"Sugestions for Teaching"

He may need to be held back a year, because he has a "late" birthday. In the old days, August wasn't considered late, but now it is. He may always struggle if you push him to first grade, but if you keep him back for a year, he will probably do very well each year after. Most boys in both my kid's classes have either been held back or started Kindergarten when they were almost 6 or already 6.

One fun activity for my son, who is having the same challenge, is to tape the flashcards (just 5-6 at a time) to the wall. I then call out a word and he has to hit it with a fly swatter. You can also make bingo cards with them and play bingo. Cover each word with an M&M, as you pull out a flashcard have him read it and then find and eat the M&M that shares that word's space (or put a stamp of the word to make bingo if you don't want candy around). Finally, break the words into groups of 5. Study the first group 5-10 min. day until he knows them adn then the next group, then review both groups together. Then study the 3rd group (5 words only), once he knows the new words reveiw all 15, and so on. I also read the best time to memorize something is to ready or study it right before bed. We have not tried it yet but it's worth a thought. Good luck!

I used Hooked on Phonics for my oldest daughter, it used tapes and books, very simple and easy to follow. She loved it! It took 10 minutes every other day or you can do it everyday too and she reads in no time! I started the first book for my young one right now, she is still learning the sounds. She is not a fast learner as my old one and not quite interested too, but I keep trying at least 5 minutes every other day. The tape/ listening part is making her more into it. I don't know if you considering holding him back for another year, but I did with my oldest daughter (she will be six on November). She is reading very well since last summer but emotionally she was not ready. She will be starting her kindergarten this year. Sometimes holding the kid for another year is not a bad idea after all. I am glad I did.

Years ago a child psychologist told me that boys have a more difficult time learning to read than girls. In fact he said, "If we wait until a boy is 8 yrs. old to teach hime to read he'll learn in 2 weeks." This may only be helpful to you in knowing that he is developing normally and only needs more time. He does have until August, I would take him to the library often and see how he progresses over the summer. Also, most schools provide extra help if a child is having difficulty in reading. Perhaps his current teacher can offer some suggestions for summer activities that promote reading skills.

Don't stress, V.. They can't keep him back from 1st grade. Please give him time. This push for kids to know sight words in K is stupid and against best practices (for what we know for young children). I have a PhD in early literacy. It is totally normal for kids to be developing that kind of thing thru 2nd and 3rd grade. Does he enjoy reading with you? Can he 'read' from memory lines/words in books? (doesn't have to be exact word for word) that's most important at this age. Stay firm with his teacher that you're totally comfortable with his development and don't let them push you around. Pushing him when he's not ready for such abstract work could be much more detrimental.

invest in a phonics game, make sure that the game you buy doesn't add an a sound at the end of the letter. Like:
Ba for B
Because they learn to add the a sound, I would play it dailie, until he gets the sounds down for each letter.

I'm at work so I don't know the name of the phonics game we bought, but we ended up buying 2 because the first one had the ba sound. If you want the name of the good one we purchased email me and I'll find out for you. It really helped my son, He was speech delayed but we had the kids play with him, which helped them to remember the little rules like i after e except after c. Once he could put the sound with the letter he stopped the baby talk that they had allowed him to do in speech, because they only cared about getting him to talk and make sounds that were close.
By the time he started kindergarden he didn't need any speech teacher and is the 3rd top reader in his class. I think the only reason that he isn't the top reader is because the teacher gives him to much homework and we don't read for 20 minutes a day. There's not enough time in the day, to let him be a boy. We do home work from 2 to 4, then it's time for sports and family. Good Luck! You'll find something that works that's why God made you his Mother. (He knew you would be Perfect at it). J.

Hi V.,

I am a grandma and have been in education forever! (Went to school then turned right around and taught, etc.). Two suggestions; 1) your son will be a very young first grader and may not be ready. Consider giving him a "bonus year". Another year before first grade might make the next 12 years a delight rather than a trauma. 2) Can he sound out letters? If not, try putting magnet letters on the refrigerator and now and then point to a few making the correct sounds. Enjoy the little guy and don't be in a hurry for formal education. Blessings.

Teri

Hi V.,
I would like for you to keep in mind this: there are a few Anglo-Saxon and Indo-European countries in the world, where the educational system does not formally teach their children how to read and write before the ages of 7 to 8 years. The early school years are spent socializing, and learning through play. Within that first year of formal learning, all the kids are on task. These are high net worth countries with a high quality of life, and a much lower crime rate than here in the US...

