Fun Materials, Books & Games For Phonics!

[sphinx]

Hi Buds


Thanks for your suggestions... I agree with you, i should just stick to teaching him the silent 'e' word as sight words. At what age do you think I should resume the complex vowel rule...I think I cause enough damage to his brain already by getting too excited
:stupid: and causing him to be so confused.

He can read on his own but I have to hold on to his pointer and point it to each word and move along with him. If I let go his pointer, he will skip a few words and a few lines...think i must work on his motor skills...his motor skills aren't that good...he still don't really like tracing despite the nice alphabet mat I got him

I must say kudos to you cause I am very motivated by you at how you work with your 2 girls. If I did not come across this forum and read your thread and tamarind's, I don't think I have any idea on how to teach my son how to read.

Thanks again buds and i love your ideas...please throw in more ideas..I'm waiting to try

[buds]

sphinx:

Hi Buds


Thanks for your suggestions... I agree with you, i should just stick to teaching him the silent 'e' word as sight words. At what age do you think I should resume the complex vowel rule...I think I cause enough damage to his brain already by getting too excited :stupid: and causing him to be so confused.

It's normal for parents to be excited when their children start reading.. hehee... :lol:

As for the vowel rule, mebbe when he has done all his blends and also the long vowels which by then he should be about 4yrs thereabouts, he would grasp the concept better. Btw, which Phonics methodology is his school using? Or are you yourself adapting / inclined to any of the different reading methods available in the market?

sphinx:

He can read on his own but I have to hold on to his pointer and point it to each word and move along with him. If I let go his pointer, he will skip a few words and a few lines...think i must work on his motor skills...his motor skills aren't that good...he still don't really like tracing despite the nice alphabet mat I got him

It's ok to start out like that, sphinx. Using the pointer is to make emphasis on reading each word in every sentence, especially important for young and early readers they can easily skip a word or two when they first start. Their attention can stray easily. I definitely know how you feel about that. My DD2 used to be like that. Once she heard a cat mewing outside, and she got distracted liao. Our neighbour above dragged a chair and she looked up, going... what's that... what's that... :roll:

Yes, motor skills are important and definitely better to introduce while they're younger. It will help with handwriting later on too. You can do cutting activities, painting or simple origami to work the motor skills. Clothes folding is a good activity too! :lol:

Using a short plastic ruler or dark coloured cardboard can also help define the reading line when your son can already work the finger pointer independently.

sphinx:

I must say kudos to you cause I am very motivated by you at how you work with your 2 girls. If I did not come across this forum and read your thread and tamarind's, I don't think I have any idea on how to teach my son how to read.

I'm happy to be your source of motivation. That's one of the reasons why i share my experiences in this forum. As an educator it wud seem easy for me to work the play and play with the work... but for other parents it may seem challenging. It's ok to outsource but if as parents we know how to WORK IT, it'll definitely help our children with their home reinforcements and also assist in escalating their learning interests.

Children have milestones to achieve in their growing years. And it would be good if we try to help our children achieve them within their sensitive periods, where they are sensitive to learning it best.

sphinx:

Thanks again buds and i love your ideas...please throw in more ideas..I'm waiting to try

Okie, more ideas coming for you! :celebrate:
See you here again soon, ya!

[sphinx]

Hey Buds

Its me again…was away and could not check the forum.One question. I have no idea how to include quotes in my post…hahah…very non-IT me…

Yeah I think I have to slow down with him a bit…Kind of gotten a little excited for a while there and went overboard with him…thanks for your motivation and advice…
my son is so like your DD2…his eyes will roll everywhere but the book and now that a page in 4a is pretty long, so now its pretty difficult just to let him finish a page.

I did not use any methadology though. Should I use any one of them?what do you reckon?

I haven’t tried origami with him though…I will try that…those simple ones…

thanks buds for the ideas…love them.

[buds]

sphinx:

Hey Buds. Its me again..was away and could not check the forum.One question. I have no idea how to include quotes in my post..hahah...very non-IT me...

Just click quote darling. You can find the button/icon at the top
right hand corner of the posts.

Just make sure for the sentence that you wanna do individually,
it has to start with, for example > [ quote=\"sphinx\" ] and
end with a simple > [ /quote ].

sphinx:

Yeah I think I have to slow down with him a bit...Kind of gotten a little excited for a while there and went overboard with him..

Naaah, i dun think so. Think you're trying what you can.
Sometimes when we do not know what is age appropriate
to teach a child at his/her age; and it turns out that the child
wasn't ready..... parents can get very frustrated if there isn't
tangible results at the least after the effort. It's understandable.
It is also ok to teach a child slightly way ahead but as long as the
said child is observed to be able to receive it positively and has the
ability to understand its concepts & the works. When it's too far off, it
is like asking an infant to start walking before turning/crawling...

sphinx:

thanks for your motivation and advice...

You're always welcome. :hugs:

sphinx:

my son is so like your DD2...his eyes will roll everywhere but the book and now that a page in 4a is pretty long, so now its pretty difficult just to let him finish a page.

Still is. :x And she likes to say she's very tired when she has only read like only a page!

sphinx:

I did not use any methadology though. Should I use any one of them?what do you reckon?

