At one year of age, Felicity is shown reading by the whole word method: she can read words that she has memorized, but she does not know what the letters stand for yet. She does, however, know the words' meanings!
Before her second birthday, Felicity was starting to sound out unfamiliar words – proving she had already figured out some rules of phonics. Her parents have since begun teaching her phonics – something BrillBaby recommends in addition to whole word reading instruction. Now, at two and a half years of age, Felicity enjoys reading independently – or with just a little help from her parents!
Can your little one read or do something else amazingly well? Has he or she come on leaps and bounds since you started teaching?
and it could be featured on the BrillBaby website.
A common objection raised against babies reading is that they are parroting words without meaning. Yet, in this video, we see a 12-month-old baby clearly demonstrating knowledge of the meanings of many words. Here, Felicity pronounces 2 words out loud and gestures to indicate the meanings of 12 others. She can do this because she has been taught using the multi-sensory method.
For some, the real definition of reading is being able to pronounce the written word intelligibly. In this video, shot two weeks after the first, Felicity reads aloud 11 words (including 2 in Chinese) and gestures to indicate the meanings of 5 others.
Four months after her second birthday, Felicity is reading her Thomas The Tank Engine book by herself. She so enjoys reading independently that her father can't resist teasing her a little bit. "Do you want Daddy to read it for you?" he asks before she begins. "I want to read it!" she replies. Later, he repeats his question and foxes Felicity for a moment: "Yes... No! I read it myself."
Another common criticism of early reading instruction is that it involves forcing children to read against their will. At the end of this video, we see Felicity's father "forcing" her to read – that is, encouraging, goading and eventually tickling her! It's a perfect reminder of the precious bonding time parents and children enjoy through such early learning experiences.
One month before turning two and a half, as Felicity reads her Cinderella book, we see her father teasing her once again: "Do you want Daddy to read it for you?" "No, I don't!" Nothing like a bit of reverse psychology, huh?
It is interesting to note that this is a Level Two Ladybird book, designed for six-year-old children who are progressing from whole word reading to independent, phonic-based reading.
