One of the most important foundations for all learning is the ability to read. But, how do you teach your child to read? Many of us turn this task over to the professionals, and expect our children to learn at school. But, there are others of us who homeschool or who want to give our children an early advantage. Or, perhaps we just want to enhance and supplement the learning they are receiving at school.
Some children learn this skill very easily and it’s almost as if they teach themselves, usually at young ages as early as 3 or 4 years of age, sometimes even sooner. In our household, my son began reading words at the age of 2. He was reading books with short words by age 3 and was reading fluently at approximately the age of 4 using some of the tips I will present later in the article. Others struggle slightly and pick up on it at a more expected age of between 5-7 years of age. Still others seem as if they will never learn to read and may not fully comprehend what their eyes peruse until closer to 9 years of age, sometimes even later.
So, as a homeschooling parent how do you teach your child to read?
So many choices - which one is right?
There are myriads of books, DVDs and other resources out there that offer help. Some say that it is best to start as soon as possible. Others say it is better late than early and believe that when a child is ready to embrace a new skill, that is when they will do it. Those who take on this belief think it best not to push the child. Just like any other learned skill, such as walking, feeding, potty training, etc., the child will learn best during the learning window intended for that child.
Another argument comes into play with whether to use phonics or not. Some believe in teaching sight or whole word style learning. Others believe solely in a good solid phonics program. The reality is that probably both are good to introduce. It’s great to have the secret keys to unlock a word the child has never seen before by knowing the letter sounds and rules that a good phonics program offers. On the other hand, many words in the English language do not comply with the rules of grammar, and these words need to simply be memorized as sight words. These words are known as Dolch words.
Curriculums and book to teach reading:
If you’re looking for a good curriculum that teaches reading to your children, there are several out there. Since each child is different, one curriculum may work for one child and not another. This doesn’t mean the curriculum is flawed. It simply means each child is different in the way they learn. One place to start is a book by Siegfried Engelmann called Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. This book is especially helpful for parents who want to follow a step-by-step method in instructing their children to read. It lays out 100 lessons that take approximately 20 minutes a day. Each lesson has words in red that the parent simply reads to the child. It’s presented word-for-word and takes away any difficulty in the form of preparation from the parent while instilling confidence to both the parent and the child.
Another curriculum that offers a solid phonics program is A Beka. A child who reads with A Beka will receive an excellent foundation for future reading and typically is reading at least one grade level (quite often even more) higher by the end of the first year of learning to read.
Another name well-known in the homeschooling community is Joyce Herzog, who developed a program called The Scaredy Cat Reading Program. She refers to it as "phonics that makes sense". This is a fun program for learning.
Other programs that might be helpful are:
Your Baby Can Read. Some may scoff and say this is silly or too soon to teach. Others have experienced the joy of watching their children read without struggling because of the foundational reading teaching this program offers. If you still have a baby in your household or are expecting one, this is an excellent reading program. This program is costly, but the benefits will last a lifetime.
Bob Book Series are available at your library or online. This series teaches the most common C-V-C (short consonant-vowel-consonant) word combinations in a cute, fun series of books.
Hooked On Phonics offers solid phonics lessons in a game-like manner making it fun for the child. The initial cost of the program may seem expensive, but if the program teaches your child to read and reinforces reading skills, the cost will seem priceless to you as you watch your children reading and learning the rest of their life.
You don’t have to spend a fortune:
While a solid curriculum program can be beneficial, expensive systems are not necessary in teaching your child to read. However, they do offer confidence to the parent who may worry that they might overlook an important step. If you don’t want to purchase an expensive reading system, there are fun activities you can do with your child to teach these reading skills.
The method of learning that seems to be overall most effective, follows three basic beginning steps. It begins with introducing phonemes or letter sounds. This introduces the child to the letter’s shape & what sound they make. Once they are familiar with phonemes, they move on to graphemes, otherwise known as letter combinations. A Beka curriculum does this quite well in presenting the letter sounds of both the consonants and the vowels and then adding consonants individually to each vowel in the use of word ladders. Once the child can combine all of the consonants with all of the vowels, they are ready for consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) reading. This is simply introducing short words to them such as C-A-T or M-A-T or M-A-N, etc. When these three steps have been mastered, the child is ready to tackle larger words and sentences but now has learned the secret keys to deciphering words. Other needed skills are learned by playing matching, memory or sequencing (putting things in the proper order) games.
Make books fun and accessible:
Children learn from imitation. So, make sure your children see you reading for enjoyment often. Also, make sure you have plenty of colorful books in places where your child can grab them and enjoy looking at them even before they have the skills necessary to actually read the words.
Foam bath letters activity:
One activity is simply purchasing a tub of bathtub foam alphabet letters. Pull them out throughout the day at fun, relaxed times. Simply pick up each letter and say the name of the letter and then say, this letter says, “…” whatever the sound is, in the same manner you would pick up a toy farm animal duck and say, “This is a duck. The duck says, quack, quack.” Or, “This is a pig. The pig says, oink, oink.” The same is true with letters. The child already grasps the concept that it is an item with a name, and that item says something. So, go ahead and pick up the letter B and say, “This is a B. The B says b b b.” Or, pick up a Z and say, “This is a Z. The Z says z z z z.” The vowels have two sounds. Simply pick up a vowel, such as the letter U and say, “This is a U. The U says uh, and the U says “you.” Eventually, the child will begin to recognize the letters by themselves. In this game, the child sees the letter, feels the letter & hears the letter sounds.
Use your sense of touch:
Using all of your child’s senses is a great idea too. Cutting out letter shapes from textures such as sandpaper or different textured material is great for your child to run their fingers over the shape of the letter and get to know the letter shapes with their sense of touch. Or, putting lotion or shaving cream, etc. inside a ziplock back and allowing the child to trace letters, then rub (erase) clean & start again.
Sense of taste:
The sense of taste can be used in teaching reading as well. You can bake letter-shaped cookies or make dough pretzel letters and bake them to eat. Alphabet Cereal has been reintroduced to the market recently & is a great, fun way to learn letter shapes. Or make letters out of Cheerios, or M&Ms by placing them on top of a paper with the letter written or printed on it.
Get moving:
Get active by tracing out each letter one at a time with masking tape on the floor, or poster board. Make it large enough for the child to walk around as they say the letter sound, or hop, or jump or all. As they make the letter shape while walking, hopping or jumping, the child relates the letter shape with fun and gets exercise too.
Hear those letter sounds:
Leapfrog toys are wonderful for the use of the sense of hearing & sight in connection with each other. These are especially helpful for a busy parent as the toy says the letter sound for you, and it makes it an independent learning tool. They have a host of learning-to-read toys along with fun DVDs as well.
It’s Free - It’s Free - Really, no strings attached:
A wonderful free online resource is Starfall.com. This website offers all you need in teaching reading with fun interactive songs & projects. It even offers free printable worksheets for recognizing the written word & practicing handwriting and a series of sign language letters too.
Don’t forget to read to your kids:
Even after your children learn to read on their own, never stop reading to them. Reading books out loud to our children is a fun family time that provides further learning as they hear words pronounced that they may otherwise struggle with reading.
