is in second grade reading on a third grade level, that helped his math also because he can read the directions and the word problems and understand it very well. I will try teaching my younger one during the summer. Good luck and be persistent.

Hi R....you are doing a good job. You have to remember that you already know your letters and he's just starting out!! I, too, have a 5 year old. She did start kindergarten this year and she just started learning how to read. So, they (the school) will teach them how to read...the fact that he's starting to learn now, puts him ahead!!! You have to remember to take deep breaths...and that if you get frustrated, it will eventually make him not as interested to learn. So, just becareful!!! I think you're doing a great job by keeping your boys occupied with workbooks!!! You're doing wonderfully!!!

I would back off with the lessons; he may not be ready yet, and it may cause him to learn to dislike reading. I used to get frustrated years ago when my son would avidly watch educational tv programs and never remember the letters even a couple seconds after they went off the screen. I stopped worrying about it, because I was sure it was developmental. Sure enough when he went to school he learned to read rapidly. My daughter on the other hand begged to learn to read when she was 3 1/2, and I made a large drawing of a tree with branches that we hung near her bed. I would introduce a letter, and we would make the sounds and think of some words that had the sounds, and then I'd put the letter up on one branch. We went through the letters whenever she was interested and she picked it up really fast. No comparing two children.

As a former teacher I wouldn't overdo the workbooks at this age, even if they like them. It would be better to read to your children several times a day and let them get the sound of language and the enriched vocabulary of good books - pattern books, rhyming books, poetry for children that has good rhyme and meter. That is the best foundation for a good reader you can give. You can also do lotto games, memory games , and number games with your 5 year old. You can also do auditory memory games with them and have them listen to tapes. It's the foundation you want to give them at this age.
Good luck!

I just joined Mamasource last week. So I'm just reading your request for help. I have been very successful in teaching our son to read using the Leap Frog series of DVDs and books. The DVDs begin with the "Letter Factory" which teaches letter and sound associations (i,e. the sounds that each letter makes). The next in the series is the "Word Factory" which helps children learn to sound out monosyllabic words such as "cat", "bat", "pig", "big", etc. The next is the "Complex Word Factory" which introduces blends and double consonant sounds such as "sh" in "ship", "ch" in "chop", etc.. The DVDs are wonderful in that they make learning phonics fun through the use of rhyme and songs. The characters Leap, Tad and Lilly are frogs that are used througout the series of products to help children learn to read and my son loves the DVDs.
When I first introduced him to the "Letter Factory" at age one. I sat with him while he watched it and would occasionally repeat a sound or sing along with the characters. The next time I watched the DVD with him I would model the sounds, so he could benefit from both the auditory and visual cues for forming the sounds. By age 2 he enjoyed singing along with me and the characters and after listening to the DVD two or three times, he had memorized the songs. I also gave him the Leap Frog magnetic alphabets that we'd stuck on the refrigerator. The letter and sound association is provided for each letter so he would hear the variations of each letter such as the long and short sounds for the vowels and the hard and soft "c" sounds as in "cat" and "Cindy." My son loved playing with the letters on the refrigerator while my husband or I would be in the kitchen cooking and we would model the sounds as he played. I later used these letters to help him learn CVC words like "cat", etc... He enjoyed putting the letters together to form the words. The "Word Factory" DVD also helped him learn how to sound out these monosyllable words. It also has a game which he enjoyed playing with us and soon he was writing the words on a small chalk board that we gave him.
I highly recommend the Leap Frog series, because it really makes the process of teaching phonics fun and that's what you son appears to need. There are lots of books and games available that are designed to help a child go from basic phonics i.e. letter and sound associations to reading complete sentences in the books. Your younger son would also enjoy these products.

Hope this helps.
W.

I have used " teach your child to read in 100 Easy lessons"
it takes a while to get through -- but i am having success with my 6 year old son.