What are good books or websites to start with to help my Kindergartener start reading?

Question

I am looking for good books to start with so that my son does nto get discouraged while reading. Some books are too long and have too many words to start with. I am also looking for good websites which might help him to start read.

Answer 1

Gigglepotz:  I Love to Read-A Reading Program for 3- to 7-year-olds.  http://www.gigglepotz.com/phonicscards.h...

Answer 2

Online, try Starfall:

http://www.starfall.com/

For books, try the "Bob" books:

http://www.bobbooks.com/

Another great resource is Leap Frog Letter Factory:

http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Frog-Letter-F...

To encourage reading, read your OWN books in front of him.  Read signs out loud.  Read to him, and let him "read" to you.

A word of caution though, don't make it a chore for him or he could start to dislike it and try to avoid it.

HTH,

: )  P

ds 9 (reading at 4)

ds 7 (reading at 3)

Answer 3

Bob Books are fantastic. You could also look into an actual instructional program like Reading Reflex or Phonics Pathways.

Answer 4

First of all, is he ready to learn to read? Lots of boys get put off reading for life because they are pushed into it too early. If he's bullying you to tell him what this or that says, he's ready. If he's not, leave it a bit longer.

That said, a phonics program is a good idea. I'd dig through here: http://homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/cur...

Keep the pressure off him reading, when not actually having a reading "class." Encourage, sure, but don't push. Go to the library and see what he finds. He'll probably pick something suitable. If what he picks is above his reading level, it doesn't matter. The goal at the moment is to encourage an enjoyment of books. It won't matter if he can read or not if he doesn't want to, eh? Read with him, start by pointing out the words you know he knows, and have him read those particular words, with you reading the rest. Gradually that will become him reading, and you reading the ones he doesn't know.  I wouldn't use anything online. Small kids don't need to be using the computer too much, and reading is also about atmosphere. Sitting on the computer chair in front of a screen isn't nearly so comfy as on your lap, on the couch, or in bed.

If your hubby doesn't read, it's time for him to start. Books, not just newspapers. Otherwise your boy will quickly "learn" that reading is what girls do, not what men do.

Take it very, very slowly! There's no hurry.

Answer 5

When my children were at that stage, we watched a lot of "Between the Lions" on PBS (as well as visiting the PBSkids.org website).  We also watched a lot of "Leapfrog" videos.  Both are great at teaching beginning reading skills.

Read to him a lot.  From a wide variety of books.  Go to the library or bookstore regularly and let him pick out books--this will motivate him to want to read (which is most of the battle).  Read a lot around him, so that he sees reading as an important skill as well as fun for adults (and again, will motivate him to want to read).

Our public library has a lot of "beginning reader" books.  If you ask at your library, the librarian can probably point these out to you.  They are specifically designed to be at the right level for beginning readers.  They are often rated according to the level of student that they are appropriate for:  The level 1 books are for those in the earliest stages of reading.  The level 2 books are a bit more difficult.  And so on.

And you can always take a book and have him read one page (or a part of a page) and then you read a page or two before he takes another turn.  Or you read a book to him but stop periodically and point to the next word and have him read just a word or two here and there (words that you know won't be too difficult for him).  If he has trouble on any of the words, either sound it out with him or just tell him the word and move on--whichever seems the most helpful to him at the moment.  (These methods can turn any book into a book that isn't too difficult.)

A great book that I've come across isn't designed for the child to read.  It's designed to help the parent know what to do to help the child learn to read.  It's called "The Between the Lions Book for Parents:  Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn to Read."  It is a great book to give the parent information on how to teach reading.  

Good luck!

Answer 6

First, yeah! for encouraging your child to read, and being concerned about that.

The way we encouraged our child to read was to read to him ALL the time. We averaged two hours a day reading to our child. We asked him questions about the story, and patiently answered all his questions, and there were several!!!

We loved (and still love) reading anything by Dr. Suess, especially Fox in Socks (a real tongue twister book!), anything by Bill Peet, especially the rhyming books, and also books about my son's interests, which included everything from animals to science to building.

We also didn't just stick with books geared towards kindergarten-level, but read books a bit above my son's reading level.

We also didn't criticize my son's reading abilities. Our comments were mostly positive. For example, "Wow! I really like the way you are reading slowly and carefully. You are making a great effort! Great work!"

Finally, we got reading/learning games for my son, including Scrabble, Jr., (actually got for my son when he was in second grade), Boggle Jr., (got for him in kindergarten; he LOVED it), and reading bingo. The idea is to make reading fun and enjoyable.

As time marched on, we had special chapter books we read together, including the Ramona series by either Beverly Cleary or Judy Blume (I forget), the Fudge series by Judy Blume (start with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing), the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, the Droon books (don't know the author), Anne of Green Gables, (by L.M. Montogomery), and The Wizard of Oz books, by someone whose name I forget. This reading time has formed many special memories for us.

You can also ask your child's teacher for ideas, and take your child to the library to see what he likes. If he/she is able to check out books he/she likes, the possibility is greater that he/she will read them (at least we found this to be true; we've been taking my son to the library since birth!)

There's also reading flash cards, but I'd suggest taking it easy with these, as they can promote competitiveness, and a very strong "i've got to get it right" mentality. Again, be very positive, and don't make a big deal out of mistakes.

We also LOVE pbskids.org, mcgruff.org, and sesamestreet.com (or .org; I forget; you can access it through pbskids.org). PBS kids.org actually has stories that your child can read on his own. He just needs to be able to handle a mouse. (You can read the stories to him too.)

Finally, take heart; it seemed like we were getting NOWHERE with my son's reading in kindergarten, and then he turned around, and read a whole book to me, so you never know what is taking root.

Finally, way to go with your efforts, and good luck! Have a super day!

Answer 7

Scholastic offers many books and learning programs for all ages. I recently bought a package from them to start my 4 year old in reading. It came with a couple of books with maybe 8-10 "starter" words per page, a game, small flash cards w/ words and their picture to help the child begin to relate words and so forth. Anyway, they offer tons of things, I normally order through my sons mothers day out program but I do believe they have a website; maybe scholastic.com...Hope this helps

Answer 8

Well I started out with Curious George, also most things by Dr. Seuss work and are enjoyable with colorful pictures as well to keep a Kindergarteners interest.  Bravo to you in encouraging him to read.