There is scientific backing to this practice: there are specific areas of the brain that address language processing, and there are different areas that specifically address auditory processing of language, verbal production, and synthesis and analysis of written patterns. Many children forced to participate in formal instruction of reading and writing don't physically have the brain power yet to accomplish such specific tasks. Let alone the fine motor skills to hold pencils, OMG draw between the lines!!! or turn pages without ripping them....or gosh behold! sit in one place for two hours!

My biggest beefs about the current school system here in San Diego: the language arts block for the first two hours of school, especially for those poor kids who get off the bus and really need to run around before they go to class. yes yes they change activities every 20 mns, they're still cooped up for two hours before their first break time.

My second big beef about formal schooling in general? All those studies about children's developmental milestones, their physical needs, kinesthetic learning (learning through motion), musical learning, discovery learning, phonics vs. whole language....having classrooms where teachers teach to all kinds of learners, differentiated teaching...God Bless those teachers! with the current Blueprint! All the knowledge we gain in teacher training, about how individualized our children are in their developments, there is little room for it in our curriculum! Our system is aligned with standards, but our kids are non-standard! Why do you think so many parents hold back their children from entering kinder at 5? And not just boys either!

Wouldn't you say kinder today is what 1st grade used to be 20 years ago? Have our children become that gifted in just one generation? Or is the system trying to fix something by going about it the wrong way? Meanwhile, lets look at discipline... look at how children are behaving in the classroom, speak to some of the teachers out there: would you have gotten away with such things when you were kids? And how many children were in your kinder class: I bet a whole lot more than 20!

So where should our priorities lie? Socializing our children during this window of opportunity, helping them learn empathy, sharing, working for the good of the group, getting to know themselves as little people, or trying to squeeze the round peg in the square hole?

How come some kids can keep up? Well, we are all different aren't we. But don't you know of kids who had a slow start in school, who by the time they reached 3rd grade had caught up with others who had spent their toddler years with flashcards in front of their face all day?

I'm not saying drop it all together. Exposure and re-exposure is the key to learning. How many times did you hear a concept explained to you, and then one day it suddenly POPS clearly as the day! You just weren't ready yet. The necessary connections in your brain added to your knowledge base were not sufficient for you to finally "get it" until that very moment!

So your child is not having his reading A-Ha moment yet. Be patient. Be supportive, but I beg you to not be overbearing. When he gets to school, be his best advocate, if you see him giving his best effort, he's enjoying his experience, he is developing healthy relationships with his peers and his teacher, he is learning at his own pace, don't try to beat it into him like I see many parents do...this only beats out the natural enthusiasm your child has to learn.

The worst thing that can happen in school? a punitive environment, a teacher who is after the grade not the improvement, a parent who does not dialogue with the teacher and the administration...a child who is not ready to operate in a classroom environment... Most schools and teachers are very supportive, get to know them, their style, take time to volunteer in the classroom so you can better converse with your child about events and perceptions of those events.

Enthusiasm and personal drive to discovery, satisfaction in one's own achievements, are what pushes people to succeed. It's not how your child measures up to other children, but how he measures up to himself. How willing is he? How curious does he continue to be? The tools for learning will fall into place given his drive to discover and acquire new information, but his natural drive is what ultimately will make all the difference. The best you can do is provide multiple and varied opportunities for it to manifest itself.

Keep the wonder in these "Wonder Years"

In Friendship and Support,
V.

I am not sure that expecting kindergarten student to know 25 words before going into first grade is appropriate. However, if this truly is the case, I would ask the teacher what type of letter/sound correlation program they use and practice at home. Most of the words that your child is expected to know are not phonetically regularly spelled words, so he will have to memorize the rest. I would first have a matching game with the words so that he can see the difference between the words. Then I would play a game with the words on cards--make silly sentences such as: I like to see you, or We are in a big house. (Some words you will have to add to cards that are not on the list so you can make more interesting sentences.) Mix up the words (I, like, to, see, you) and have him make the sentence in the right order. Another game you could play is put the words on construction paper and attach popsicle sticks so they look like lollipops. Then I have a little rhyme that I say while walking around:

I'm selling lollipops, I'm selling lollipops,
And no one knows where I will stop.

