We’ve been using Your Baby Can Read, an early reading program from Dr. Bob Titzer, for a few months and can verify it does work if used as intended. Keep in mind, however, the program advocates whole language strategies to introduce site words. My background as an English teacher with a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction in Language and Literacy made me extremely curious about their claims of young children understating the written word at such young ages.
Now on Volume 2, not only is our two year old daughter able to easily read words such as “cup,” “ball,” or “drum,” but even our one year old son is starting to pick them up. When we show him the phrase “Arms Up” he actually lifts his arms in the air!
The success of YBCR hinges on viewing the DVDs twice a day as recommended; we have found showing them in the car to and from the sitter’s each day work well. We also use Lift-A-Flap books as a part of our bedtime reading routine. The program works but is only one of the many strategies we use to introduce reading in our house.Update (2010): Since we haven’t been using the program regularly the words elude our now two and four year old until we jump back on board. When critics of whole language worry YBCR is not developmentally appropriate or even damaging, my response is to point out this post does not intend to be a comprehensive educational outline of this or any early learning program. Instead I offer our own personal experiences with YBCR understanding phonics and other reading strategies are absolutely essential. We do not use the program exclusively as the kids’ only source of language and literacy development, and do not advocate for or against whole language or phonics but offer instead our own personal experiences. For us a balanced approach is best. We also use Dolch word lists, literature, and a variety of resources to introduce reading to our family.
Have you tried Your Baby Can Read? Let us know about your experience.
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I have just purchased this program and am very curious if it's going to work or not. My daughter is 27 months and she seems to want to try to start talking. I didn't know it was so expensive though. I hope it really works!…
I have just purchased this program and am very curious if it's going to work or not. My daughter is 27 months and she seems to want to try to start talking. I didn't know it was so expensive though. I hope it really works!…
How does phonic help a child with spelling? Do you realize how many words in the English language sound much differently than they are spelled? There are so many exceptions to the rules when it comes to the English language. I remember my first grade teacher telling us countless times that yes, normally that would be the rule, but in the case of this special word, there is an exception to the rule. The English language sucks to learn by phonics. If you learn the whole entire word by sight-reading you will never spell it wrong because you won't be using phonics to "guess" at the spelling based on how the word sounds. Take cat and kangaroo for example. Both C and K make the same sound. So based on using phonics, how the heck would a child know to spell cat with a c and not a k and kangaroo with a k and not a c??? Not to mention how many times words are mispronounced. Like kangaroo might be pronounced more like kangeroo with the er sound instead of the ah sound. Learning the whole word by sight will actually prevent this problem!
How does phonic help a child with spelling? Do you realize how many words in the English language sound much differently than they are spelled? There are so many exceptions to the rules when it comes to the English language. I remember my first grade teacher telling us countless times that yes, normally that would be the rule, but in the case of this special word, there is an exception to the rule. The English language sucks to learn by phonics. If you learn the whole entire word by sight-reading you will never spell it wrong because you won't be using phonics to "guess" at the spelling based on how the word sounds. Take cat and kangaroo for example. Both C and K make the same sound. So based on using phonics, how the heck would a child know to spell cat with a c and not a k and kangaroo with a k and not a c??? Not to mention how many times words are mispronounced. Like kangaroo might be pronounced more like kangeroo with the er sound instead of the ah sound. Learning the whole word by sight will actually prevent this problem!