[blparent] tips for reading to small children

Tue Jul 21 17:18:38 UTC 2015

Hello Nicole,

It might help his reading speed and comprehension if you borrow books from the library at his reading level and in a subject he likes.  This will build his speed and confidence for reading at his grade level.

I can compare his problem to when I first started reading Braille.  At first I was just reading one word at a time but when I got magazines and books that I liked I found I started reading for content not just for practice.  

JODY 🐺
thunderwalker321 at gmail.com

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."  DOCTOR WHO (Tom Baker)

> On Jul 21, 2015, at 1:14 PM, Nicole Helmkamp via blparent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Jodie,
> 
> That's exactly how we go about it now. I have him spell the word to me and we sounded out together. But because he is sofar behind I would say 90% of the books he's being asked to read in school are above his reading level and comprehensionhi Jodie,
> 
> That's exactly how we go about it now. I have him spell the word to me and we sounded out together. But because he is so far behind I would say 90% of the books he's been asked to read in school are above his reading level and comprehension at this point. But I am working hard to get him caught up before school starts this year. It's sometimes a challenge because he does not enjoy reading or even trying. So every time he's asked to read a book he throws a huge temper tantrum. But I'm not giving up.
> 
> Nicole
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jul 21, 2015, at 1:04 PM, Jody Ianuzzi via blparent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Nicole
>> 
>> When my kids were learning to read I didn't have to see the book to help them.  I would have them read aloud and when they came to a word they didn't know, I would have them spell it and we would sound it out together.  Probably the biggest hurdle he has is feeling comfortable reading out loud so if he feels comfortable reading to you, that is a big step.   
>> 
>> JODY 🐺
>> thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
>> 
>> "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."  DOCTOR WHO (Tom Baker)
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jul 21, 2015, at 11:35 AM, Nicole Helmkamp via blparent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hello,
>>> I too am curious about this as I have a nine-year-old stepson who is very behind in reading. He is at like a first or second grade level. Has anyone tried using the Bard books from the NLS to listen to with their children? I have not tried this yet but I just recently thought about it. He is still reading small books but I wonder if there is another way I can get a hold of the books he's reading online or in a different format so that I could either read them before hand and follow along with him or know the words that he is missing to be able to help.
>>> 
>>> Nicole
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>>> On Jul 21, 2015, at 10:16 AM, Jody Ianuzzi via blparent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hello Dawn,
>>>> 
>>>> Yes, I did the same thing when my ids were small.  My daughter wanted a tape player just like mommy's so I got the Fischer Price cassette player.  Then we got the cassette book sets and listened to them together.  We could also borrow the tape book sets from the library.
>>>> 
>>>> That was twenty five years ago and I don't know if cassette books are available any more.  
>>>> 
>>>> I wonder if there are digital book alternatives now or iPhone apps for story time.  
>>>> 
>>>> JODY 🐺
>>>> thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
>>>> 
>>>> "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."  DOCTOR WHO (Tom Baker)
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Jul 21, 2015, at 8:45 AM, dawn stumpner via blparent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> All the tips so far sound great and are things I did with my kids when they were little.  It sounded to me from your original post like you may not be a braille reader, and I thought of another kind of book that was fun when the kids were small.  There were some print books and some print-braille books (with pictures like kids enjoy) that came with a cassette and that would have a sound like a bell or a beep when it was time to turn the page.  When they were under 5, they really enjoyed being in charge of when each page was turned, and it was great for me too, particularly for the books that didn't have braille like ones from the library.  Unfortunately, it has been quite some time since my kids were small, so I haven't looked for those kinds of books in a long time, so you'd have to ask at different places to see if they had them.  I think they must still exist.  I think I got most of them from my local library (the ones with no braille), and from a place in my city that does braille and recording as a volunteer service and keeps a lending library.  I used to also sometimes get these books called "Books for Tots" or something like that from a place in California.  I can't remember the name, but I'll try to think of it.  Maybe someone on this list remembers them too...  they're the place that used to send out those EXPECTATIONS books each year with 4 raised pictures, a scratch-and-sniff page, and an anthology of stories and books free to blind children each year.  They have all-braille books, but they (at least used to, and hopefully still do) produce books with pictures in them that comes with a set of toys or figures related to the story and a sound recording.  Blind kids could pick out a certain number of books free each year, but they also at the time my kids were little gave books to blind parents of sighted children, and you could always purchase books, too.
>>>>> You might also get some of those fun "sound books" that have very little text (you could probably even memorize it or just wing it), and then you push a button to hear the sound.  For example, one page will have a truck, and the child pushes the button corresponding to the truck to hear a truck sound, and then the next page will have a train, a boat, a plane, and so forth with those sounds.  There are also books where you can touch things on each page (I remember one with animals, and each page had a place you could touch the cat's sandpapery tongue, the sheep's woolly fleece, etc.
>>>>> The part where I can't be very helpful is remembering where I got each of these kinds of books, but if you ask around at Seedlings, your local library, and even bookstores for the little books with the audio recordings, you should find some.  You could also contact a place that volunteers to braille and record books.  It wouldn't be very expensive to give them some Dr.  Seus, Curious George, Mercer Mayer's Critter Books, or whatever you find at garage sales, and they could record them on tape, putting a sound like a bell, a clap, or whatever to indicate it's time to turn the page for the next picture and text.  You could also ask them to indicate which page you start on with a tactile clue like a dot in the corner of the page.  The place that does brailling and recording a lot in Madison Wisconsin is BLTS (Braille Library and Transcription Services), and they might be able to do something like that for you even if you don't live in Wisconsin.  I know they lend their books and materials to people all over the country, too.
>>>>> Sorry this response was so long.  I wish you luck! I'm sure you'll find a way! And if I think of the name of the place in CA or any other ideas, I'll most again.  There are a TON of good old plain audio books too that you can listen to together at any age, but I know when kids are 3, they really like having pictures with stories.
>>>>> Dawn
>>>>> 
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