Teaching Your Child to Read

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1. Jaime Treadwell says

   January 17, 2013 at 9:04 am

   We have used “The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading” written by Jessie Wise (Well-Trained Mind) and have LOVED it. It’s very step-by-step and pretty bare bones. You don’t need lots of extra supplies and can go back and review previous lessons easily. We began using it when our son was 5 1/2. He’s a young 7 now and we’re almost finished. And, he’s reading well. That’s the best review possible.
   Having said that, I’ve looked at All About Reading and think it looks like a great program for kids as well. The hands-one features look great for a kid who needs them. We used a few of the manipulatives, but for my son, they were a distraction. :) Ah well.

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   • Jolanthe says

     January 17, 2013 at 1:35 pm

     I haven’t used that one personally, but that is another great suggestion! Thanks, Jaime!
   • Mandy says

     January 23, 2013 at 10:15 am

     I have also used “The Ordinary Parents Guide” with my 2 girls. Both are now reading above grade level. We did supplement with Progressive Phonics (available free online) and BOB books to make it a little more fun and visually stimulating.
2. Kelly Busch says

   January 17, 2013 at 8:27 pm

   I started with 100 Easy Lessons…. but realized it wasn’t the best fit for us. We have used The Ordinary Parents Guide the most with the best results… 3 readers, so far:) It’s simple, but we add in extra hands-on games or review when we need to. There are simple activities included!

   That being said, I used Carissa’s You Can Read with my 4/5 yr old! I LOVED it and wished I would have had it for my son!! My daughter has caught onto reading a lot faster than my son… some of it is probably gender… but the other might also be her exposure and work with sight words using Carissa’s You Can Read!

   Another thing I have found helpful is finding non-fiction books about bugs, trucks, dinosaurs, etc that my rising boy reader can practice reading with me. He tends to favor non-fiction books or really great stories more than just the little commercial early readers! And when reading is fun for the kid… it’s fun for the Mom, too;)

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   • Jolanthe says

     January 17, 2013 at 8:29 pm

     Thanks for sharing, Kelly! :)
3. Alicia says

   January 17, 2013 at 10:11 pm

   We have used the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which is a phonics based program. I used it with my son starting when he was 3 1/2 and now he is six and reads at a third grade reading level. I felt like it was a great beginner program but it isn’t for every child. I am realizing that now as we have started teaching our daughter who is almost 4. She likes 100 Easy Lessons but is not as willing to sit down for 20 minutes and do something like her brother was at the same age. Maybe a hands on learner? The thing I try to remember is that one program won’t be perfect for every person or family and so it is really important to evaluate what your child needs, what you are looking for as the teacher and to go from there.

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   • Jolanthe says

     January 18, 2013 at 8:13 am

     I think recognizing the learning differences in children is so key!! Our kids are all such different learners. Overall, I usually prefer a phonics-based program so I tend to go that route, but we need to pay attention to how our children learn best. :)
4. Karen Bevitt says

   January 19, 2013 at 11:35 am

   We have used and loved Reading Eggs. It’s an online reading programme which you pay an annual subscription for. They have a few apps, but its not yet compatable for iPad. However, very worth it. My son never liked the standard early reading books much either, so I followed what he was learning from the Reading Eggs and made my own reading sheets for him. Short stories or non-fiction stuff. What he was interested in or things he had done. The Reading Eggs also covers spelling, comprehension, sight words and story writing using fun games and short tests. Then, when they’ve completed that(usually around age 7) they can move onto the next level with over 1000 ebooks, comprehension quizzes, spelling challenges and more.

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5. Amie says

   January 21, 2013 at 12:03 am

   Jolanthe, do you use all about spelling and all about reading together or would that be too much overlap? My son is ready for reading level 1, but wasn’t sure if we should be doing the spelling too.

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   • Jolanthe says

     January 21, 2013 at 9:40 am

     We haven’t started AAS level 1 yet with Kaleb, but will be soon. AAS and AAR both use the same sequence and the same phonograms. Both are complete phonics programs, so they are interrelated in that way. AAS teaches words from the spelling angle, and AAR teaches words from the reading angle.

     All About Reading includes decoding skills, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and lots and lots of reading practice. It will use letter tiles just like AAS does. AAS focuses instead on encoding skills, spelling rules and other strategies that help children become good spellers.
     Kids generally move ahead more quickly in reading, and we don’t want to hold them back with the spelling. Marie recommends completing All About Reading Level 1 first, and then adding in the Spelling program. This way students get a solid start in reading first, and have a strong basis for spelling as well.
6. Julia Saenz says

   October 21, 2013 at 3:53 pm

   here’s how I taught my 4yo to read http://juliaandzennan.blogspot.com/2013/10/teaching-your-child-to-read-early.html

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