Since Hugo was 6 months old, he has regularly watched the videos of Your Baby Can Read. These videos are supposed to teach a baby how to read through a multi-sensory approach, meaning babies see and hear the word, then see the corresponding concept. Countless parents swear their babies have learned to read as early as 1 year old because of this program.
Even Janine swears by YBCR. River, as early as 1 or 2, has already shown signs of reading. He's so advanced that at 4 years old, he has become a voracious reader. He reads everything he can, from signages to Janine's text messages. (Over her shoulder, aloud, as she types the message. Haha.)
Anyway, back to my point. I myself cannot remember how I learned to read. I remember how I learned to read time, but I do not know how I learned to read words. I always loved reading. One of my fondest childhood memories consists of borrowing books from my school library and spending the whole Saturday afternoon reading it. The same is true with my husband; he loves reading so much that he reads our assigned reading materials in college during his free time. Yep, to RELAX.
My point really is, Hugo will grow up in a family that loves reading. So, I should not worry that he won't learn how to read in time, right? Still.
I want for Hugo to develop the same love of reading. I want him to get lost in the imaginary world created by books. This is why for the past few months, we read three books regularly before going to bed. We start off with a picture book of first words (Baby's First Words) which Hugo likes because it the words "car" and "ball" in it.
"Hooper Humperdink.. Not Him!" from the Dr. Seuss' library of Beginner books comes next. I read this using a sing-songy voice and an upbeat rhythm which I hope keeps the little one tuned in. In between pages, I also ask him questions(Me: where's the bike? Hugo: Thdeeeh!), and I'm glad to report that Hugo correctly points them out to me most of the time. :)
Our last book of the night is "Goodnight Moon," where a bunny goes through a nighttime ritual of saying goodnight to everything and everyone in his room. Aside from asking him about the pictures in the book, I also make him fill in the blanks once in a while. [Me: "Good night to the old lady whispering..." Hugo: "Shhhh" (hush)]
We plan to keep doing this until Hugo learns to read by himself. They say babies thrive in repetition and consistency. I agree. We have been reading these books regularly and already, I see Hugo scanning his other books by himself or giving me the books to read before sleeping. Maybe, in 1 more month, I will change or add to one of our nightly reads. In the meantime, I will read these three books aloud to him, every night. Yep, it doesn't matter that by doing so, I have memorized all three books by heart. :) (All together now: In the great, green room, there was a telephone...)
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| Hugo at 6 months. We plopped him down for almost an hour at a time everyday. Forced reading. Hehe. |
Even Janine swears by YBCR. River, as early as 1 or 2, has already shown signs of reading. He's so advanced that at 4 years old, he has become a voracious reader. He reads everything he can, from signages to Janine's text messages. (Over her shoulder, aloud, as she types the message. Haha.)
Anyway, back to my point. I myself cannot remember how I learned to read. I remember how I learned to read time, but I do not know how I learned to read words. I always loved reading. One of my fondest childhood memories consists of borrowing books from my school library and spending the whole Saturday afternoon reading it. The same is true with my husband; he loves reading so much that he reads our assigned reading materials in college during his free time. Yep, to RELAX.
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| Here is my husband, at around age 3-4, reading Time Magazine (gasp!). |
I want for Hugo to develop the same love of reading. I want him to get lost in the imaginary world created by books. This is why for the past few months, we read three books regularly before going to bed. We start off with a picture book of first words (Baby's First Words) which Hugo likes because it the words "car" and "ball" in it.
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| Our nighttime routine. Note that he uses his mom as a footrest. |
Our last book of the night is "Goodnight Moon," where a bunny goes through a nighttime ritual of saying goodnight to everything and everyone in his room. Aside from asking him about the pictures in the book, I also make him fill in the blanks once in a while. [Me: "Good night to the old lady whispering..." Hugo: "Shhhh" (hush)]
We plan to keep doing this until Hugo learns to read by himself. They say babies thrive in repetition and consistency. I agree. We have been reading these books regularly and already, I see Hugo scanning his other books by himself or giving me the books to read before sleeping. Maybe, in 1 more month, I will change or add to one of our nightly reads. In the meantime, I will read these three books aloud to him, every night. Yep, it doesn't matter that by doing so, I have memorized all three books by heart. :) (All together now: In the great, green room, there was a telephone...)
Really, the beauty of reading...good work mommy mitch..post more blogs, okay.. kisses to hugo!
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