Due to now homeschooling, I have found out that my eight-year-old son can’t read; he can’t even read simple three-letter words. He’s been doing phonics at school as an extra lesson because they said he was slightly behind but they never told me how bad he was. Every time I spoke to any teachers, they said he was doing fine, and there were no worries, but they have lied. The school realized he couldn’t read in year one and never told me. He’s now at the end of year 3. I’m now starting from scratch with his phonics on my own at home. I used to ask him to read his book at home, but he used to make excuses, now I know why. I am waiting to get him assessed for dyslexia. The school has decided to now putting him down as SEN. Has anybody got any ideas to help me get him to start reading and be able to read a book like other kids? I know he will never catch up to his friends. Please no bashing, if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t comment please. I’m heartbroken as it is, I cry when I go to bed because of this. I just want to help my son.
You should be getting him to read to you every night before bed… you shouldn’t only depend on school to teach him. Set an example for him which means when he sees you enjoying reading he will too.
Don’t cry momma! It’s a bad situation but keep strong you can still help him! Abc mouse, pbs has great spelling shows such as super why, read together every day or night better to read about something he may be interested in
You probably need to start at the basics and begin with the alphabet and what the letters are. Then teach him small words like cat, and dog and go from there.
If you get your son into the right program and work extra with him, I am sure he will be just fine. Just make it fun.
Buy white boards, use colors, big letters, blocks with letters, make up word dances. Try not to let him see you’re upset because it might make him feel he is doing something wrong or ashamed.
So many…many things you can do to make catching up fun!
Teach your monsters to read is a cool game that makes it fun for them. I know the struggle my son is 12 and we are still working on the reading he had a speech delay so went through all the programs, the frustration he feels is very real when he sees his siblings able to do these things. All kids learn at their own pace. I know all about the nights crying. Hardest thing to do is watch them struggle and feel helpless. You got this mama 
he should be assessed for learning disabilities
I agree you should have been working with your son outside of school and teaching him to read or reading to him… I mean how do you as the parent not know your kid can’t read? They only learn if they are taught and while the school does do most you should be doing your part too.
Try frys first words. Make games out of it. Focus only on reading. Pete the cat has good books to start!
Read the same toddler book to him, he will start to memorize the book and the words. Start with short, simple word books.
My son uses this raz kids app. It’s so helpful. They start off as a beginner & the difficulty increases as they improve. First they read the book (very simple words) to you. Then you try to read it & add the end they ask questions.
Maybe start having him read CVC words to you (consonant vowel consonant - cat, dog, pig) make sure he knows the sounds before blending them. Then try our different books to see how hard they are. Try grade level books and then if they’re too hard maybe buy some basic baby/learn to read books. I am a paraprofessional and I teach phonics/reading and I have a 3rd grade student who is reading at a kindergarten level, he is in intense reading intervention and he has grown so much. Please feel free to shoot me a message and I will do what I can to help!
my daughter has a learning disability in regards to reading…she is reading at a 1/2 grade level and she too is in 3rd…as frustrating as it is as a mom…its more frustrating for our kids…stay calm, you are doing everything right…look for books that have simple words, make flash cards…take the time to read out loud, make a note of the words he does know, have him write them down…the repetition helps…best of luck to you…hope any of this helps.
I second the bedtime story books, have him read I used to do it with my grandfather as a little girl. He won’t think anything of it then mommy and me at bed time.
Alpha blocks is a cute show that explains simple sounds and words my 3 boys 2 4 and 7 love it
Flash cards with words
They thought my daughter was incapable of reading all through middle school and failed to assess for dyslexia and instead replaced multiple other important classes with more reading classes, which did nothing but put her behind later. We later found out she’s severely dyslexic with letters and numbers as well as legally blind in her left eye from a chicken pox being in it. She’s 20 now and has learned ways to compensate with the help of a couple amazing high school teachers and even graduated with a 4.0 GPA and her CNA and CMA licenses.
Ask the school or his teachers why and how they can help to get him at the level he should be !
