Soo Frustrating

Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to teach him right now. You are making it a power struggle and a chore. If he goes into first grade thinking that reading is not fun, that's far worse than not being able to read at all. Leave it to the professionals who know how to teach children. Besides, I have found it is often much easier to be patient with other people's children than it is my own.

You have to be a little strict and also KNOW when he is in the mood to do it. My daughter in law works with my granddaughter early in the morning and gets the best out of her.... anything after noon is questionable :)
Maybe have him read some paragraphs while waiting for breakfast in the AM, you know, a little bribery might help it along.

Hi, A.:

Why do you get frustrated?

Had you thought about his actions are more about having conversation with you? Do you ever have a discussion about what is going on with the characters in the books you read, instead of just reading?

Just want to know.
D.

Because you want him to work to his own ability back off and let him do it. I suspect he feels your wanting him to read as pressure. This could be about power and the ability to make choices. When you insist that he do it he may feel that he doesn't want to and that is his choice. I suggest that he could read the bigger words because he chose to read.

Later: There is more to life than working up to your ability. Enjoyment is just as important. As others have suggested he may just want you to read to him. Nothing wrong with that. My 11yo granddaughter can read quite well but she still like me to read to her. At 11 she can tell met this. At 6 he may not know and be able to tell you.

Most kids do not read until much later. So relax and enjoy reading with him without pushing him to also read.

Leave him alone. You know he can do it. He knows he can do it. When he wants to and when he needs to, he will read perfectly fine. You're looking at a control issue here. Pick your battles. This shouldn't be one of them.

Is there anyone younger he can read to? I have found, with my students, that they love to read to younger peers.
Or, you could have him, with your help, tape record himself reading a book so that he can play it at night. Even give him a bell to ring at the end of each page! That would be fun and extra practice!

My son was the same way at 6. I would get so frustrated, during reading. When I backed off & let him pick out his own books/ interests, things really turned around. He is now 8 & is reading above grade level( was almost held back last year b/c of reading skills) & always has a book in his hands. I am now having to buy him a book every week. I'm sure things will get better , especially if he' receiving extra help at school. My sons school did a great job, getting him on track.

I know this sounds crazy, but we installed a free texting app on my 6 year old's iPod, and she texts her cousin all the time. Hey, it may be unconventional, but it gets her writing and reading!

Also, how about shorter stories? Going into 1st, my daughters both liked to read Dr Seuss, Mercer Mayer, Llama Llama, etc. I think chapter books are intimidating for them until they're really reading fluently. (Even though the words are the same, the length of the book is scary - kind of like how a bathtub isn't scary but a pool is? So goes the mind of a 6 year old!)

My son is a math brain - enjoys algebra !! But, getting him hooked on reading was harder. I am a life long reader so he grew up seeing me with a book in my hand and the library still is an almost weekly trip. But, getting him to sit down and read was a challenge. Until he got older - when he hit the summer between 5th and 6th we started Harry Potter. It hooked him in and I would have to pry the books out of his hands to get him to sleep that summer. He has been, if not an avid reader, a happy reader ever since. He has done several series since then and usually carries a book in his back pack during the school year.

It takes patience - your son most likely thinks it is cute or funny to pretend to not be able to read. It is fun to frustrate the parents, after all. LOL

Give him time, keep encouraging him, browse the library. He will be fine in 1st grade if he can already read discovered and dinosaur, he is ahead of the curve.

For my son, it was finding a genre of book that he liked - so he had to go through a few before he settled in and a fantastic librarian who suggests books to him has also helped a lot. By the time he was in 8th grade he was reading several grade levels ahead. So, it can happen - math brains can also become reading brains. I promise.

Magic Treehouse is way advanced for entering first grade. My daughter is entering 2nd grade and just beginning to read that series, and she is average-advanced level. there are a lot of words on the page and tiny print and the books are long. The books they read in first grade were very short to begin with. I could give you the names of girly books but I don't think that would help you. Go to your library and find the beginner reader section (non chapter books). My daughter's teacher last year said that they tried hard not to frustrate the kids early on. My daughter would read one page of Junie B Jones and be tired and frustrated and complain that it was too hard (that was also a second grade book). Get him some easier books that he can master and he will probably start to like reading. As for the writing, well my daughter loves to "write books" but she likes to pick the topics. i could never figure out how a child that spent so much time writing could take 45 minutes doing a simple 3 sentence assigned journal entry. She said it is because she just doesn't care about the topic that was assigned.

By the end of second grade he'll be reading chapter books...He's only 6. It will come. I think at 6, the attention span isn't there just yet.

My best advice would be to make it routine and make the books easier. Magic Tree House is too hard for a 6 yr. old. At least MY 6 year olds couldn't have handled it. The easier books will give him more confidence and that's what he needs.

Wright down common words like door,window light, bed,tub,sink, mom, dad. Then cut them out and tape them to these items. You'll be suprised how fast he picks up the words, after awhile he may start asking you to mark other items in the house. Make reading a game, kids shut down when they feel preasured. When you come to a STOP sign shout out S T O P stop. My kids always got a kick out of that, read all the signs outload that you can while driving. Set aside 30 mins a night where he reads his books while you and Dad read your book,magazine or paper. Remember Monkey see Monkey do. Always try to make learning Fun boy's seem to learn more when they are having fun doing it. And take him to the library show him how fun it is to pick out diff. books each week Good luck

I agree with others who say that the more you force him, the more he will see it as a chore and not want to do it. Since he knows how to read and does enjoy reading with you, just keep doing exactly what you are doing and he will come around. It could be his attention span isn't there to read quietly by himself (versus when you read it to him, that is a much more pleasant experience for him), or he just doesn't feel ready to read completely independently yet. My son is the same age, and he didn't want to read on his own at first, but after seeing his sister reading and enjoying chapter books (she is 8) he started reading on his own as well.