Then I would stop and have your son read the word. If he knows the word he gets to hold onto the lollipop. If not, they go back to be re-sold.

There are a lot of things you can do to make learning these words interesting. Whatever he likes, try to tie it into learning the words. For example, if he likes dinosaurs, cut out dinosaurs and put the words on it. Or when reading a book about dinosaurs, point out the words that are his target words in the story.

Good luck.

Hi V. (=
Your son is right there at the cut-off for his birthday; He could go either way as far as going on to first grade as a barely 6 year old, or have another year in kindergarten and become the top of his class as far as maturity/social readiness/academic readiness, etc. I am an august baby myself and my mom debated with herself whether or not to put me in kindergarten as a very young and small child of the class or to wait until the following year. I wanted to be like my older brother and go to school even though I had just turned five right before the school year. What ended up happening was that I was able to make the grades in the end, but I was always socially behind my class and ended up fitting in with kids younger than me or having friends older than me that became like my big sisters. But I never really felt like it was an equal playing field with my peers. You know your son and what you think is best for him. Maybe having him be a the strongest instead of the younger/less academically ready in his class would be something you might want for him as he grows up. After this year, it will become much harder to repeat a year of school. I am very sure that he is a capable and smart little boy, but he is almost 12 months younger than some of the other kids in his class, and this is a huge factor. (especially in sports, as well as academics, and socially) When my mom and I were discussing my school experience recently, she and I both agreed that she should have waited a year to put me in school, or that she should have had me repeat that year.
I hope this helps, and of course you are his mom and you know him and I'm sure will do what is best as only you can. Good luck, and I hopefully you will let us know how this turns out.
Warmest wishes, E. N.

At least where my kids attended early grades, part of the problem was the methods in use at school. The kids guess because the teachers encourage them to guess. The idea is that it helps their thinking process. What I found with my kids was that while what an adult meant by "Try to guess" was, "Look at the information you know, try to remember the rules, and make an educated estimate," what it meant to my child was, "Say anything that comes into your head, rapidly, because you might, by luck, hit the right answer." It was extremely frustrating.

Kids need to know basic phonics - that "s" makes the hissing sound, for instance - in order to put together words. Practice letter sounds, then have him slowly make each sound as you uncover the words letter by letter.

For numbers, kids to know that a 5 represents five individual things, that 2 represents two individuals, and so on. When my daughter was encouraged to "Make a guess" in math, she'd say, "7! 19! 84! 26! 105! 6! 10!" She was hoping that eventually she'd get the right one, but she wasn't understanding that if you started with 10 and added, you would never get 5, or that if you started at 20 and subtracted, you'd never get 100. She'd lost all sense that the symbols represented something concrete. It's the same with sounds and words. Even though English breaks most of its rules, and it's possible to guess a possible definition by context, the only really effective way to decipher an unfamiliar word is to sound it out.

I feel so badly for you and the poor little guy! I can just imagine how desperately he must be trying to please you by guessing at the words! It just doesn't seem fair that they're expecting him to learn these words without any context at all.

If I were you, I would separate out the short sound phonetic words (big, an, it, up, in, and, on, at, not) and teach him how to READ them using the sounds he knows (many mamas gave you ideas for this) so that he can have a sense of VICTORY and an excitement to go further. Once he has those down, I would recommend allowing him to practice with even more words (such as pig, gig, van, bit, sit, sup, cup, bin, sand, band, land, bat, sat, even nonsense words which follow the pattern) which use what he's already learned so he can see he KNOWS how to read. Make a big deal about his accomplishment!

At that point, his confidence should be restored to the point where you can say, "Okay, you learned the words which follow the short vowel sound rules. Then you learned SO WELL that you even learned MORE words than you were expected to. Now it's time to learn some different words which just don't follow the rules." Then, present the board with just the remaining words on it. Tell him that you will continue to work with him on the reading he already knows how to do but that you will memorize two words off the list every day because they are important words. Every day he manages to remember the two words from the day prior, make a big deal of crossing them off the board but subtly work them into the subsequent days' lessons to make sure he doesn't forget. Be sure to continue allowing him to read so that he doesn't lose heart!

