Learning to Read

I realize this post is super long-you don't have to read it all. I have just had a lot of people ask me how Tyson learned (and Eliza is learning) to read so I thought I would write it all down. The thought of teaching a child to read is a bit overwhelming for some. It definitely was for me. I am so not an expert and hope I'm not giving you bad info but this is what we do and it has worked for our family so far. And please don't get overwhelmed as you look over this post. Learning to read is a process and what I outline in the post takes years-one tiny step at a time.
 So here goes:


How to find the time:

•  I read with my kids every night when possible. Even if its just for a few minutes. I try to have them participate by counting items pictured in the book, have them point out colors, letters, and shapes. My favorite is have them remember words on the books you read most often. 
• Basically any other random point in the day. Driving in the car, eating lunch, bath time, etc. Just whenever you are already with your child. You don't have to be sitting down looking at a book to talk about what letter goes with what sound or what letter begins certain words. Don't underestimate those few minutes here or there. Its during those times when the most learning goes on in our house. 
• Once Tyson could sound out words then I would sit down with him for a few minutes each day to read. With him it was after I put Eliza down for a nap, but it can be during your nighttime reading or just whenever its convenient. 

Tools: 

• A set of letters in the bathtub and a set on the fridge. This helps you squash learning into those random times where you have a few extra minutes. Its pretty safe to say that in the beginning Tyson learned most things in the bathtub and at lunch time.
• A library card. Take your child to the library and have them pick books. They like it and its something to do on a rainy day! Plus you can also choose books for them according to what stage they are in. For example, I would find shape books when Tyson was ready to learn about shapes. Or I would find alphabet books when he was learning his letters. 
• I See Sam books. These books were invaluable to me while Tyson learned to read. Mostly because I had no idea how to teach a child to read and these books just do it for you. The first book starts with five sounds that make up the three words-I See Sam. The books very slowly introduce new sounds and new words as you go through them. As your child progresses through the sets and learns to read better the books introduce more and more new sounds and words. Each set will set you back $30 but I thought they were worth every penny. Plus, I plan on using them for all my kids so I think it will turn out to be a great investment. A word of caution: The first three sets were awesome. Set 4-not so much. Tyson didn't like those books much because they stopped having cute little pictures and animal characters. After your child completes set three I would just start going to the library and find books on their level. 
• Keep your eyes peeled for fun games or websites or apps that can help your child learn about letters and sounds. We like the Super Why page on pbskids.org. It has letter games that my kids really enjoy playing. 

Here's How:

• First things first. Shapes. Once your child can easily recognize all the shapes, then I think they can start learning letters. After all, they are essentially just shapes. I started with capital letters and moved onto lower case once they mastered the capitals. There are no shortage of letters out there. You can get alphabet books or just have them tell you the letters from the words in any book, or the ketchup bottle, or the IKEA sign. It doesn't matter. Letters are everywhere.
• After they can recognize the letters then move onto their sounds. Even though some letters have multiple sounds I just teach one at first. Then, I let the I See Sam books take care of the rest by introducing the separate sounds at the right time. 
• Once they can name the sounds for most letters then comes sounding out basic words; at, in, on, up, etc. And then cat, bat, hat, sat, etc. I think this can be a hard step to learn how to mesh the sounds together. If you just sound them out slowly and show them over and over then eventually it will click. Maybe there is a better way to do this? 
• As soon as Tyson started sounding out basic words then we started the I See Sam books. After Tyson read all the books in a set he would get a small prize. Make sure you start out slow though because it is really hard on their little brains! 
• When he got through the first three sets (and shunned the forth) I would get on the library website and reserve all the books I could find in his level of the I CAN READ books. 
• After a time we just started getting chapter books that interest him. Usually what we do now is read for about 15 minutes each day of whatever book he is on. Usually he will read a page and then I will read a page and so on. He likes to have it broken up like that. Reading can be a little taxing, especially when he already has spent 6 1/2 hours at school that day!

Other Things to Remember:

• Keep it fun for both of you. If its too stressful or frustrating they can start to dislike reading from the beginning.  Don't push them to that point. Above all, they must enjoy reading even if it takes a little bit longer to learn!
• Don't buy into predetermined ages for certain milestones. Some kids are more than ready to read before the magic age of five and some kids are a little older. Every child is different and every child will do things on a different time table. Just always keep it fun and always keep them engaged and they will read when they are ready.
• Remember that learning to read is a process. Don't be overwhelmed. Just take it one tiny step at a time and it will be easy to know when to move on. 

Please share any tips you may have as well!

Done with Diapers?

It was only a matter of time until we had a potty training post! Besides getting children to sleep, it can be one of the most frustrating parts of parenting small children.
I have a cousin that is having a hard time potty training one of her kids, and I'm sure there are more of you going through this right now. What's hard about potty training is there are a thousand different opinions on the matter and everyone usually thinks their way is the best. Honestly, I think the best approach is probably a little different for each child.
That being said, here's what I think about potty training: (Please don't be offended if it is different than what you think. Its just my opinion and its just what worked for us.)
I am totally in the "earlier-the-better" camp. I think waiting and waiting until your child "shows interest" will just result in you wiping poopy behinds for much longer than is needed. (And all the diapers you can save from the landfill, the better!) From The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, "In 1957, studies found that 92 percent of children were toilet trained by eighteen months." This tells me that it is possible to train early.
So let me now tell you how I potty trained both of my kids. (Tyson was fully trained by 2 1/2 and Eliza by 2. Both were pooping in the toilet by age 2). I got the basic idea from the Baby Whisperer. Just start talking to them about it at a very young age, 9 months to a year. When they poop say, "You are going poop. When you are older, you will go poop in the toilet just like mommy and daddy." Its as simple as letting them know what they are even doing. If you do this they will recognize it very early and learn to associate it with the toilet. When my kids got closer to age two, I would run and put them on the toilet whenever I thought they were going to poop. At first, we didn't make it in time very much and I would just change their diaper, but I would never just let them poop in their diaper without running to make it to the toilet first. Then whenever we did make it to the toilet in time, I praised them like I never had done before. I told them how proud I was and gave them a treat. It is a pain but they get it after a short while and then YOU DON"T HAVE TO CHANGE POOP ANYMORE! I think poop training should be done early because this is the age when they crave your praise. If you wait until they are older they don't care as much what you think and they can become very stubborn.
I gotta be honest though. Training them to pee in the toilet was not as easy and I don't feel like I am expert enough to offer much advice in that arena except just be patient and consistent and take them to the toilet pretty much all the time until they get it. Oh and get some training underwear (the kind that is super padded) and have them wear multiple pairs at first. That way, if there is an accident, most of it is absorbed by the unders.
Ok-that is my training regimen but what have you done???? I'd like to hear what has worked for you and see if we can help my cousin out. She has tried many things already so hopefully we have some new ideas for her.

Reading to the Kids

Sometimes I get tired of reading the same books to my kids at night. And I can't believe how many books we bring home from the library are just awful to read and not written well (in my opinion). Just because it rhymes and has a bunny for a main character doesn't make it a good book!
Do you have children's book favorites that I can look for next time I go to the library?