March 2009 Discussion Topic
March 1, 2009
Reading – do you have any strategies you can share with other parents that might be helpful when teaching your deaf or hard of hearing child how to read?
Helping families raising deaf or hard of hearing children since 1967.
Reading – do you have any strategies you can share with other parents that might be helpful when teaching your deaf or hard of hearing child how to read?
Hello there…
I’ve been lurking this forum for a while as a guest – but finally decided to register. A little off-topic but I have a 8 year old boy and a 5 year old little girl who are dying to browse online.
I’ve spent hours researching the internet and besides TippyTales.com, I really can’t find any other educational site online. Besides the music & games, they have a cool book creator where my kids develop their own books. I swear it entices them to read…not joking!!
Anyway, was wondering what other parents are introducing their kids to or if we’re all stuck on the same site?!!! http://jed7.com/kids.gif
I’ve got a secret….LOL!
I’ve been reading posts about all of us parents having trouble keeping our kids entertained, or how there is not enough time to do stuff during the day, and how the kids are just too overwhelming. I found the coolest website that has helped me free up tons of time, TippyTales.com.
Check it out…I am telling you it’s hours of fun. My kids love it. I find myself playing with it as well.
There is this cool book creator where my kids develop their own books. I swear it entices them to read…not joking!! It’s so much better than the other sites they are onhttp://jed7.com/kids.gif
Just came across this website and sighed with relief. This is a balanced organization that stresses a full toolbox of communication strategies. Congratulations!
When I was a toddler, my parents put printed name labels of objects all over the house and pointed out these words in the chldrens’ books which were all over the house, even in the bathroom. LAMP on the livingroom lamp, spoken “L-A-M-P, I turn on the LAMP” pointing to each letter, then self, miming “turn on” and pointing to the lamp as it is turned on. When the word was encountered in a book, my parent would point to the word and to the lamp.
Learning to become attuned to the printed word laid the foundation for my learning to read early.
Early reading, whenever possible and within the child’s capabilities, is a real asset to learning language since it is visual and more concrete than other methods of communication. Once the children starts reading on their own, they take right off and all other communication methods along with them.
When my children were very young (I adopted them at 4, 4, and 2) I purchased a small journal for each of them. I began writing simple messages and drawing pictures in them a couple of times a week. I would leave it on a child’s bed, then it would be their turn to write, and return it to my bed. It was a great place to announce “surprises”, trips, etc. (“On Saturday we will go to the zoo. Do you want to bring a friend?). Over time the older ones helped the younger ones read and respond. The books went with us in the car, on vacation, etc. When they lost interest, we put them away for a while. My kids are adults now, and even through high school a book would occasionally show up on my bed.
Model reading and writing as much as you can! Let them see you reading and writing. Text messaging counts too!
In addition to the above two strategies,I see fingerspelling as a valuable strategy. My children and I are out of the house often (to the stores or parks). I fingerspell the name of each store or park that we are going to. Since my sons love sports, I fingerspell the names of the teams. This strategy is helpful when reading individual letter and words.