Sunday, January 8, 2012

How to teach your baby to read- Glenn Doman

I know Glenn Doman's flashcards method have received much flak. But it has its believers too- and im one of them. I've seen the results in my niece, nephew & my own son, it's impossible not to believe in it.

I started flashing word cards to Sonshine when he was 5 months old. By 10 months, he was able to recognise words although he couldn't speak nor point. How's that possible? Against GD's advice, i 'tested' him by holding up 2 word cards. As i call out one of the word, i watched his eyes shift to the correct card. 10 out of 10 times i did so, he got it right. But it sounded quite absurd, so i chose to tell people he could read by 1 plus (which is more believable). When he was on fours, i would lay out 2 picture cards and held up a word card describing one of the picture card. He would then crawl to the respective picture card and hand it to me.

Yes, i also read to him alot at the same time. But the words on the books were too small for him to read (although i believe he picked up more words during our read alouds when he was older & his vision, sharper).

I recommend:

1) The parent read the above book first. Alot of parents jump the band wagon without researching the why & the how. Hence, most give up mid way or claim it doesn't work. The book inspired me alot and probably that spurred me to finish the course.

2) Though GD claim it is suitable from birth, i think it is best to do it at 6 months onwards. For the very simple reason that the babies would not recognise the words although it would give them good visual stimulation.

3) Not suited for 2 years and above. Again, although GD says it works on older child, i disagree (but he did mention it would be challenging for older kids). 2 years old and older kids tend to be more distracted, it'd be difficult to expect them to sit there for even 1 minute to watch you flash word cards to them. You would need a more interesting and inviting method altogether.

4) If you are flashing to kids less than 1.5 years old, i suggest you buy the original GD flashcards and not the commercial, cheaper ones. The correct cards should have very huge fonts for visibility, the copied versions usually use smaller fonts.

And to reiterate some of the tips GD mentioned in the book

1) Always flash when the parent AND child are in a positive mood.
2) Always stop when the child is still interested, ie. stop before he gets bored.
3) Show the cards quickly, the speed should be even faster for older kids (due to their shorter attention span).
4) Never test your child, trust that he/she has absorb what you've showed. (WHOOPS!)

Lastly, if you cannot afford the time, do not fret. It doesn't mean if you don't start your kid on flashcard at 6 months, he/she is doom. Nonsense! Just find 5-10 minutes each day to just read aloud to your kid, he'll learn to read in no time. Read, read and read is the key not flashcards (it should treated as a complement to reading).

5 comments:

  1. I did put down word cards for the baby to fetch, like a game (aiyoh, like asking a dog to fetch *haha*). And that was at 10mths old, so I definitely knew he could read. I suspect he could read much earlier. I watched a video from an earlier time, and realised that one of the sounds he was making was most likely that of the word, but I'd dismissed it then even.

    Don't want to make buy the cards , then get Wink-to-Learn DVD automated flashcards, lor. Cheaper than Glen Doman kit even, I think!

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  2. Yours too? Awesome! So it works not just in my family :). Lol! Dog fetch game is hilarious!

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  3. I believed in the method only after I saw that it worked. HAHA!

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  4. ive recently tried this program with my son and it has worked wonders for him. This website has free video guide lessons to help kids learn to read.
    You must check out:
    First Step Reading

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  5. Love it! I want to start with my 8 month old. I understand how to teach new words, but how have you incorporated Doman's idea of mini books? Do you actually have to make a million little books to teach the phrase, sentence, and story part? Is there ever and "end" to flashing cards to them and if you stop at some point (lets say even a few months later), do they forget the words that they learned if you don't constantly show them?

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