Just keep reading. Everyday
My kids are still in preschool, but my friend used this for his son who’s 6 so I bought it for my kids too. My friends son took to it quickly and is now reading better than most of his class. The lessons are pretty quick too.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons Amazon.com: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons: Revised and Updated Second Edition: 9780671631987: Engelmann, Siegfried, Haddox, Phyllis, Bruner, Elaine: Books
Similar situation happened to my son when he was in 3rd grade. He could read but not at the level he needed. I constantly spoke to the teacher and he told me he needed a little help but wasn’t bad. Kept him for tutoring and blah blah blah. I did have him read and noticed he struggled. Ended up having to get a tutor 3 days a week. He is now in 5th and doing much better. He is still young where he can catch up. Also request the school test him for a learning disability.
Learning dynamics is great it worked to get my son started
My 7 year old is the same. I have zero idea what to do. He likes his tablet so we took away all the fun games and put learning games on there. And we are making him sound out the letters to small words. Penny’s and nickles are great bribes to help him read a whole sentence
Kids A-Z, IXL, vocabulary A-Z, razor kids. All online programs. There are many out there.
I didn’t read with my oldest like I should have and he was behind but we started from the beginning stage 1 books and now he is where he should be. Wasnt easy and very stressful. I learned and now with my 2 youngest we read every night.
Get some stickie notes and label everything in big letters. My daughter learns words by memory . Sees them recognises and remembers xx
U could write some basic words down and sound the word and letter out. Or have u tried this app could epic reading
All about reading is a program designed to.help struggling readers.
Get some books or comic books with simple wording and have him sound out the words. Bless his heart Im sure he is ashamed and been belittled from piers. I too was a late reader, and my big sister helped me with Mother goose story books. May not be much help, but I’m sorry he was pushed through will little to no recognition.
I’m sorry they didn’t inform properly inform you about his delay. Read with him every night. Start with the basics. Print out sight words and have him repeat, repeat repeat.
My nephew is also going through this! This home school shit sucks
Just work with him
He needs one on one.you can do it.
My son is 10 and is just now starting to read. It’s been a struggle but reading eggs was a good program. A lot of flash cards a lot of repeating. Our school has been wonderful with supplying extra activities for him to improve his reading (we also do virtual) read every day at least 30 mins a day. Make they are seeing you read as well. Get the paper work the big lines that are for practicing writing and have him practice practice practice. It takes time and some kids just aren’t good readers. Praise every time he does great with it. They have some cool minecraft work books and workbooks for kids with certain conditions.
Prayers for you and your son.
Get Hooked on Phonics set from Amazon. Works wonders!!!
I only have one thing to say, no he won’t ever catch up to his peers if his mother is already selling him short. If you don’t believe he will get there, how I’m the hell do you expect him to get the confidence to get there🤦🏻♀️
try the game get my monster to read, its fun and a great resource. also read to him and point at the words while you read, the books “bad guys” is comic book style and he will enjoy it being read to him while he learns the words. Dont feel bad, your a great mom and your encouragement and love will help him
Try kumon if you can. It is a great tutoring program for reading and math.
Daily reading. Instead of tv, phones. Spend an hour reading each day. I used to do a half hour at lunch and a half hour before bed
Never say never. He can and will catch up. He most likely has dyslexia. It takes longer to be fluent in reading, but once they get the hang of it they can excel. It just takes time. Don’t be discouraged it isn’t anyone’s fault, and childhood isn’t a race. They all get to where they need to be at their own pace.
IEP FILE ON SCHOOL ASAP. Also do abc mouse
Start with flash cards and the sounds of each letter. Then he should be able to put the sounds together… good luck mama
My friend has this problem with her son. And she started out with toddler books for him to read because they’re simple sentences. Then she worked it up to bringing him in the kitchen and baking something and getting him to read the directions to her. After time it ended up working out for them. Good luck 
No suggestions, but wanted to tell you that you’re doing a good job and to keep it up. You care a lot and it shows. 
Mama, you don’t know that he will never catch up. Start reading together. Check out Reading Eggs. Look up ways to make reading fun. Kids are so resilient… not to shut down any concerns you may have for his development, but these things work out better if you are involved and working at home, too.
Reading eggs! Mine are loving it so far!