Remember, when you initially teach him the sounds, teach him that "th" and sh" are buddy letters which have their own sound. This will allow him to phonetically figure out additional words. Also, the words "here" and "like" are phonetic words which properly follow the long vowel rules and you can just tell him to look for the v-c-v pattern: the "e" at the end gives his sound to the first vowel so it can say its name. If he gets that, you can introduce "bike, rake, lake, sake, Jake, nonsense words, etc."

I'm pretty confident that 20 minutes a day of this (probably split up into two 10 minute increments) should produce great results!

Best wishes from,

M.

I'm a first grade teacher and I tutor students who struggle with mastering some of the standards. The best way for little ones to learn these words is to make it fun. I have my students practice these sight words (high frequency words) by playing the game of Memory of Concentration. Take index cards, write the words on two sets of cards (I usually write the word on one card and the student writes the word on his card), after words we turn the cards face down and play the game. Every time you or he turns a card over you must say the word and when you make a match you must say the word into a sentence.

Another way to encourage writing the word is to put shaving cream on the table and have your son spread use his fingers to spell out the words in the creamy mess. If you go to the park ,beach or sandbox use fingers or a stick to spell the words in the sand. Sidewalk chalk, playdough, letter stamps and Wikki Stixx are also fun ways to make words.

Hope these ideas help. Kids at this age need a variety of ways to learn so have fun with it and kudos to you for being so involved and proactive about you son's education!

In isolation, those words are tough for students to learn. Phonetically, many of them break the common "sound it out" rule".
Try one of these:
-Have him write the words (using different colored markers, crayons, paint, etc.) As he writes the words, have him say the word out loud. Then help him create a sentence. (You may need to model the first few sentences for him - until he gets the idea.)

-Use something like shaving cream on wax paper for him to practice writing the word with his finger. (Once again, have him say the word as he writes.)

-Try magnetic letters on a cookie sheet.

-Look for other creative ways around your house. Maybe he has small toys and you can spell a word by creating shapes or making the letters with some cars on the floor.
(Make sure you continue to have him create a sentence for each word.)

Hi,

A couple more suggestions...instead of just doing the regular flash cards, make it more fun and interesting for him. Make another set of the words he needs to know and play "Go Fish" with them, or play a game of "Memory," and everytime he flips a card over he has to read the word aloud. One last game, "Bang," is really fun too. Take the flash cards you have and take a few extra and write the word BANG on them. Stick all the cards in a pile, face down, and one person takes a card from the top of the pile, reads their word out loud, and if correct keeps the card, then it moves on to the next player. You keep going back and forth, taking turns, the person who flips over a BANG card gets to take all of the other player(s) cards. At the end, the player with the most cards wins! I hope this helps. My son seemed to learn the words much easier and faster, when they were being taught in ways he enjoyed learning them! Good Luck and stick with it...he will get them!

Hi V.,

As a former teacher, as well as being the mom of a 10 & 8 year old, my advice would be to let him have another year in kindergarten......just take the pressure off of him.

It sounds like you have done everything to help and he is just not ready.

And, I know from personal experience that if you explain it well, he will not feel like a failure.

I told my daughter that I had made a mistake in one of her pre school class placements, and she didn't GET to learn some of what she needed.....it was my fault, not hers.....then, she repeated kindergarten. It was a really, really good choice, because she is now finishing her first grade year with no problem. She just needed that extra year.

Hope this helps

Here is a link to a web site I have used as a teacher. There is a High - Frequency word section that has lessons and printable books for these words. You have to pay for membership to the web site, but it is worth it.
http://www.reading-tutors.com/
Good luck,
C.

Hi V.,
Take a deep breath and relax. To this day my son who is 9 hates being "Taught" by me. I suggest you let it go for a couple weeks not mention school and his need to learn directly, but sneak it into everyday behavior. Maybe work on some Mother's day cards for friends and family. He can decorate with personal art and help you come up with sentences using some of the needed words- "SHE has a BIG heart, I like you, who can do it all- you can!" Take your flash cards (have lots of sets) and decorate them as well then go around the house together and stick them at his level on items that match- out on the front door, we on a pic of the family, you on the bathroom mirror, up at the bottom of the stairs, she and small on his sister's bedroom door, like on the snack cabinet etc. Read, read, read, then let him read to you and your daughter at least once a day. My son loved to do this as if he were the teacher. Play school he is the teacher you are the student, let him show you the words- he may end up knowing more then you think. Have him name his artwork like at a museum- encouraging using the words and sign, by: Me and display it everywhere. Get a dry erase board, for a What to do list: change it daily listing daily activities using some of the words and read it together after breakfast- go to school in the car, see (friends name) on the yard. Fridge magnets work great- especially those poetry ones that you can get a borders- I think. They have lots of big words, but make for fun sentence making. There are all day opportunities to use these words find them! Have Fun!

