How to Teach Your Baby to Read (The Gentle Revolution Series)

The absolutely best book. It works!!!

I started our son at age two and our daughter at age 18 months to read, so talking and reading grew together. Using an old set of Dick and Jane books, they finished the first grade series by age three and could read I Can Read books largely independently after that. The Doman method is the old see-and-say whole-word method, but I added phonics with our lessons for decoding skills. Two sets of plastic magnetic letters (from Toys R Us and a school-supply store) on the refrigerator door were used to find all of a specific letter, match capitals and lower case, build words, and create short sentences. Many words don't "sound out," and were taught as sight words through drill with flash cards, as in the book. Index cards were used to write words in manuscript for flash cards to drill words already introduced. The huge word cards recommended in the book were not needed for my "older" children. I did not read the Dick and Jane books (available online at Walmart) to the children, as they were teaching tools, but Dr. Seuss or other level one easy-to-read books would work. First the words in a story were introduced with the plastic letters and drilled with the flash cards until known, which took a week at first, then only a few days later. I asked the kids questions about what was in the picture and what was happening, then ran my finger under the words as the child read the story aloud. Of course I read picture books to the kids, also discussing the pictures and running my finger under the words. We read one or two stories and stopped reading at the height of the interest, which caused the kids to want to come back for more. I wanted to try Glenn Doman's idea to teach little kids to read, as I witnessed a dyslexic young man, who could not read, be rehabilitated at Doman's Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potentai outside Philadelphia when all else had failed. At IAHP a two year old with half her brain removed learned to read simply by observing an adult run a finger under the words while reading aloud, begging the question, "What's the matter with normal children?" Thus the movement for early learning began. It is not only possible to teach pre-schoolers to read, but it is the ideal time to teach anything. We miss the easiest time for a child to learn if we wait until first grade. I strongly recommend reading this book and courageously launch a life-enhancing adventure for the children and parents or grandparents. Add your own phonics. Rose Bayly

My fourth child is due in March 2013. I just finished this book. All I can say is that I wish I had purchased this book three children ago. I used other methods to teach my older children to read. I got progressively better as a teacher with each child. If only I had this book sooner I would have had a more concise and specific method of teaching that would have been more fun and organic versus the structured and academic way I taught my older children to read. This book has also taught me to have much higher expectations for babies and toddlers. As a seasoned parent I've taught 3 children to read. This is by far the best method that I've seen when it comes to teaching infants, babies and toddlers. I would advise teaching 5 year olds and older phonetically. Sight words work for babies not for Kindergarteners and 1st graders. With this program a baby can be reading by 18-36 months depending on when they start them. A 36 month old reader is a two year literate veteran before entering kindergarten. Teaching a baby phonetically is confusing for a baby. They learn to speak organically and naturally they can learn to read the same way. By the time children enter kindergarten brain receptors that would have made learning to read easy have grown dormant. By age 5 or 6 It is necessary to teach children the sounds that letters make so that they can decode words and read them. The process is completely different for babies. Best of Love to you.

I bought this book after having read about the method it proposes in an Italian forum. The book is easy to read and understood, at least in my opinion and offers a method I have been testing for the last two weeks with my two little boys, Carlo (6yo) and Vittorio (4 yo) with noticeable success, especially, as indicated in the book, with the younger, who really loves the game and is so quick and eager to learn. Frankly speaking, I see nothing wrong with the method if interpreted properly, in line with the book suggestions, as a game, a very nice one, between parents and children. As said, both mine guys like it a lot, and truly perceive it as a fancy moment with their busy dad, who spends time with them playing a game from which they can learn something new. My personal experience, therefore, though if short, has been successful and pleasant. I can advice to stick to the guidelineso of the book: You and your baby(ies) MUST enjoy it; the practice has NOT to be intended by your child as a boring moment, but a fancy one, with plenty of affection and nearness to his dad, mother or (better) both. If I must find a (very little) defect with the book, is its too long introduction. It took 6 chapters to the authors prior to get deep into the contents (that start in chapter 7, indeed).

My daughter did the Doman method starting at 6 months. I worked so I only did it once or twice a day for 10 to 15 seconds a session. By the first grade, my daughter read at the 5th-grade level with expression. In fourth grade, she was reading college-level material. In fifth grade, she was voted President of the student body and created a school-wide event on earthquake preparedness. She also had a lot of self-confidence throughout her school years and excelled at public speaking. Today she is a doctor with her own practice. She also writes articles for various online publications and has lectured at various medical facilities. So in my personal experience, Doman is very valuable. It develops the right side of the brain using sight reading which is one of a few very valuable methods of learning.

Don’t think twice. Get this book, commit to teach your baby to read. Don’t look back. It’s been around for years. Babies learn the absolute most before they reach 2. And before the age of 6, they learn 3x’s as much and as fast. Literally sponges. We teach slow and they want to learn as fast as Lelu does from the movie, The 5th Element. (The scene where she’s scanning the history of the world in seconds on the internet). Great investment if you can do it. Don’t wait on the public school system to teach your kid to read. If you’re torn about phonics, just know that your baby will put two and two together and understand the words they memorized and will learn the phonics, way faster, later, when they can already read. Good luck!

Useful but dated. The doman method has become a bit of an overpriced cult that unfortunately we can’t keep our wives from being suckered in to. $5k for a 2 day class and these books for basic knowledge for our child who doesn’t even have any issues, but the marketing was good enough to convince her to buy it and, in the end, me pay for it 😕

Way back in 1981, my 30 month old daughter was barely speaking a word. Her younger brother was actually speaking in sentences. Her hearing was fine and she was almost obsessed with the circular Laurie puzzles as she had excellent fine motor skills. In retrospect, I think she may have had an early or mild form of autism. I was fortunate enough to meet Marva Collins and cornered her in a restroom and pleaded for help with my daughter. She told me about this book. I kept pleading "What else?" She annoyingly told me "Just get the book." and walked away. I think my edition was from 1979 and cost $1.95 new. Within a few days, it was as if something turned on in my daughter's brain and something turned off. A week later, she was clearly reading word cards and communicating with us. If you believe in miracles, this would definitely be one. She entered kindergarten, reading at about 2nd to 3rd grade level, took Suzuki lessons, graduated from high school, college, and graduate school with honors. I used this method with all six of my children and am now passing it on to my grandchildren, including my daughter's newborn. I recommend it to all my patients with young children. THIS BOOK IS A MUST for every parent and child. I wish I could give it 10 stars!

What a thought! What a book! Wish everyone could lay their hands on this masterpiece well on time, before they grow up

I can recommend this book to any parent who wishes to introduce his child to the world of books and knowledge. The book is well written and easy to read. It provides two chapters with detailed information on how to start, when to start and which materials to use. It provides a complete step-by-step guide to follow through this program. I‘ve started to teach my two year old daughter to read and she delights in the word-cards, actually wanting to do more words. I will now start the program with my 12 month old son. It is so much fun to watch my children having fun and spend precious time with them. And that’s what it’s all about, enjoying yourselves and learning by playing.

tres informatif pour ceux qui souhaitent apprendre a leurs enfants a lire, il y a beaucoup des examples pratiques pour nous guider et le livre se lit facilement aussi

come tutta l'opera di Doman, consigliato. Spiega tecnicamente come mettere in pratica l'insegnamento precoce della lettura. Per tutti i genitori attenti

Very interesting concept. Been slowly working with our daughter on this.