Teach your child to read

Have you ever taught a child to read?  THere are lots of different programs and books that tell you they will help you do it.  Then there are some parents who tell you that they can do it all by themselves without any help at all from outside sources apart from a stack of books.  I am not one of those parents.  I have to put on my womens flip flops and go down to the local book store and buy a reading program.  Or I have to keep my Oka b. flip flops by the door and order  the books online.  Either way works just fine.  So, once I have a reading program in hand, I am ready to begin.  My preferred method of late is a fusion of ‘Teach your child to read in one hundred easy lessons’ and ‘Explode the Code.’  Teach your child to read in one hundred easy lessons is a phonics based program that is mostly reading and only a little bit of writing.  ‘Explode the Code’ is a writing based program that teaches a child to read through writing.

So, now I have the supplies, it’s time to dig my heels into my wedge flip flops and start out.  I usually wait until my child is four years old, but with my son, I started at three and he did just fine.  It all depends on when the child is ready and interested.  My son is our third child so after watching his older sister read, he may have just wanted to catch up and be like them.  However, when you start younger, I have had to review material more often than I did with the girls who were older.

To really keep a child’s interest, especially that young, you have to be creative at times.  I have tried lots of different things.  With some kids I had them do a reading lesson with their brazilian flip flops on so that they could run a lap around the main floor after every page or, in some cases, every couple of words.   Other times I have promised them prizes for completing a set number of lessons.  A prize like going out for ice cream cones in their white flip flops with mom or seeing a movie with their dad in his mens flip flops.  Whatever the road you have to take, it is all worth it once you hear your child read a book all by themselves.  Just knowing that you taught them such an important part of their educational development gives you a great joy.