There is something called "word bingo." Bingo but with words. You can also make it yourself.

In Kindergarten, they "learn" reading my utilizing "sight word" techniques and phonics.

Basically, it's visually "memorizing" a word, and also being able to sound it out. Is your son doing this? If he is being taught this in school, he shouldn't have to "guess" at it. His class should be doing reading exercises etc.

My girl has the very similar words it seems like...but, what her teacher does is give them worksheets in class, reading in class, she verbally has them do exercises where she sounds out a word and they have to point to the correct word etc., they also have for example: reading homework- (writing sentences/matching words to pictures/fill-in-the-blank sentences etc.) and 8-page type books they have to read and hopefully master and the child then "reads" the book to the teacher and answers comprehension questions about the book afterward.

With all of these approaches... my daughter and the kids in her class seem to really grasp the words and know it and understand it. As they are reading you can see their lips silently sounding out the words if they don't know the word, and other words they had just memorized.

Try asking your son's Teacher what she can suggest for your him? I would think that his teacher CAN provide you with something or at least some ideas. How is your son IN school....is he picking it up? Does he get bored with the learning? I'm thinking, that if he is having a hard time at home doing this....then how is he at school? Try ask the Teacher perhaps...

Just the repetition alone, can help your son "remember" the words and sounds. For my daughter, before she went to school, I used a LOT of workbooks with her....kids love workbooks...you can even use it with your 2-year old. That's when I started with my daughter. It's just done in fun...but they learn concepts already.

Good luck, just some ideas,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

Hello V.. Any cognitive training will help. Such games as Uno, Connect 4, & Simon are good as well. Not sure where you live but their is a learning center called LearningRx that strictly does Cognitive training.

Try the leaper movies for learning letter sounds and rules for reading. They are fun to watch and helped my kids to read.

Hold him back. Let him repeat kindergarten. Even if you are able to get him to learn the 25 words, he is struggling and will continue to struggle at the bottom of the class. Should you hold him back, he will be ready and at the top of the class and learn to love school.
I held my youngest son back and he now has his masters degree in business. There is no downside to being given a second year of kindergarten; however, make sure that you are clear that he didn't "flunk" rather let him know that the oldest kids do the best in school and everything comes easier to them and you want him to have that advantage.

Hey V., Just keep working with him, and try really hard not to get frustrated with him, I rememebr my dad, trying to teach me times tables, and he would get so frustrated with me, made me feel doumb, to this day i am 51 and still don't know all my time tables. I am a daycare provider and i work with my 5 year old who is in kindergarten, and we laugh and make it really fun, cause he has a list of words as well, petty much the same list you wrote, we taught him how to read, and h actually can sound big words out better than the small ones, we work with him on a daily basis, and when he wants t take a break we let him, so it's not a bad thing. he's now reading above kindergarten level, so hang in there, he will get it. Let me know how things turn out. J.

