Teaching Jet to read

Just thought I’d share with you some ideas I have started using to introduce some basic reading skills to the boy. One of my motivations for this is that he’s into it. He loves books and I think it would be nice for him to be able to read them by himself. He’s always asking what things say. But also, I am constantly on the lookout for things he can do independently when he wakes up at the crack and decides it’s time for everyone to stop lying around and get on with life.  So, I am hopeful that in the future I can add reading to my list of stuff to stop Jet climbing on my head at 4.30 am; along with playdoh, lego, train tracks, magnets, pom pom sorting, tweezers and bottle tops and threading. The length of this list is testament to how much I would like him to sleep a bit later! Extremely bloody LOTS!

Here’s what I have been doing so far. This relies on them knowing a bit about their letters and sounds, and to start the ball rolling with this I do have one suggestion…

Plonk your child in front of CBeebies whenever you need 10 minutes/a few hours to get shit done/have a nap because they have woken you up insanely early. Whilst you must take care to avoid them picking up a poor moral compass from twats like Mike the Knight, you will find that they learn stuff by some sort of osmosis. This is how Jet learnt his numbers, letters and sounds. Sometimes parental neglect pays off 😀

When they have this down, you can move on to words. Choose three common words, the Reception key word list is a good starting place. If possible, pick one they already know, their own name, dad or mum is a good place to start – it gives them confidence. Write them out on post it notes five times each and hide them around the room. You can stick them on furniture, the walls, some in obvious places and some more hidden.

Show your child one of the words and tell them what it says. Get them to repeat it back to you and point out what the first sound is. You might want to name the letters in the word as well. Ask them to find all the post it notes you have hidden in the room that say this word. Repeat for the other two words. By the end of this, they might be able to remember these three words.

Leave one of each of the words up in the house. You can ask them to go and stand next to the word that says dad, mum, etc. Periodically, ask your child if they can remind you what each one says. When you read them a story, get them to see if they can spot one of their words in the book. This will help them to learn to recognise the word in context, as well as in isolation.

You can add three more words when they become really confident with the first set. If they need to, you can revisit one they are having trouble with, adding just one new word along with two other familiar ones.

I am excited about Jet being able to read, and even with the six or so words he has managed to learn so far (including mum, dad, at, the, me, you), he is able to help me read his bedtime story. What is more, he is really buzzed up by it – the look on his face when he is able to read a word says it all. Pure delight!

Hopefully, some time soon I can add it to my list of stuff to give him to do in the morning, if you call 4.30 am the morning