And mine can’t read at all
They just started it and love it
I had the same issue with my 2nd grader. He wasnt where he was supposed to be so i moved him to a different school. Start with ABCs & put in work. Flash cards are a good start- start with the alphabet then start on simple words flash cards. I swear hy flash cards but switching schools helped alot! Its going to be ok!
Seriously I’m asking this question because I really want to know how is that your child is 8 years old and you don’t know that they cannot read? I sit down and do work with my child that’s in pre-school. Do you not read to your children do not have your children read to you
I know this sounds weird my daughters speech and also her reading teacher,said to put the captions on her tv. Because even if they don’t know it they are reading it and it helps to build their skills.i was skeptic but it helped her and now she is a sophomore and still prefers to have them on says it helps her do two things at once
ABC Mouse is a good starting tool and easier level books. You’ve got this!
Reading them bed time stories is hugely helpful, especially if you can do so with them able to watch and follow the words. I’m glad you are looking at getting him tested for a reading difficulty, you are doing all the right things for your son xxx❤️ while you are waiting for the testing, have a look at some online reading programs too, there are some great starting out programs that can help with dyslexia and also lots of forums that might have ideas for you to try with your son. Wishing you all the best xxx❤️
My daughter is in 3rs grade and does not read. She has a iep and special classes. This year instead of focusing on phonics they are focusing on sight word memorization. This has helped her knowing what she is reading and starting to pick up on the phonics.
Find books on a topic your son likes. For example: My youngest loves dinosaurs so we got begining books with dinosaurs as the characters then worked our way up to educational books and national geographic magazines.
That way he will be interested and more willing to put effort into reading
Try the book teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. It’s constantly recommended in my homeschooling groups, and I’m currently using it on my 4 year old. It’s going really well, mind you it’s extremely repetitive.
He will catch up. I didn’t start reading until I was 8/9 years old. (I lived in a war zone country and last thing on my parents mind was reading).It will be hard for him and he will get frustrated but don’t give up and encourage him and give lots of praises.
Take it one step at a time. It’s something special you two can do together. Hang in there Mommy you got this😛
My son is dyslexic and wasn’t diagnosed until 3rd grade. There are great resources for children with dyslexia. Audio books that include written text helps also. He will catch up.
So you have to teach them. They just don’t learn over night.
Even with school if you don’t work with them they won’t learn.
Use books! Books you hold in your hand and read. I agree with Raz Kidz and Teach Your Monster to Read but he needs a book in hand. Start simple, let him build his confidence, then begin reading books closer to a second grade level. Model your reading to him. Have him echo read, you read then he reads what you just read. Raz Kidz can teach phonics as well. He can get caught up, it will just take a lot of dedication.
Also use arbookfinder.com to look up book levels to find books on his level.
Sometimes it’s the colour you can get coloured overlays to put on the words and that helps as with dyslexia the letters can jump all over the page xxxx
I used to leave little letters for them to read. Post it notes around the house and comic books. Make it fun, when my kids read their notes they came home to a special snack or we played a board game… they had instructions to get to that point. My girl could read, she said she felt embarrassed so no one knew she could. My 4th child…3 sight words in 1st grade. Public school system.
Give your son credit for allowing you to see this. Now find out what level he can read at. And work with him.
Our schools push so hard but he’s only 8, he has plenty of time. I personally would seek medical care starting with an eye exam and primary care. If he has been trying but has something holding him back, even something simple, you need to find out. Beyond that play games or make up games with reading. Scavenger hunts where he has to read the clues. We actually play hangman a lot to memorize spelling words.
Your son can catch up to his friends he might just need a little extra help, I fostered my nephew who was 8 and couldn’t read or write when we got him and by the end of the school year he was almost completely upto his grade level… lots of patience and make reading a game( if your in the car have him try reading the road signs, receipts) or when ur fixing dinner have him read what the item is, encourage him to find words around the house even off his favorite toys! And you can also make flash cards with sight words and make it a matching game and when he gets the match have him sound out the word! But biggest thing make sure u encourage him and make it fun because if he gets discouraged then he won’t want to learn!!
How have you not realised your child can’t read until now? Have you not picked up a single book and read with your child since starting school?
