I have a child who is now 4 yrs old. I am also a single parent. My child is very bright, but I would very much like to teach her more than what she already knows. I always read her a bedtime story before she goes off to dreamland. I would very much like to get a program, but frankly I don’t have the money so I always ask advice from schoolteachers. I want to give her the kind of knowledge I never got as a child. Well, my question is how do I teach my child to learn how to read? I do read to her but she still doesn’t know. I hope your reply will help me out. I would greatly appreciate your help and advice.

I recently answered a family in Canada with the same problem—they wanted to know what they could do on their own without the aid of a set program. I’m going to cut and paste that answer into this email, it might give you a few ideas that you could work with at home. I love to hear that you’re reading to your daughter. One of the very best things you can do is read to her. Let her hear how language is used, let her see you read, and let her know that it’s so important in your family value system. The local library will be a great resource here. Discuss the books that you read together. Why did the characters do what they did? Did you like this book? Why or why not? Did you like the pictures? These sorts of questions will also help with reading comprehension and retention. Exposure to reading is the key here, on all levels. Good luck to you and it sounds like you’re doing a wonderful job with your child.

“…Phonics is the way to go for a solid language foundation and understanding that leads to reading success.

Start with simple flashcards—homemade ones work just as well as purchased ones. Print some from your computer. Teach that each letter not only has a name, but a sound. Music is a great help here. Identify the letters in his name, in your name, in the billboard as you drive by. Example: “Hey Johnny, there’s a big J in that sign. J is in your name. What does J say?” Identify different letters around the house. “Hey Johnny the cereal box has a big O on it. What does O say?” Once knowing the letters and sounds is second nature to your child, then you need to start blending those letters and sounds into words. Your child doesn’t need to know the entire alphabet before he starts blending the letters that he knows into words. A good set of letters to learn first is m, a, p, s, t, b, h, n. You can form many words with these letters. Let him apply what he learns right away. “We’re learning the letter m today and you can use it in these many words.”

Blending is a big key to reading success, and many phonics programs leave out this step, but it’s very important. Blend the letters together (flashcards help here again (ones without pictures)). Place a letter down in front of your child, m. Then a vowel, a. Then a closing consonant, t. m-a-t. Have him sound out these letters based upon what he knows each letter says. Then push the letters closer together as you sound out each letter, faster and faster. Pretty soon you’ll be reading mat. “Did you hear the word I just read?” “Mat.” Have him do the same exercise. Replace the beginning and ending consonants to form different words. Before long, he’s reading the words you place in front of him. Caution here—keep it short and sweet. Just a few minutes every day. If he doesn’t get blending right away, that’s OK, back up and reaffirm that he truly does know what these letters say. Invent all kinds of blending games with these flashcards. You lay down a word and have him sound it out, then he lays down a word and you sound it out. Back and forth, game after game. He thinks he’s playing with mom, which he is, but also learning valuable reading skills.

Once blending is mastered, introduce simple phonetic books. There are many companies that have these available. A good local bookstore should be able to introduce you to phonetic readers. Look for grade markings K-1. Make sure the words and story plots are simple and that they are phonetic based.”