Thank you for coming back to Azy Reading Journey website. It has been over a month now since he got The Little Champion Reader and he had been using it. However, there was nothing in place to actually start teaching him. So, we put some plans in place and started to teach him. We also implemented some activities to help him settle down and focus. Recently we introduced a new material, alphabet magnets, to see if learning with magnetic letters would help to make the reading journey more interesting and fun.
How is Azy Doing?
So far, Azy’s reading journey has been up and down and some days he does better than others. In the last post, we were implementing some activities to help him focus. You can read more about that here.
According to an article titled, “How to help kids focus and pay attention,” “Figuring out how to help your child focus is something many parents, nannies and babysitters struggle with. But don’t worry because this is common for young kids and there are plenty of techniques you can use to change their behavior.”
The article was written by “Nicole Fabian-Weber,” and includes some tips that can be used to help your child. I think that it is a very informative article, you can read it here.
Based on what I read in the article, it looks like the activities that are in place to help Azy focus will work, but sometimes we will need to change things up a bit.
We Are Learning Too
He wants to watch the Alphabet Train over and over and play with the timer. He is still taking frequents breaks, but we still let him sit at the table.
However, if going on the carpet to do the cards will help him to focus better, we will allow that.
Azy keeps looking away from the computer screen. Even though he is repeating what is being said on the DVD he not paying attention.
That means he is saying it from memory, because he cannot identify the words yet.
Based on that, we felt it was time to introduce him to something new because he has really been on the same thing for some time now, so maybe it is time for a change.
We decided to try the magnets to see how he would react to the new way of learning with magnetic letters. I am happy to report that it worked. Azy welcomed the new material and had fun.
He used the flashcards, alphabet magnets, printable alphabet worksheet and a tray. The letters were laid out on the table, and he was instructed to look on the worksheet, starting with “A” and then choose the correct letter and place it on the tray.
What Next?
Azy can say the alphabet, but he needs to learn to recognize and identify the letters. I have to say that he did much better than I thought he would. He was able to identify some of the letters more quickly than others.
I kept reminding him that he should look at the letter on the worksheet and then find it on the table. After doing it several times, he started to do better at looking on the worksheet, finding the corresponding letter on the table and placing it on the tray.
In addition to learning to recognized and identified the letters of the alphabet, Azy will be tracing the letters on the worksheet, as that should help him as well.
He is spending more time on the magnets than he was willing to spend with the reading program.
After a period of learning more with the magnetic letters, we will put him back on the program to see if he is ready to settle down. If not, we will move on to trying another activity and see how well he interacts with it.
When my kids were learning to read, in addition to the reading program, we used a lot of other materials to keep them interested and engaged. When it comes to Azy, it is hard to say what’s next.
I did not expect to introduce anything new to Azy yet, because we actually started teaching him just a short while ago. At this time, he is enjoying learning with magnetic letters so we will keep him doing that for now.
The Search Continues…
We are now checking into getting some educational DVDs for Azy. So, if after the magnetic letters, he is still not interested in the program, we can start introducing the DVDs. Hopefully, he will see something that he loves and starts looking forward to learning daily.
Visit our Facebook Page if you would like to see how Azy is doing now.
Thank you for taking the time to read about Azy’s reading journey.
Please leave a comment and let me know if you have any experience with learning with magnetic letters.
Thanks for the visit.
More to come.
Hello, my name is Jackie. My family members and I are teaching my grandson Azy to read and I am writing about the challenges and the joy that comes from doing so. My goal is to write articles that will encourage and help parents and others who want to do the same for their kids or other children. Thanks for travelling along with us. Blessings, Jackie
I think magnetic alphabet letters are fun for the whole family! I do think that you must use these in conjunction with other methods, but I’m glad Azy is progressing! Look forward to following the journey!
Ashley
Thanks Ashley
I agree that magnetic alphabet letters should be used in conjunction with other methods. They are just an addition to the learning process. A Reading program is being used. However, from time to time, we will be introducing other materials to keep reading interesting and fun.