At my daughters school they use a program called Raz kids. First they listen to the book then they read the book and then answer questions at the end to check their comprehension of the content . Our teacher gave is the codes so we can use it at home . You start at the level you are at and only move on when you finish all of the available books
Try flash cards with words on one side and picture on the other.
I’ve never gone through this, but I’ve worked on reading and homeschooling with our kids. I start with word families, such as cat, rat and so on. You can use alphabet blocks to show him how to build words, such as turning the word at into the bat by adding the letter B. Use sidewalk chalk to practice writing words on your driveway. You can make flashcards. Write your own stories using word families and let him add pictures. Make sure he knows all his letter sounds by creating a scavenger hunt. You can let him draw an alphabet card so that he can find things at home that start with that letter. Let him write words with his finger in sugar spread on a plate. Write words out in candy or sprinkles for him, and every time he gets a word right, he can eat it. I hope this helps. It’s just a few things I do with my kids at home. Practicing is the most important thing of all.
In one of my previous school districts we used a program called VOWAC it is out of a small town in South Dakota.
There is also a program called Lexia that we would use to help with phonics
My boys about to be 7, and he is struggling with reading, if the sentence reads the dog is small he will read the dog is little…
I think they know how to play us momma!!
Did your child get those gray starter books in Kindergarten and 1st grade? See, I’m a hoarder of books and I kept all of them. My daughter is 8 and can hardly read as well. So what I did was took those books that they got in the first couple years of schooling and started having her read them out loud at night and sometimes during the day as well inbetween her zooms. She has improved quite a bit since doing this. If you dont have access to those books, there are scholastic websites for beginners reading, as well as ABC mouse.
Children with dyslexia process words different then normal children. I was advised to have the child write their works with their finger on something a little rough like sand in a box and that would help their brain to remember. 
if worked for us
You need to push to get me tested for extra resources.
Never too late mama ! Start reading with him as often as possible . You can do this !
Flash cards and sounding out the words and telling what each letter is and how it sounds. Also they used red colored overlays. They would put them on stuff I read.i have dyslexia. Practice is key and when he needs a break let him have one as I would and still get headaches.sometimes I need to read something more then once to fully comprehend. If you can get a diagnosis that be great. He can get more help at school as in resource room,test read to him,and extra time for tests.
This book may help get the ball rolling. Do the sounds of letters also. My kiddo struggles with reading. Yes we read almost every night and she’s in a reading program at school. Some kids struggle a lot more than others at no ones fault.
Don’t feel guilty. Smart children can hid not being able to read . He can catch up! He may have a learning disability. There is great help out there for this. This does not mean your child isn’t smart. Make your child feel successful! Find him the help he needs. Be positive with him.
Start him off on very basic books . Give him a lot of praise to build his confidence and he will relax and pick it up quicker. But if he is dyslexic he will need a lot of help
Same happened with my son. He has and IEP, and the schools have just pushed him through. I have tried to teach him numerous times, but we both just get frustrated. He’s now 17, and thinks he can get through life not knowing how to read. 
prayers for you and your son.
I’d recommend getting him evaluated by the school Phycologist or what specialists they have on staff or seek testing yourself. He may have delays in reading that aren’t diagnosed, I have a child with delays in multiple areas of school and the best thing we did was work with school professionals and getting her early intervention and now a IEP that she’s in grade school. Once they get a evaluation they will recommend whatever is necessary to help him catch up. Best of luck!
I used to complain to my sons teachers that all he read was comics. He was behind in reading also. The reading specialist said as long as he was reading it didn’t matter what he read. To find books on things he was interested in. Also reading out loud to each other. I would read a page and he would read a page. It helped him.
Try Amazon books his level or lower grade levels. I recently order some. To start teaching my kids to read. But we have always read books in general together.
My little one is 3 and she watches YouTube ( keep your negative comments to itself) and she learns a lot. We r doing letters and the alphabet. I do sit with her and sing the songs so doing something like that might help. And moving forward try to be more involved in their school, don’t put too much trust for the teacher to let u know cuz they have SO much to do. But u got this! Start from the bottom
Maybe you can start on sight word activities. Find out what he is really interested in, and find those books. Make it fun for him read in a tent or pillow fort. Jack Hartman have great sight words video on YouTube. Reading apps such as Starfall, EPIC, RAZ or Reading Eggs are great apps 20 to 30 minutesa day of one app if possibleso more. Read along with him, use your fingers as a guide, and have patience with him.