I homeschool my children (my oldest just turned 6 years old) and found similar problems in trying to help my son learn his first reading words. Sight words can be difficult and I have found that there are a lot of ways to help. First, read with your son. Read, read, read, read, and read some more. Make it a family activity, make it a mom and son activity, just read. Point out words as you go and if you are working individually with your son, slow down on those sight words and ask him to say the word. Try helping by starting the first sound for him if he has a hard time. Nothing can help your son's memory more than good, old-fashioned repetition. Make sure you get some beginning reader books with only a few words on each page. Read with him and have him say the words with you as you go.
Next, have you heard of Living Books? Books on CD that you can play on your computer. They are so much fun for my little ones. There are opportunities to "play" on the CD for the older children and just reading through a book (they highlight each word as they go and the characters do actions) for the younger children. That's more of the repetition, but it also means you don't have to do it by yourself (or allows you to spend some time on other things while he is still reading) and it makes it fun for the kids.
Put the flashcards around the house (like on doorways), ask him to look at the word and say it as he passes through the doorway. Practice with him. Make sure that you use the words in a sentence when you do it, so he doesn't just see the word, he hears the word and uses the word. Personally I like the flashcards that have a colorful picture (if the word is she, the picture could just be a girl), this gives him a little help as he is first learning the words.
I saw some other good suggestions like Reader Rabbit and Leap Frog. Anything that you can do to make it more fun for your child will make it easier for him to remember. Also, reading is one thing, but writing really helps keep those words in his memory. Have him practice saying the words and writing them in a sentence. Write the sentence first and underline the words you want him to remember, say the sentence for him several times and then ask him to write it out for you. Ask him to say those reading words as he goes.
Lastly, we went to a speech therapist for several years with my son and she gave us some great approaches to learning. Make a reading game. Get out an old dollhouse and some dolls. If you have a little doll table or car, use them. If not, draw the pictures and cut them out. For example: a doll table and a doll cup (or pictures of both), show your son the word (like on) and ask him to put the cup on the table. Show him the word again and say it in a sentence. "The cup is ON the table." A little bit of guessing really is okay, that is why beginner books have bright pictures and few words (to help the reader see and guess what the words might be saying). You can do this with anything: dolls, blocks, cars, treats (this is a fun game, give him the treat if he can get it right). Like I said, nothing works better than repetition. Good luck and have fun!

Post the words around his bedroom or around the house. Let him be aware of the words. Act out the words with him like a drama game. You can also say the word on a flash card, spell it then you say your turn and wait for him to respond. Leave him if he doesn't want to play. You can't force him to learn to read unless he is ready (kind of like potty training.) Don't panic, I am a 3rd grade teacher and some of my students still struggle with reading. I hope this helps.

A fun game I play with my students to learn the sight words is a game called BANG. Make flash cards of all the words he needs to know. Then make 5 more flash cards that say bang. Put them all in a container and mix them up. Take turns pulling a card and saying the words. If you get the card that says BANG you have to put all of your cards back. The game never really ends but the kids have so much fun playing it doesn't matter. You can also make bingo boards to match the words. Draw them in the sand, make them with play dough, write them with blocks, etc. Tape flash cards all over the place like the bathroom, bedroom door, ceiling above bed, etc. Hunt for words in magazines and make a word collage with them. Just make it fun and they will stick!

I bought some really good videos from preschoolprepco.com in order to get my son ready for Kinder. There are various videos like Meet the Letters, Meet the Numbers and Meet the Sight Words. I play them in the car mostly because the kids are trapped and they would rather watch those than nothing at all. Turns out my kids love them, including my three year old. My three and five year old know all their numbers, letters, letter sounds, and sight words. I don't know if all those sight words are covered. There are a total of 25 sight words in the bunch. It would be a good jumping off point and maybe you could replicate how they teach the sight words (color coded, repetetion, etc).

I was an elementary school teacher before deciding to stay home with my two boys,ages three and five.

I would suggest a "one word a day" game. In about 2 or 3 minute increments (maybe 4 or 5 times a day) show him the card. Does he write? He can write the word (8.5 x 11 paper), draw a picture for the word, cut our pictures from magazines for the word. Post the paper, so he can see it. Point it out to him. Have him find the right word. Eventually you will have a "word wall" with all the words he knows. Once you have gone through all the words onces, start over... good luck.

Hi! I just wanna say that I know exactly how you feel. My son is 5yrs old and in june we'll be 6yrs.
He has the same words and more to memorize before he goes into 1st grade. Its fustrating because you want them to get it and they don't. What I did was that I focused on just one word for a couple of days until I knew he got it. I would make him write it over and over. We would read a book that had the word of the week. I would help him sound it out. I'll admit it was hard in the beginning but worth it in the end.
This is what helped me. I hope its of help to you as well. Keep us posted on the progress of your son. Don't worry though he'll do good. Good luck! Blessings...

Have him read books that are familiar to him and also try "BOB" books. How ever you go about teaching him make it fun! Bath letters to spell while he is bathing, a pan of pudding to spell, white board, "wicky sticks", be creative. Good luck

The small words of any language are always the hardest. Easy to figure out "refrigerator", right? Have him act out the action words. Have him make the letters and words in modeling clay and then give you examples until he gets it. Just seeing the words on a page is not enough for many kids. Have him make every letter in the alphabet in clay, and then get all the sounds associated with that word, and that is basic phonics. That is why you normally start kids on nouns like cat and dog, not on the tougher articles and pronouns. For you, be sure you know the basic grammar (get a simple grammar book if you need to as a refresher) and you will be able to help him nail down reading and give him a very bright future.