Not really, you dun have to. A method is like a learning style that one
adopts which can be conducted in phases or levels, so one knows to start
from basic to advance or from easy to difficult and at an age appropriate
level. I like many Phonics teaching styles and each are unique and work
in their own manner. Makes learning interesting, especially if one were to
start working with children at a very early age like 18 months.

sphinx:

I haven't tried origami with him though...I will try that...those simple ones...

Though mine aren't boys, we love to do those variety of paper
aeroplanes when we first started and there are also paper boats
that you can do with him. For starters, you dun have to use those
small origami papers. Children with smaller fingers can fold better
with bigger paper pieces. Just not too hard like vanguard, normal
A4 papers would suffice. Give him stickers or stamps to decorate
the origami stuff. Patterned paper punchers can also make lovely
decorations.

sphinx:

thanks buds for the ideas...love them.

I love sharing them! :celebrate:

[spring]

buds:

Hi buds,


As i have mentioned before, i do not encourage teaching letter sounds over introduction to alphabets. Introducing children to alphabets should come first... at least in my book. Followed by knowing how each letter is formed ie. top to bottom and left to right (reading sweep-glance)... then continuation to letter sounds. If you go by this order, once they know how to do blending, you can simultaneously run through simple phonetic words' spelling activities with them. Pre-writing exercises are important to help children develop their finger muscles, pincer grip and also preparation to tidy handwriting.

Hi buds....

Its me. I have again learnt many ideas from you on this thread. :celebrate:
My dd is 26 months, I have a few questions in regards to the reply to sean wife. You mention tat introducing of alphabet shd come 1st (im in this phase now), followed byhow each letter is formed, so do you mean tat you suggest a child to learn to pre-writing of e alphabets before learning each single letter sound? Recently i have bought a tracing alphabet book with picture to colour and stickers to paste for her, I ask her to pick out e sticker tat match e picture e.g.aeroplane, and let her stick on e square box, followed by saying e word aaaaeroplane to her, followed by doodling on e aeroplane. Next we move on to tracing e letter 'a', i use my hand to hold her hand to guide her, but i think she is nt v interested in e tracing part, and v interested in the pasting part. But, obviously e main motive is e tracing of e letter :stupid:

Can you give me some ideas on how to make pre-writing more interesting? I have also browse thru your montessori thread in regards to the sand paper finger tracing, wld like to try this method also, will be waiting for you on how to diy e material ya...

Also glad to found your post on the \"My Phonics Friend\" which can be borrow fr e library, I will definitely check this out, save money... :lol: I think it is quite similar to e letterland ABC book isn't it?

[jedamum]

dear buds,

my 3yo loves to trace (but not repetitively for each letter ie he only likes to trace A-Z but not AAAAA, BBBBB), but he can't get the strokes sequence correct unless i dictate it for him. he also likes to fool around by tracing his name backwards. should i enforce that he follows the correct sequence? TQ.

PS: on man...feels like writing to Aunt Agony forum like that..

[spring]

Hey buds...


I just remember i save this link in my favourite....
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/handwriting_readiness.htm

It say that before a child learn to trace a letter or number, they need to practice handwriting readiness by practicing some of this activities, is this necessary? But it does seems to me it makes some sense.

For parents who is keen to train ur child's fine motor skills, there are some other activities in their website which i tink is quite good e.g cutting, lacing... all printable and free!

[autumnbronze]

spring:

Hey buds...


I just remember i save this link in my favourite....
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/handwriting_readiness.htm

It say that before a child learn to trace a letter or number, they need to practice handwriting readiness by practicing some of this activities, is this necessary? But it does seems to me it makes some sense.

For parents who is keen to train ur child's fine motor skills, there are some other activities in their website which i tink is quite good e.g cutting, lacing... all printable and free!

Hi Spring,

Was being a KPO and checked out the website ...

Verdict:

WOW, :goodpost:

Will save it in my favourites

Thanks for sharing :lol:

Even though it was meant for Buds

[autumnbronze]

Hi Buds,


Or anyone else who can advise me on this ....

I am now in the midst of 'formally' (because he knows them already, just reinforcing before I start on phonics) teaching my son the letters of the alphabet using Buds mystery game bag.

The letters that I am showing are lowercase letters, I let him trace the shape of the letters as well.

My question is: Would I confuse him if I show/let him trace both the upper and lower case letters at the same time? I remember reading somewhere in one of the posts that we shd just concentrate on lowercase. Wouldn't I end up 'double' teaching him then? Also, I notice that some letter tracing books have both types ....

BTW, my 2+ yr old son loves the mystery game, he tries to cheat too when putting his hand inside the bag by opening one eye. Also, one of the items I put into the bag is an almond, he just makes me laugh when he pronounces it as - alamond :lol:

So I highly recommend this method

Advice most appreciated. TIA ... :celebrate:

[spring]

autumnbronze:

Hi Spring,

Was being a KPO and checked out the website ...

Verdict:

WOW, :goodpost:

Will save it in my favourites

Thanks for sharing :lol:

Even though it was meant for Buds

Hi autumnbronze...

Its alright, im a KPO also... :lol: in fact i tink most KSP members are KPO, trying to check out all other threads.

Thanks. Am happy that you find it useful.

No la... its not meant for buds only... I post it for parents who's keen to train their child's fine motor skill also, i find it quite interesting...

Hmmm.... btw, do you do any handwriting readiness activities with your ds? Or do you hav any ideas of how to making pre-writing more interesting? Waiting for buds's reply, but others input will be very appreciated too!