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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 6:39 am
I have a 5 year old who we read to before bed every night. We generally read him several books-he’ll pick one, then we’ll pick one, then he’ll pick one and so forth til there are 7 or 8 chosen. Does it matter what type of books we are reading him? Some of the books he (or we) choose are very “young” like picture books made more for 2 year olds. We like them cuz they are easy to read and get him in bed faster! I think he likes the pictures. But I wonder if we should be reading him chapter books. Does it matter? I know some might say reading is important so it doesn’t matter what you read him as long as you read to him. But it is a given that we will read to him no matter what. (so it is not like it’s those books or nothing)
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 6:58 am
I don't think it matters. Lots of times they like those cause they can 'read' them to you.Maybe with the picture books, help him start to pick out words. I think just snuggling and reading is what is important.
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Bearware
Member
07-12-2002
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 7:10 am
Julieboo - you are teaching what is called "pre-reading" skills - they are so INCREDIBLY important! It really doesn't sound like much, but for a child to want to read, to listen to and learn stories from the beginning to the end, for a child to be able to recognize letters make words and words have meaning - these are such powerful skills, and believe it or not, many children just don't get those before school! Any book is worth reading. Texannie has a great suggestion, to let him 'read' to you is a wonderful learning experience, for both of you! You can take a book you both know well, and point at the words as you read them, and get to a familiar word, pause, and let him fill in that blank. Show him the word that he just 'called', and show him that's what reading is! Just keep up what you're doing - you are doing GREAT!!!!!
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 7:25 am
I never worried about chapter books until my dd brought them home from the school library. I think it is in her second year of kindergarten that the teacher introduces them to chapter books. So keep up what you are doing. I find my dd reads the early, easy books now because she can read them to her younger sisters.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 7:32 am
I really think it depends on the child. My dh loves to read books to the kids...especially chapter books like Treasure Island, Robinson Caruso ect. My ds loved sitting and listening to him read at a very early age. My dd could barely sit still for the little cardboard books! LOL
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 10:27 am
I was going to say the same thing as Texannie, it depends on the kid. Caleb could sit for extended periods of time listening to us read when he was 5 and would follow the story well. Dakota would hear the first word and be off and running. She's just now started to enjoy listening to chapter books, but there are still days she drags out those old counting picture books or the alphabet books to have us read. Whatever works, I think, is good for them. LOL, one of my kids favorite books is called No, David. Those two words make up most of the story. David spends the day doing things he shouldn't (like splashing bath water, throwing a ball in the house, and playing with his food.) Each picture is accompanied by "No, David, no!" I still catch Caleb, who at 8 is well past that level of reading, looking through the book and giggling.
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Zachsmom
Moderator
07-13-2000
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 10:30 am
One of the most important things about reading is teaching children the enjoyment of reading. That means YOU need to read. Turn off the TV and read a book yourself. Let them see that reading is fun.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 11:12 am
reading to holly was always chuck's job. he loved doing it, and she loved hearing him do all the voices. at about 5 holly wanted chapter books. she loved long stories. so every night would be a chapter. he would read "little house on the prairie", etc. this worked up until she was 6, when she told her dad,"let me do it daddy, i can read faster now!". then she would read to him. this lasted till about age 10. that was when she started reading everything and anything she can get her hands on. always encourage reading. it's a good thing!
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 4:34 pm
I agree with Zachsmom. My own experience was I always chose books that interested my son, so for a few years we had bookcases full of dinosaur books. He expressed no interest in learning how to read till he was in first grade but he absolutely loved books. His favorite thing was to sit with a book and I truly believe that the best gift you can give your child is the gift of enjoying reading. I can remember people criticising me because all he wanted to read was mad magazine and comic books, I was ok with that. Well he is in 7th grade now and always has a book. Books he chose to read for himself this summer were Farenheit 451, enders game, and some political books. If he likes looking at books that only have one or two words or even no words it doesnt matter. What is important is that he thinks of a book as an enjoyable passtime.
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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 6:43 pm
I taught first graders for a lot of years and I think reading anything at all is wonderful, but you can begin to whet his appetite with something a wee bit more challenging and you will find that you all are even more engaged than you may have been before. Your library will have a list of many excellent books to consider. They don't all have to be "chapter" books, but there are so many wonderful stories waiting to enrich your lives. Enjoy!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 12:05 pm
Not really a reading question, but I need some suggestions. I need to buy Caleb a dictionary and I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions that would be good for an 8 year old. He's outgrown the children's dictionary we have, but he's not quite ready to tackle the unabriged huge dictionary I have and I have no idea what would be a good choice for him.
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Danas15146
Member
03-31-2004
| Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 12:30 pm
I'll keep my eye out for you -- our scholastic book club had a really nice intermediate one last year but I can't remember what it was called.
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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 12:39 pm
I like this dictionary very much, but do your homework because you know your child best.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 1:17 pm
Thanks Vee! Thanks Danas! I'm not going to be running out and buying one right this minute, but within the next couple of weeks for sure so I want to be able to look around and ask around first.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 7:44 am
NEW QUESTION: Please name some good books/your favorites for a five year old boy. We have gift cards to Borders and Barnes & Noble and are looking for suggestions. (BTW, did you know that "Cat in the Hat" is about 54 pages long? I think we are looking for books a little shorter than that!)