Also, both my kids started reading a lot on their own after reading the Captain Underpants books by Dav Pilkey. The kids love them and think they are hilarious, and they are a pretty easy read and have lots of pictures, so you could try him out on that series to see if you like it (you might want to read it first; I think that some parents may think they are annoying).

I was going to suggest what Grandma T said that they time of day may playa factor. he might just be d-o-n-e if it is bed time.

What about a pen pal, is there a cousin or someone who could send him a letter and he could write back. how old school is that??

Also just wanted to suggest A to Z mysteries by Ron roy and Puppy Place books by ellen miles when you've worked your way through Magic Tree house.

My first thought was that he may not behave this way when he is back in school with his teachers. My daughter was a completely different child at home versus in school. I agree that he is having a power struggle with you and I'd definitely back off and maybe even act like you don't care about it for now since its summer vacation. Don't push too hard, they only rebel and that can be very ugly.

Good luck!

Here's how you encourage him, and please listen to me on this, because I know what I'm talking about:

STOP trying to get him to read to you. YOU just keep reading the books to HIM. If you make this process torturous, he's going to start to hate reading, and then you will really have a problem. If you create a warm, fuzzy, magical feeling around reading (snuggling up with Mommy while she reads to him), then he is going to have a positive feeling about the subject of reading. If the subject of reading evokes emotions of battling with Mommy, then he will dislike it.

He's only 5, so you really don't have to worry about him being harmed in first grade. Remember, teaching kids is what the teacher is for. Also remember, "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire."

Don't squelch your son's fire by making reading a chore. Right now, he just wants mommy to read to him. Have fun reading to him.

And if, when he's older, he really still seems to have trouble reading, you can have him tested for dyslexia. But I doubt that's it.

Please don't be offended since this is just MY opinion. But if you keep pushing it you are going to make him HATE reading! Don't do that to him!! You already say he reads well. So what's the problem? Provide lots of books that he is interested in and leave them in his room. If you want, have some quiet time where you tell him to read - and then leave him alone in his room. It sounds like he is curious about stuff, but then resists when you are sitting there pushing him. I'd back off a little bit.

I've found that when books are a struggle for my daughter she gives up even on the easy words. It's way better if we stick to the easier reads. If you think that is not enough then work on the sight words, reading and spelling them. My daughters teacher sent home a list and fun ideas on how to practice them. It really does work,

Also, it might just be that he needs someone other than a parent doing the pushing. I know my daughter gets like that, so I try to have her read in creative ways so she doesnt realize I'm actually making her do the tedious job of reading and writing. For example we make cards and I have her do all the writing. Or I ask her to read signs for me.

I wouldn't stress too much about it though, he will pick back up in school and then you can be there for support,

I would get him one of those readers that kids can touch the word they need help on. I say that because I see a power struggle. He doesn't want to, you want him to so he fights you because he just wants you to read to him. I would say you should read to him and then he can read on his own some other time. Teach him practice makes better. Use math as an example, something in Math that took him a while to conquer. Have a time where you read to him and have a time where you both sit in the living room or somewhere and read your separate books.

My son is only 4, so we haven't gotten to independent reading yet; however, here are some of my ideas to encourage your son. (Your reading habits sound just like mine. LOL).
I read the newspaper on my computer each morning & my son has told me that when he gets older he wants to do that too. I'm not sure if you do that too, but if you do.... you could give your son your netbook while you make breakfast. There are lots of different kids news sites, i'm sure you could find one that is age appropriate. You could ask him to read a story while you get breakfast ready. When his is done, he can tell you what happened in the news today. If he's not interested in that, you could set him up on the weather channel & ask him to tell you what the weather will be for the day. (make sure you have him reading the description & not just looking at the temperature). Some of the words may be too hard, but he should be able to get most of it.
You could also have him read stories to his favorite stuffed animals or a pet (if you have one).
Finally, much more important than being able to read is being able to comprehend what is read. (I've done a good bit of research on reading & all sources have agreed on this). So, it would actually be best if you asked him to summarize stories after you read them. He should be able to tell you what happened, who the important characters are and while you are reading you should stop periodically & ask him what he thinks will happen next. In terms of long term reading ability & success in school; comprehension is most important.
Good luck.

I didn't read through all of the replies and I'm sure there's some good advice, but I just wanted to let you know that he is not out of the ordinary at all. My daughter is 5 1/2 and she does the exact same thing. She can read "closed" when she wants, but will spend 10 minutes saying she can't sound out "is" at other times. My friend's son and my niece, both of whom just finished Kindergarten also do the same thing. I find it so frustrating also, but I think backing off is the best approach. He obviously knows how to read. Good luck!

Will he read for other people?

He may just like you reading to him. Like a security blanket you make him feel good and he doesn't want that to stop. . .maybe?

My daycare kids do this to me a LOT. But then they will help each other when they don't think I'm looking or they will show their parents their new skills when they didn't let me know I was getting through.

I think since you are the primary person working with him right now he's just giving you a hard time. This is especially common for boys his age. I expect him to do fine in school :)

have him do math word problems

or just plain old bribe him, ice cream after dinner ;)