STUCK Please help!!

Early Learning Teaching Your Child to Read
1

Hello Mommies and Daddies!

I have a problem for which I searched all over the forum and internet and couldn’t find an answer. I have started Doman’s Teach Your Baby to Read in English. I wanted to start either Arabic or Math as well since he is 22 months. I have reduced the set from 5 to 3 primarily so I can do another language or math. My times and schedule is very hectic so I thought that would be good.

I need assistance or some form of guidance to help me decide how I should do it. According to Glenn due to my son’s age, I should move on from words to couplets to phrases on a faster pace, so I have incorporated one of the mother’s idea and after a week plan on using the retired site words in couplets for one set and the 2 other sets i will continue with words.

Should I do math, or should I do another language? Will he get confused? Experienced and Seasoned moms and dads please HELP!

FehMina

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Kids can handle more then you can think. I would show my son words just twice a day because I was a working mom and he would remember them. The book is a guideline, I think most of us modify it to fit our lifestyle. Don’t worry about him, only do as much as YOU can handle. If your frustrated or feel overwhelmed this will pass on to your child. If you can handle it, and he’s enjoying it go with it.
Best Wishes

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Thanks! That makes a lot of sense.

I want to do it, but feel overwhelmed only because I don’t know how to structure it. I have seen some schedules which helped me tremendously in understanding how to do the English (thanks to the wonderful moms who shared).

I just want a feedback from other parents who have taught more than one language simultaneously or have also done math, while doing reading, and understand their approach.

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Salam Alaikum,

I wish I had good advice for you - am am facing the same problem. My organization completely sucks but I want to teach my (18 month old) daughter to read English, Arabic, and do math, as well as find a way to teach her Qur’an even though I don’t speak Arabic myself!

I agree with wetdreamer, just do as much as you can handle and your child will probably be able to handle it as long as you can keep him interested.

As for the scheduling, I’m not 100% sure either (as I said, my own organization sucks), but I have a few ideas.

For the Arabic I suppose it would work the same as English: show single words for a few weeks, and then start taking the single words that you have finished (like you showed them for ten days or something) and combining them into couplets. Continue to bring new single words at the same time that you bring new couplets made from old words.

For doing English and Arabic and the same time, maybe each day you could do two sessions, each consisting of four things: one set of English single words, one set of English couplets (when you are ready for them), one set of Arabic single words, and one set of Arabic couplets.

I think it might be interesting to even try to teach the same words and couplets in both languages at the same time! Using pictures of the concepts presented in the words might help your child see the connections between the two languages. Cat = picture of cat = قط. Big cat = picture of a big cat = قط كبير and so on.

I am using little reader to help me stay organized in English and I just realized how smart it would be for me to take whatever materials it is teaching in English and simply make an Arabic version to show a few minutes later. That would help me stay on track and on a schedule with Arabic as well as long as I can keep up with building the Arabic versions. I don’t know if you use little reader though. That might not help you.

I don’t see any problems with doing all three at once - English, Arabic, and Math, if you can handle it. That is in fact my plan. So far I have only started English and Math - the stuff that comes ready with little reader and little math, but I hope to start teaching the Arabic soon. My daughter always seems hungry for more when her math and English lessons are over, and those only last like 5 minutes all together, so I see no reason not to just add on one more section.

I hope I have been of help to you.

Salam Alaikum,
Melissa Wiederrecht

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Waleikum Assalam!

Thank you Melissa.

I know that combined it takes only 5 mins, but since we have to wait 15 mins between sessions, I get occupied with other things around the house. I have a Macbook so am not able to use LR or LM. I am very eager and excited to do all of the above 3, it’s just that I wanted to know if there was someone who has done it before. I guess we will be the first ones =)

I am not making cards since they are lot more time consuming, so am making my own slides of words, even though the Arabic one which I am going to make will be tough.

My son is 22 months, and so even though he sits and watches what I have to show him and it hardly takes a few seconds, I can’t tell if he wants more =/
But I have just started and am not gonna give up that easy.

Just an FYI, there have been posts about Arabic by Ayesha Nicole and that its better to teach the alphabet and the vowel sounds first and then the whole words. Also, your suggestion about picture makes sense, I read that on Childandme website where a woman taught 3 languages to her child and she also suggested to use pictures when teaching a foreign language.

Even though I do not speak nor understand Arabic I am able to read (thank God for that) and know some suras from the Quran. Every night I recite certain verses of the Holy Quran to my son, so he is exposed to a little bit of that. I would recommend that when you are driving with your daughter listen to a Quran cd in the car so your daughter is exposed to the Quran recitation.

Your suggestion for the English word and Arabic word at the same time sounds interesting, and had I not started with the English first, I would have tried it that way. Since I will begin the Arabic lesson with alphabets first, and then words I will already be in couplets and sentences for Arabic.

Anyway, if I am able to get Arabic slides done, I will upload it and you can use it if you like. Its prob very basic to some fancy ones out there, but it will be something. I hope to stay in touch to see how you are doing with all 3. Good luck and thanks once again!

FehMina

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LocaHijabi,

I’ve introduced 3 languages and math to my baby. English, Polish and Math (LR) when Eaton was 4 months old. Spanish language(LL and educational videos) was introduced about 5-6 months.

My scheduled looked like this:

Every day English, Polish and Math -mostly twice a day in the morning before breakfast( my son was awake at about 4 or 5 am.
Spanish-twice a week Tuesday and Thursday. I was creating Spanish Day. I was showing him educational videos and cd’s with Spanish stories

Eaton is 21 months old now. He reads and speaks in English(primary language) and Polish (secondary). About a month ago he started to read in Spanish. It took him more time to read in Spanish as no one in the household speak that language.

Math: He knows numbers 1-100, but it’s hard for me to assess his level of addition. He inclined more towards words and languages than math so I didn’t push him.

I didn’t do sessions 3 times a day, because my baby wanted to read books all the time. So your baby can achieve success with only 2 sessions a day if you don’t have a time.
But I would suggest to introduce 2nd language ASAP.

marta
http://earlylearning-eaton.blogspot.com/

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Thank you soo much Martusia!

I like the idea of of you making 2 days Spanish Day. I have taken Spanish in high school and am good with pronouncing the words. Think I will do English, Arabic and Math and also do 2 days a week of Spanish once we are reading sentences in English. Thank you so much for ur feedback.

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Hello All,

Just seen this thread! Re Arabic - I agree with Ayesha Nicole that one should teach the vowels etc (I see this as the phonics of arabic). I have also shown my son some whole words - with varying degrees of success. I think there is scope to show both together and so I’m keen to start translating the curriclum where possible.

Melissa - have you manged to progress with this?

Thanks

Karishma