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I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

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Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#71

Post by WillAdams »

Freak_NL wrote: post #21
randunel wrote: post #2

I have two children roughly OP's age, they couldn't possibly be more different in terms of motricity, senses, intelligence, etc. Polar opposites. My first said her first words at 9 months old, "ba" for ball, bath, and 2-3 more meanings, and made a repeated sound pointing towards the object of interest, sound which cannot be described in words. Before the age of 1 we had amassed over 50 words, most up to 3 syllables,…

Genetics and a bit of dice rolling. That's the biggest part of the equation it seems. I have only one specimen to work with (and I am not inclined to create more), but he was reading at 4 and currently at 6 reads at a 3rd or 4th grade level, despite still being stuck in kindergarden until September. Sure, we read to him, and we make him read aloud to us too, but we're really just catalysts. He can make himself comfor…

One thing which I tried to do with my kids, after exhausting all the classics (Narnia, _The Hobbit_, _The Lord of the Rings_, Susan Cooper's _The Dark is Rising Pentalogy_ --- highly recommend the latter for folks who have not read it) was to read biographies in chronological order --- as a dry run I did American Presidents (which did great things for my understanding of the ebb-and-flow of American history, since I would try to read an adult biography in advance in anticipation of questions).

The intent was to then go back to the beginning of human history and read biographies of notable persons in chronological order --- unfortunately, my wife's work schedule changed, so that bedtime reading quit happening --- probably my kids were about to age out of this anyway, but it was an interesting endeavour, and one which I have been meaning to take up again for my own sake. EDIT: and, if I should ever have grandchildren, inflict on them.

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#72

Post by acquisitionsilk »

Freak_NL wrote: post #21
randunel wrote: post #2

I have two children roughly OP's age, they couldn't possibly be more different in terms of motricity, senses, intelligence, etc. Polar opposites. My first said her first words at 9 months old, "ba" for ball, bath, and 2-3 more meanings, and made a repeated sound pointing towards the object of interest, sound which cannot be described in words. Before the age of 1 we had amassed over 50 words, most up to 3 syllables,…

Genetics and a bit of dice rolling. That's the biggest part of the equation it seems. I have only one specimen to work with (and I am not inclined to create more), but he was reading at 4 and currently at 6 reads at a 3rd or 4th grade level, despite still being stuck in kindergarden until September. Sure, we read to him, and we make him read aloud to us too, but we're really just catalysts. He can make himself comfor…

I wonder if it's merely some language or cultural difference, and I don't mean it as a snipe at all, but may I just say - software products have "features", human beings have traits! Maybe it's a confusion based on the fact that human beings as well as traits also do have "features", but that refers to things like having tiny ears.

Having a very strong liking for sitting reading books for long periods is a lovely trait, but it certainly is not a feature (I would say!).

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#73

Post by bmacho »

wat10000 wrote: post #34

This really rubs me the wrong way. You're not that special. You're not an educational genius who has cracked the code for teaching kids how to read at years above their grade level. You put some effort into it and you have a kid with a great deal of natural ability. This is their achievement, not yours. The title should be "My 3-year-old learned to read like a 9-year-old." Too many smart parents have smart kids, avoi…

> Your main contribution here is your DNA.

I think you are confusing contribution with effort. While it might not take a huge effort from a parent to do this, it is still a ginormous contribution, most likely life-changing in itself, even if they don't continue with this accelerated education.

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#74

Post by bmacho »

toolslive wrote: post #6

But, why? Now the kid will be bored at primary school. You could have diverted him toward skills you aren't going to learn in school (checkers, chess, music,...)

> You could have diverted him toward skills you aren't going to learn in school (checkers, chess, music,...)

I think the kid has a higher chance to excel at their hobby of choice now that they are ahead of the curriculum and can focus on the hobby?

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#75

Post by nathell »

lostmsu wrote: post #62
nathell wrote: post #43

I learned to recognize individual letters at ~18 months old, and read fluently at ~3yo (by way of adults responding to my curiosity about letters). I’m 41 now; AMA.

What's your IQ in adult ages and how did you do on SAT? Have you ever done any form of science Olympics?

It’s something like 130. I was educated in Poland, so never passed SAT, but did well at the ~equivalent matura. At the uni, I was a mediocre-ish student, though.

I approached the math olympiad back in high school, but found it too challenging. Looking backwards, I think I might have benefitted from having a better math teacher.

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#76

Post by bitshiftfaced »

I cant help but think that you're just substituting x hours of tutoring/memorization now for x hours of sitting through a class later in life only they won't be at the same level as their peers and will either need accommodations or be bored.

What's more is that those x hours of tutoring/memorization could've been filled with creative/social/emotional regulation/etc. learning that we know for sure benefits kids at that age.

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#77

Post by timonoko »

Excellent.

I remember we learned to read and write in one month in Finnish school. If this did not happen, one was officially classified as retarded (in 1950s). How long it takes average american to achieve errorfree skills?

Grok:... In USA on average, achieving consistent error-free literacy might take 4-6 years of schooling (kindergarten through fourth grade), but this varies widely.

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#78

Post by snvzz »

FridayoLeary wrote: post #20

obviously it's good to encourage an exceptional child but what about the average i.e. most children? I know some countries start primary education at 4 and others as late as 6 and learn reading at a later stage. I assume they very quickly catch up with their peers. Is there any studies out there on adults to see what affect if any there is from learning to read at different ages. I'm not talking about someone who lea…

pre-school started at 4 for me (it's 3 these days), and by the end of the first year, every kid could read and write.

Some public school systems are better than others. Many countries outright suck.

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#79

Post by BobaFloutist »

acquisitionsilk wrote: post #72
Freak_NL wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genetics and a bit of dice rolling. That's the biggest part of the equation it seems. I have only one specimen to work with (and I am not inclined to create more), but he was reading at 4 and currently at 6 reads at a 3rd or 4th grade level, despite still being stuck in kindergarden until September. Sure, we read to him, and we make him read aloud to us too, but we're really just catalysts. He can make himself comfor…

I wonder if it's merely some language or cultural difference, and I don't mean it as a snipe at all, but may I just say - software products have "features", human beings have traits! Maybe it's a confusion based on the fact that human beings as well as traits also do have "features", but that refers to things like having tiny ears. Having a very strong liking for sitting reading books for long periods is a lovely tra…

I think it was intentionally playful language, not a language difference.

Re: I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old

#80

Post by sincerecook »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #37
xkriva11 wrote: post #26

Alan Kay: "I had the fortune or misfortune to learn how to read fluently starting at the age of three. So I had read maybe 150 books by the time I hit 1st grade. And I already knew that the teachers were lying to me."

I can relate to this. Grade school was hell. Learning cursive when I knew none of the adults in my life used it drove me up a wall. My dad worked for IBM and we had a 286. My mom was doing night classes for her degree and she always typed her papers.

Adults don't go to recess or play marbles either, were you mad about that too?
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