My friend is concerned her son will be held back because he is having a hard time reading. I sugested taking her son to the Eye Dr. to see if he needs glasses. I also recomended her playing some games that require reading with him instead of sitting and trying to make him read a book. The only game I could come up with it Monoply Jr.

What other games are around that can help a 1st grader read better? Or, even better, can they make up without having to spend a lot of money.

Thanx for your help.

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TLJ ~ Where opinions are encouraged, not deleted

You laugh at me because I am different,
I laugh at you because you are all the same.

Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open.

We were having reading problems with our first grader. He loves books but we were having to read them to him. We finally bought some Scooby Do phonics books and that really helped. The pages have some sight words and then pictures mixed in for some of the words. It seemed to really help him get brave enough to read on his own.

Other fun games w/ words: Boggle JR, Memory cards w/ words.

The eye doctor trip is great advice. Personally, I would talk with the teacher. If the child is truly behind, the teacher ought to be recommending in school help. DD could have used help in K and 1st grade and was behind in 2nd grade. At that time the schools were just starting to advocate early reading and there weren't any organized programs at school. Since that time, there's lots of help for wherever a child is deficient.

GREAT tip right there! Many kids learn how to read by being read to. Be sure that you point to the words and that the child is able to see the words while you read. My boys loved reading the Sunday funnies when they were little.

Our library had loads of books on tapes (they have the book AND a tape so that they can follow along).

You can help them make their own books on tape (or make them for them) with a cassette player and easy readers such as Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop, Brown Bear Brown Bear What do You See?, or other rhyming/patterned/predictable books.

My boys both love Nintendo's Animal Crossing game. It has a LOT of reading and makes it fun for the player. It is a role-playing game. Very cute. I know that there are a lot of other video games and systems out there. Leapfrog makes the Leapster which has great learning games. It is a handheld.

The Jump Start series and Reader Rabbit series for the PC (computer) are also VERY good and fun!

Just a few things that I can think of. Hope that helps!

Learn to Read at Starfall - teaching comprehension and phonics
just click on the link and it will take you directly to it
if you don't want to use the link the site is

starfall.com

I have a online game that really helps my DD ( she is 6 and has a little trouble focusing on things as 6 yo's tend to do)

It is wonderful....My daugther has a great time with it.

Email me if you have any questions about the site.

mrk11118@bellsouth.net

Great site! I saved it to my favorites for the kids to play tomorrow. They love playing on the computer and this will really help!

As long as they have something THEY like to read I think it's easier and more of an incentive for them. Take the to a library or a second hand bookstore and let them pick out some fun age appropriate books or magazines! I try to get excited about my sons library day as much as I can and encourage the great books he picks out. Maybe get his own library card too and a wallet to keep it in?

Good luck, I'm right there with you!

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

I put words or sentences on the fridge and everytime my son walks by he has to read one. If he reads it right we put a check next to it after he receives so many checks he gets to goto our treasure box which is filled with small (cheap) toys and coupons...Coupons are for a free room clean pass, extra desert, extra mommy or daddy time such as a day out with one of us all by himself. He loves to check the sentences. all together they make up a story so it is sometimes hard to stop at just one. I make up most of the stories and they are silly stories but he likes the humor. That's the only idea I have. As someone said before it is very important to read to them. Make sure she has special books that she reads and he doesn't have to. Good luck to her. It's so hard to have a child struggle. Trust me I know.

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I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

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sorry i read my last post...maybe I should be playing the games. New site won't let me edit. Please excuse...

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cmemaloy@yahoo.com


I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

Life! is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.

As a 2nd grade teacher. I recommend to my parents in my class to show their child how much fun reading can be. Here are some ideas: Read aloud to them, play games, matching sight words games (just found some tonight for my 2 y/o on clearance at CVS), read books they like (search high and low to get them to read), ask about special programs that are offered in your school, www.funbrain. com is another great site for math and lang. arts., take them to the library to get games or check out books they like.

Just some ideas.

is one of our favorite games and you have to read the words..

Leap Pad and Leapster are wonderful. Use a magnadoodle to practice writing words.. easy to erase mistakes. With my youngest we had to show him what a necessity reading is. You want that sugar cereal? Read me the label. Going out to eat? Well, you read the menu. Want that library book? You have to read the title. I'll make brownies with you.. you read the recipe. (You get the idea..) Anytime he asks "what does that say?" He has to try first, no matter how hard it is. (It's amazing how often he gets it right..)

Make a tresure hunt around the house where he has to read the clues. Make a simple book and let him illustrate it, or have him write the book as a gift. Put cute notes in his lunchbox. Around here everyone leaves notes.. Santa, ToothFairy, Easter bunny.. they are very motivated to read those. Make a list of fun things to do on a Sat. and he has to check one or two off that he would like to do. Have him help with the shopping list.

We write and spell all the time. If he asks what's for dinner I might write or spell chicken for him to figure out. This works especially well with dessert.

We have made sight word matching games (you can just do letter sounds and blends too, and I always add some pictures so it's so obvious what we're doing. (You don't get to keep the match unless you can read the word, or identify the sound or shape.) My son was so cute with this. We played it a few times, and then went to read a book.. he sat down, opened the book and said, "That game can help me with my reading!"

Stuff like that really got my little guy going. Also, you need a specific time to read every day. My son reads to me for 10-15min after school before we do anything else. Then I will read to him, or we will play a game or whatever.

These are all presented as games, and we have fun with them. However, my son does understand that learning to read is not an option, and that it takes practice, and with practice it will get easier. The other day he picked up "Are you my Mother" and sat on the floor and read it out loud to himself. That was the first time I had seen him do that and it was so cute. (He's 5.)

Good luck!

Thanks for the great website. I am going to sit with my DS tonight. We just changed schools and he is behind in reading. We have a teacher that will tutor him, but I am hoping this will be fun for him at home.

When my brother was little he had a hard time with reading. My mom and my other brothers used to make "treasure hunts" for him. They would hide pieces of paper all over the house and give him the first one to get him started. For instance the first one would say "Go to Bill's bed, look under pillow"...then he would do that and there would be one that said "Go to dryer, look in lint tray"..there would be another one there and so on...all those would eventually lead to something fun...a small toy, some candy, a gold star...things like that.

When he started asking them to meke them longer, they knew they did well! He went on to be an exellent reader and his comprehension really improved!

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proving some of the best things in life come in a jar.