I’m new to this forum and have been poking around for the last couple of weeks. I have a question for those of you who have used multiple teaching methods to teach your babies to read…how did you do it??? I have a 3 month old and I’ve just started him on YBCR. I’m also doing some stuff from Doman’s How Smart is Your Baby (no Doman reading stuff yet though…I haven’t read that book). We read books to him and have been since he was born. Now I’m very interested in getting Little Reader, which from what I can gather incorporates Doman’s method but using multimedia? I guess I’m just curious about how others have combined the multiple teaching methods? Specifically, at what ages did you use each tool? Thanks for any guidance you can provide.
Little Reader is the best! I wish I had known about it when my child was 3 months old.
I’m also a fan of YBCR, I started my daughter on it when she was 3 months old and went right through all DVDs and books until about 11 months old. Then I started to look for something to move onto as she was showing signs of knowing most of the words. The next step up (YCCD) seemed too advanced, this is when I found Little Reader and I haven’t looked back since.
YBCR is good that its easy to use and at the early baby age I think I would still use it with future babies but I would also start showing Littler Reader maybe around the 6 month mark.
I love that you can make LR personal and I think this is one of the keys to helping your child stay interested.
I’m also a big fan of Baby Sign Language, this cost nothing and is really useful and interesting for later on when you child begins to read before they can talk and you will be able to understand what they are signing to you.
I started signing at 6 months with my first child and she began to sign back at 9 months and then she was 13 months old when she read and signed her first written word back to me.
I also have read “How Smart is your baby” and I tried to apply a lot of what they suggest but it was quite hard to fit it all into your day, I guess I just didn’t want to be that organised, so I just took the more relaxed approach and did my best to do bits of whatever I could whenever I could.
The thing is there is no right or wrong way, just start and see how it feels. Only do as much as you want to do and keep it fun and follow your child lead.
Hi Tara,
Welcome to BrillKids
When I started early learning I was confused and overwhelmed but reading through the previous posts on this forum I found my way as you will find your way. I didn’t start early learning with my son until he was about six months old.
I started with a program called Monki See Monki Do and BrillKids. I let my son guide our schedule and as he became accustomed to the lessons we fell into a routine. Of course if he ever showed any sign of resistance I immediately stopped the lesson and waited until he was in a receptive mood. I would always show a lot of enthusiasm and excitement before, during and when talking about his lessons. For example if he was having fun swinging I would joyfully yell yeah BrillKid math lessons are so much fun. Then when it was time to watch the math lessons he would associate it with a time of fun.
My goals for the day in the beginning with these two programs was to show him the tangible flashcards at least 3 times throughout the day. It was rare that would happen 3 days in a row. I would strap him in his carseat and let him watch the video while I was taking a shower with the door open so I could see him. To this day he loves Mommy’s shower time because it is his time to watch an early learning DVD of his choice. The BrillKid lessons were so quick and enjoyable I was almost always able to show him both sessions of each lesson everyday in English, Mandarin and Math. Of course there were days we were busy with other activities or one of us weren’t feeling up to it. Don’t feel like your child is missing out if a day is missed because when you do start back up they will enjoy it even more.
Little Reader is just like you said a multimedia version of the Doman method but in addition to that it has other sections such as phonics, simple sentences, short stories, games and a multisensory section that is great for teaching vocabulary. Not to mention the thousands of files on different subjects available to be imported into your library created by forum members. You can also create and edit files to personalize them.
I would read to him at least an hour each day and now we read to each other at least two hours each day.
As he got older I started adding other right brain programs YBCR English and Spanish, YcCD, Tweedlewinks, Wink to Learn Spanish and Mandarin, The Gentle Revolution Picture Dictionary Spanish and English. And of course Little Musician! I know it seems like a lot but the lessons are quick. Not to mention the endless list of early learning DVDs.
Have you had the chance to download the trial version of Little Reader? The recommended age to begin the BrillKid programs is 4 months.
We look forward to hearing about your early learning journey.
Thanks kiwimum and Mela Bala for you suggestions and for sharing your experiences. It’s great to have reassurance that I can’t go wrong by trying out various resources to teach my sweet boy. I’ll keep you all posted on how it’s going and I’m going to look into getting the Little Reader program and start that soon as well. Thanks again!
