A few months ago Amy at Permission to Peruse recommended a book to teach my kids to read. She had used it to teach her oldest daughter to read just as she headed into kindergarten, and I thought I’d try it. Alas, CootieGirl had no interest and it wasn’t exciting for her (as Denis observed tonight – she’s much more into math than learning to read). I let the book languish on my nightstand for a few months and the other day the kids discovered it. CootieBoy took great interest in the book, and tonight he asked me to do some of the exercises with him. I figured why not – especially since HE express a desire to do it.
After just over an hour, CootieBoy could read. Tonight he read the following sentences almost perfectly:
1) A rat is in a sack. That rat is not sad.
2) The sock is near a man. A cat is in that sock.
3) A man sat on a ram. That ram can not see.
4) An ant is fat. It can sit and eat.
5) A sock is in the sun. The sock is on me.
Weird sentences, I know. But perfect for a four year old. He was so proud of himself that he could read the words without any assistance. He did have some issues with the “th” sound, but other than that he was spot on. He wanted to keep going, but I thought five lessons was enough for one night.
Come bedtime he was anxious to pick out a book to read. There were some flashcards in his room, so I sorted out the easier words (cup, bus, red, etc.) and let him read those before reading a Dr. Seuss book. He’s in love with reading, which makes me very happy since I LOVE reading.
So if you want to give the book a shot – I heartily recommend it. It’s called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and it’s worth every penny. If CootieBoy keeps this up, he’ll be reading long before he enters kindergarten.
You’re homeschooling 🙂
That’s not my favorite of the teach-your-child-to-read books, but a lot of people have great success with it and you’re obviously one of them! Now all you need to do is buy a couple of math books and dive in….
Remember, you were reading at 4. We were in England and you could read before you started school at 4 1/2 in the village school. Like mother, like son.
I think my brother could read when he was two or three. Like brother-in-law, like son. Or something like that.
Yay! Glad you could use that book! We are just about done reading everything in there finally. I have to say, it really worked for Emma and that is 100% how I taught her to read (well except her learning sounds in school and in that LeapFrog movie). I plan to at least try it with Lexi very soon although I expect if Emma did well with it, Lexi won’t so much. Funny how siblings are almost always learn so differently.