Readin' Babes Series :: part 4

After almost two weeks of using our reading word cards, Camsters has shown absolutely no interest in them whatsoever. She won't even look at the cards and usually when we start, will crawl off to do something else. Sigh...

The book has actually warned about this very thing with 12-18 month olds. Apparently at this age they have better things to be learning and doing that sitting for fifteen seconds a day looking at word cards.

So we will be taking a break from our reading series until August when Camsters is 18 months old. Older and wiser right?! If your child is getting in the routine... Keep going strong and we will meet back up with you in August. In the meantime, I will still be reading to Camster daily. Hopefully that will spur some interest.


- Sarah

Readin' Babes Series :: part 3

The Camsters and I started our daily reading regiment today. It was actually pretty easy. Since she is in the 12-18 month old category, we have started with only one set of five word cards three times a day. In a few days I will add another set of five cards to her reading routine.

Day one... So far so good!

In keeping with the book's suggestion, I have made sure none of the words in the set begin with the same letter.
Her first five words are:
(her name)
shirt
pants
dog
leg


I hope you all are doing well with your readin' babes!
- Sarah

Readin' Babes Series :: part 2

A mother's quest to teach her child to read using the book How To Teach Your Baby To Read by Doman and Doman.

Chapter 8 outlines what you will be focusing on and how fast to go according to what age you are teaching. Since I am teaching a 12-18 month old, I will be focusing on the "First Step-- Single Words" and the "Second Step-- Couplets" or two-word groupings.

Now the fun part!

Making your word cards! Yay! The book says to cut strips of poster board to 22 inches long by 6 inches tall (22" x 6"). I cheated since poster board costs so much and you are going to need like a billion of these things.

I used 18" x 6" drawing paper. It isn't as thick as poster board, but is much thicker than printer paper. Then I used a red Mr. Sketch marker which is more like 1/4" thick instead of the suggested 1/2" thick (which I couldn't find). But I think they turned out fine.


The first 30 word cards I made are direct family words and self words (ear, nose, fingers, etc.).
The next 70 word cards I made are all possessions and favorite foods: doll, banana, toy, cup, carrot, blanket, jacket, car, etc. I also made a few animal word cards: butterfly, dog, duck, cow, bug, horse, elephant, and cat.
Next I will make as many verb cards as I can, then color cards (with the word on front and the color on back). Once I finish making those this week I think I will get started on our daily "reading sessions".

So get your materials together and we will start teaching next week!


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Readin' Babes Series :: part 1

Around the time Camster was born, my mother-in-law sent me a book called How To Teach Your Baby To Read. I never really looked at it or thought about it until I was cleaning out Camster's room the other day. It was quite the feat. Bagging up old clothes, rearranging furniture, reassembling her bookshelf... and there it was.
So sitting there on the floor I decided to read it. I was impressed. All of the ideas and suggestions and steps made sense. Then I thought, 'why am I not teaching my baby to read?'
I've seen and heard about those infomercials on TV claiming to do the same thing, and they may, but honestly-- who wants to pay $300 dollars for something that seems like a TV sham? Not me. How about $20 on a book that tells you all the steps and tips to do it yourself? Okay.

Let's do it together!
First go get the book at your local bookstore or Amazon: How To Teach Your Baby To Read by Glenn Doman and Janet Doman, Square One Publishers 2006.


Read the whole thing. Yep! The WHOLE thing. It's a quick read I promise. This way you will know all of the steps before we start and you won't get caught short-handed on supplies.

Let's begin at the beginning. The ground rules:
1. The best time to teach is when your you and your child are happy and in good form.
2. Never teach when your child is upset, hungry, or tired.
3. Always stop before your child wants to stop.
4. Always be "joyous" while teaching.
5. Your child doesn't need to stare at the cards. They absorb information instantly. You also do not need to repeat the word when showing the card.

Also, your child's interest and enthusiasm for reading will be based on these three things:
1. The speed at which materials are shown.
2. The amount of new material.
3. The "joyous" manner of YOU.

Now get reading!


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