A. Dunev
former English teacher

It sounds like your son's not quite developmentally ready to start reading. Take some time off from the flashcards, worksheets, etc. and then try again in another month or two. Some kids just aren't quite ready to read at age 5.5. It seems to be more common with boys than girls. You may want to have him do another year of kindergarten so that his reading readiness is that much more developed. If he goes to first grade "behind" his peers, he may get frustrated with school. It's best to start the early school years on a positive note. Just because your son is a late reader doesn't mean that he will be doomed to failure. My husband, who's an engineer, was a late reader. Another thing you may want to to is have your son's eyes tested. Maybe he needs glasses. That was also one of the reasons why my husband was a late reader.

I live in Europe, where kids don't even start first grade until ages 6-7. European preschools/kindergartens don't do any kind of pre-reading instruction or alphabet learning. The kids learn their alphabet and learn to read in 1st grade. Within a few months of their phonics-based reading/ABC instruction, they're reading fairly difficult texts. The reason the Europeans wait "so long" to teach reading is that they want all of the kids to be developmentally ready.

Be patient and in time your son will be a good reader. If you push too hard when he's not quite ready, it will only give him a negative experience with reading.

Write each word on a note card, punch a hole in the corner. Everyday, take one word, go over that one word, then attach it to his belt loop with a shower-curtain rod, or even a piece of string. Throughout the day, reference the card, ask him to read the card to friends and family, find that word in a book, etc. If he knows that one word by the end of the day you can add another word the next day or wait until he knows that one word and then add the next word. Keep adding the words to his ring until he knows all of the words. In my experience this has been very successful in teaching those sight words. It can be very overwhelming to be presented with a list of 100 words you have to know, but if you focus on one word at a time, then its not so bad. I also highly recommend the DVD LeapFrog's Letter Factory. Remember, if you are excited about it he'll be excited about it. Good luck!

Without going into my experience and understanding of your concerns, let me kindly first recommend that you speak to your child's pediatrician. Ask the pediatrician if he/she thinks a consultation w/a speech therapist is a good idea. Speech therapist handle all kinds of matters. I would speak to a couple of speech therapists. Also, you may want to call some local pre-schools in your area and speak to the director for their advice.

Be patient and have fortitude. I've been there, done that.
Michele
Santa Monica resident
mom of a 15 1/2 yr daughter (honors student) and a 20 yr at University of Oregon & on the football team (he needed speech therapy from 3- 5 yrs.)

What I did with a child that was struggling with this; I cut 3x5 cards in half and wrote all the words on cards. He would choose a different one each day and carry it around in his pocket. He had a change to think about the word, look at the word, and I would ask him from time to time, What is todays word?
My son caught up and did fine in school from then on. But consider the idea that he is not ready yet to begin the first grade. With boys, they are not always mature enough at this point. Something to think about.

Thank you for the request. I got some great info here. My son has a late birthday 12/21 he will just be starting Kindergarten at that age for the 1st time. Sorry I am not much help. Good Luck. Keep us posted on where u go from here.

Please have your child tested for learning disabilites. Often they can be resolved with early intervention, and if left unresponded to can lead to a kid who has a miserable time in school. If you don't have the resources to test privately, your school is legally obligated to respond to a written request for testing within 60 days. Bear in mind that, due to lawsuits, some districts are barred from doing some very important diagnostic tests (lausd is one) and that you may get imcomplete results. Even so, something is better than nothing. Once you have the results they are required to accomodate if necessary. Put on your claws, you'll have to fight for everything! Your child is lucky to have a mom who is so on it. Good luck!

Sounds like you are doing what you can for him. But i do know that some kids need that extra year in kindergarden. So he will be the oldest in his class. It will probably bennifit him to go through K again.

Hi V.,

Kids learn at all different rates but you might want to have him assessed for a learning disorder. If there is one, catching it early is best. Otherwise, holding him back a year is not a bad idea. Boys usually learn later than girls and being a year older for first grade will give him a lot of advantages, academically and physically, throughout his school career.

V.