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 7:53 am
Go Dog Go and Happy Birthday To You were my favorite seuss books which are so overlooked also dont back away from long stories if you read to them every night - i always loved the big books even at 5 with the adventures of king arthur and robin hood but then that was just me - fairy tales are also great to read nightly - the big books of grimms or russian fairy tales - they have some drawings but its more just the stories - but if you want books for them to read and explore on their own, i would go with seuss or something that they are interested in (what does he like? baseball? science? history? get some children's books on subjects he already likes) not to mention just have him pick out his own books, because that goes to showing him respect as a person and lets him be able to make choices on his own, unless you want the books to be a surprise ... but those just are my immediate thoughts on this
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 10:18 am
No, David! One of my favorites, very simple sentences and one he'll be able to "read" back to you after a couple times of reading it to him. There are a few more David books but I haven't seen them. I also love the Bearenstain Bears (I think I spelled that wrong, lol.) I'd offer the suggestion to start on some chapter books. We're doing Junie B. Jones with Dakota, and have some of the Magic Treehouse collection next. The Junie books are about 6-8 pages a chapter, very quick read, Magic Treehouse are a little longer if I remember right, but also fairly quick read chapters. The Junie B. books are great for this age. The first part of the series (like 15 or 20 books) is during her first year of kindergarten. The later books are her first grade year. They usually take us about a week or two to read, reading one chapter a night.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 10:31 am
Thanks all. Keep the suggestions coming! War, is Junie B. about a girl? (Not that he couldn't read about a girl...)
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:12 am
Wargod..that was the exact book I was thinking of "June B Jones". My daughters love them. The oldest is now in grade 2 is now learning to read them and my middle daughter has been listening to them for 2 years now and she is 5 1/2
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:33 am
Yes, it is. I almost put that in my post too. The first time I was introduced to Junie B was in Caleb's first grade class. At first I wondered how the boys set through it, lol, but they enjoyed it. The books aren't really girlie though. The first one I read was Junie B. Jones, First Grader. The story was about her first couple of days of first grade...being nervous starting a new class and with a new teacher, adjusting to having to make new frineds, etc. They're pretty universal to what the kids at that age are going through. My one complaint about Junie B. is the way she talks, lol. She says words like "toughie." "That questions was a toughie." Drives me absolutely batty because I spend a lot of time around kids that age and have never heard any of them talk like that. However, the kids enjoy the stories and they're funny. I thought of another set too! Clifford the Big Red Dog. I bought a set from the Scholastic Book Club (what we get through the school) thats phonics. Short books, and each on deals with a different word famiy (-at, -it, -et, etc.) They get more difficult throughout the series. I really like those for reading practice with Kota. Good books for a begining or new reader, though I don't know if you can get those in the book store. We try to switch back and forth between books that help teach them to read or read better and those that are just for fun. Not only do I want them to be good readers, I want them to love reading. Sometimes its a struggle to find something they'll enjoy and learn from at the same time. Caleb right now is switching between 3 books, one on dinosaurs, one on ancient civilizations (written for an intermediate reader,) and Harry Potter. Believe it or not, Harry Potter is the learning to read better book, lol. The vocabulary is more difficult than in the other two.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:45 am
Yep, Skootz! Caleb enjoyed them too til he got too old, lol. Which was about the middle of first grade. That was about the time we switched to the Magic Treehouse series. A little bit of older stories and one of the main characters is a boy. He zipped right through those then it was on to Harry Potter and more...interesting/learning books (like the dinos and ancient civilizations.) It's kind of funny but he's back to reading Junie B. Part of his reading homework is to practice reading outloud, so he now takes his turn reading to Dakota. He's a couple years past the easy reading, but they're good books for practicing outloud.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 1:47 pm
When you go to Barnes and Nobles, the kid section will have "easy reader" that are labeled w/ levels (1 - 4 I think). My DS has ALWAYS loved going to BN to "browse" and play w/ Thomas. Once we found the appropriate reading level, I'd just pull out a bunch of possibilities and let him pick. He's in 4th grade now and reading The Hobbit and Harry Potter as well as a bunch of Brian Jaques books. He reads Magic Treehouse at school because they are part of his reading counts program. However, it only took him 3 weeks to earn the 20 points he needed -- now he can read any book he wants (and he's thrilled! LOL).
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 1:55 pm
He might be a little young to read them himself, but Matt Christopher has a series of books about kids and various sports. They are great reads.
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Legalboxer
Member
11-17-2003
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 1:56 pm
Bearenstain Bears - i knew there was a series i was blocking out - that and barbar the elphant
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 6:18 pm
How big were the dinosaurs by Bernard Most the littlest Dinosaurs by Bernard Most If the Dinosaurs came back by Bernard Most A night at the museum by Milos something or other Dinosaur Dream Chica Chica Boom Danny and the Dinosaur Dinosaur Bob The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle Polar Bear Polar Bear by Eric Carle Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry An Armadillo from Amarillo by Lynne Cherry Ferdinand the bull Curious George These are all reading books to a five year old but they were my sons favorites and are still in the bookcase.
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