I use hooked on phonics with my six year old. I homeschool her. She’s learning to read now. She’s in kindergarten
My daughter is a reading specialist and she preaches SIGHT WORDS. Amazon sells them but definitely work with that. Have him or her use newspapers, magazines, etc and find those sight words,cut them out. Do some exercises like that. Im a firm believer IN SYLVAN also for added help
You have done nothing wrong, the school system is no longer about education, like it used to be. Kids that can’t read are pushed through the system. It is never too late to teach somebody to read, it will take time and patience. As somebody with dyslexia (I found out when I was 33) if he has it being diagnosed younger will save him from much frustration. The dyslexia will never go away but you learn how to work with it. Albert Einstein was dyslexic. There are many beginning to read programs and apps.
I would look up the fry words and start there. These are the words they should know by the end of kindergarten
I am not trying to be rude or anything but how did you not know ur son couldn’t read until now at 8 years old? Do u not have him read to you? Do u not help with homework? He should have learned before Rona started. Some kids have a hard time I get it but if he can’t even read 3 letter words you should have got him help a long time ago
Making it fun always will be your best bet! Pinterest is a great resource for homeschooling or kindergarten readiness type ideas and tbh that’s where I would start… from the very beginning. My daughter was behind in k, I was a drug addict until she was 5-6 so obviously I wasn’t doing what I should’ve been and it showed. I ordered a lot of things from scholastic…1 of the better buys was a book set with A-D letters and they were different levels and I think 5 of each level… It took a while but by the end of the school year she was reading the D books and at grade level and now she’s been at a high school reading level since about 3rd grade i think so it’s for sure possible to catch them up! Sight words were a huge help to us though also a huge pain in the ass because she NEVER wanted to do them so it was a fight every time really🤦♀️ Now that I’m preparing my youngest for k I’m trying a whole different approach and it seems to work a lot better tbh. We do do structured things like the work books but because she’s so young, maybe 10-15 mins at a time because then she’s bored and she starts to act out. Target has a wonderful selection for learning activities and tools and once in a while I luck out at the dollar tree too. Ask his teachers for help with ideas too…I can’t say they will be helpful but hopefully they are in that field for the right reasons!
So you’ve never read with your kid? Sounds like YOU dropped the ball.
We have found that the Dick and Jane books have helped our kids.
My daughter had the same problem. I hired a tutor and she has extremely been helpful. She couldn’t write as well and she had to reteach her. Contact your teacher and ask who can tutor. She’s been doing two hours a week and is caught up to her level.
Look at the core knowledge language arts program. The skills component is the phonics instruction yournlooking for. 1) make sure he knows all letter sounds correspondences. 2) start blending 3 letter words. 3) teach him sight words (words to memorize) using fry list or dolche list. 4) move on the blends list “st” “cl” / digraphs “th” “sh” “ch”
There isn’t a huge push here for young kids to read and write. Grade three is actually when they really start to buckle down and gets kids reading. My oldest could barely read by grade three but came out of third reading very well. My second kid is now in grade three and we see how far she is coming this year. Haven’t even introduced it to the kindergarten kid. That’s the normal here. 8 year olds in grade three. Sure, it is introduced younger. But the push isn’t on the kids until this age.
Eye exam not by the pediatricians
Maybe call places figure out of there is help. I’m sorry to hear this and I know life happens so I’m not judging you.
My son has issue reading because he has an issue sitting still. I know it’s usually shunned but he has improved heaps, can actually read a whole book if he wanted, but I let him have longer on his Nintendo and games than I normally would because he has to read the missions and stuff and this seemed like something he’d actually sit and try. It’s worked for us, he actually enjoys showing off his reading skills now when we are out and about.
From nursery my girls have all used an app called Teach your monster to read. And they all have reading ages 2yrs above where they should be in school