V.,

Maybe a different way to teach might be to mix sight words flash cards with picture cards to make sentences. For instance, you can put down "this" "is" "a" and a picture of a monkey. That way if he can put sentences together with sight words, it might be more fun because he will feel like he's actually reading. Maybe you can have him put the cards in the order that he wants to make silly sentences also. I know my 5 year old likes to hear silly sentences, and we make them with speaking words all the time. He will also be starting his sight words for kindergarten and I know he likes trying to put sounds together to make words. I know putting sentences together will be fun too!

Good luck with it!!

My daughter as well had to learn these sight words this yr. We did memory games, SHE had to write them on index cards and then we played memory with them, just like the memory game, where you have to find the pairs.. As she would turn them over I would say what the words were, and of course she always wins, so she always wanted to play over and over again.. Just a suggestion.. Good luck..

V., not sure if this will help you or not but thought I would tell you about it. We just went to the store (WalMart) yesterday and found this game you can put on your refrigerator. It is by Leap Frog and called Word Whammer. It gives you all the alphabet letters (plus a couple extra) and the little computer which are magnetized. It gives the child the words to spell (i.e. "spell CAT, CAT is spelled C - A - T find the first letter in CAT..."). My son is having a great time with it. Not sure if it will help him with spelling but it is helping him learn the letters, so I imagine the next step would be the words...It is a little expensive ($25) but he hasn't stopped playing with it yet (knock on wood). There are 3 differnt games they can play, recognize your letters (he probably doesn't need this one), make your own words or spell the words the Whammer gives you. The only problem I see for your situation is that it can only do 3 letter words (not sure if it works with 1-2 letter words), not 4+ letter words. Give it a try, if it doesn't work for your son, maybe it can help your daughter get ahead. Good luck, T.

Try a leapfrog word whammer. It's done wonders for my 4 year old wo loves to play with it while I am making dinner. It sings songs and teaches him how to spell 3 letter words. Its magnetic so you can stick it to the fridge. I got mine at Target. Good luck!!!

V.,

Hello there from another mom of a boy. We had similar problems in kinder but we made it a game and then we made up songs with the words. When we made the learning thing fun, His road block fell and became a lot easier. Good Luck, it will come to him.

Maybe get a tutor...sometimes kids won't work with their parents, wheras they will work with another person.

In my son's school they call these words "instant words" since they consider them to just be recognizable and not necessarily sounded out. We practice 5 a week, several times a week for 10-15 minutes at a time. We do this by drawing them in the air, using chalk on the ground, writing in sand or dirt, then he writes each down three times on paper, hopefully without checking back but if he needs to he can and usually by the end of a week he knows all five words. He goes to private school and there is no requirement to memorize a set number of words or specific words for moving on but they send these home and that's how we do it.

I've helped kiddos in 2nd and 3rd grade that were severely behind in reading. So love all of the suggestions above this one. Keep working with the flash cards--it may take a long time---and READ! As many books as he will let you a day. Reading you can point out these words. Especially for this stuff--Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat!

With the Flash Cards---also have him trace the letters with his fingers of the letters of the words on the flash cards. For some reason that helps retention as well--as many senses as you can get---like seeing the word, tracing it with fingers, hearing it....it will come! :) I promise! Does he know all of his letters and sounds? Make sure of that first!

LOVED the suggestion also that makes him at least sound out the first letter. That's great--that will stop SOME of the random guessing.

Hi!

As a first grade teacher, I have some helpful suggestions for you. Many boys learn by doing, so playing games with the words is key. Use the flash cards to play "memory." Clap the consonants and snap the vowels as you spell the word aloud - then after a while of doing that only clap and snap the word while he tries to guess which word it is. Trace/spell the words on to his back with your finger and he has to guess which word it is. Let him practice writing his words in sand or even more fun, in some of Daddy's shaving cream smeared on to the table! Have him "rainbow write" the words - pick three colors of crayons and write the words on top of each other in those three colors. These sight words are very important in order to learn how to read. They are not the types of words that you can "sound out," he just has to memorize them by sight so practice but just remember to keep it fun and don't stress over it or he'll sense that and resist. Hope that helps!!

Venessa,

Great question, and as someone with a child starting Kinder, I'm learning a lot from everyone's responses. I looked up the website that was recommended to you about high-frequency words. It looks really good, and just in case money is tight, I wanted to point out a free-downloadable sheet they have with tips:
http://www.reading-tutors.com/tips/TH_Tips_HFW.pdf

Good luck!