Happy summer, folks!  I am so excited about warmer days, outside playing, and late night s’mores with the kiddos.  Summer is also a time for later bedtimes, letting the rules get a little slack, and focusing more on having fun than what needs to be accomplished in a day.  However, summertime is also a time to help better prepare kids for the upcoming school year (whatever that may look like).  So, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce my fun & FREE reading series… Teach Your Child to Read.

Teach Your Child to Read Series

How do I teach my child to read?  This is a start-to-finish guide to teach your child to read.  It will include concepts to teach your child prior to learning to read, and how to teach those concepts.  Links will be provided to activities for your child to do to help strengthen what they are learning.  I will share a reading program that I love, reading lists for your child to encourage reading practice, and tips & tricks to get your kiddo excited about reading.

This series is perfect for the child that does not know how to read, to the child that is struggling to read, to the child that reads fluently, but would like continued practice. It is also perfect for every type of parent that is out there.  I will provide easy to follow instructions, provide tips & tricks to being successful, all while being simple and fun!  I truly feel the majority of children at all different ages and levels can benefit from this series.

We will kick off this reading series by first focusing on what a child should know prior to learning to read.

5 Concepts to Master before Learning to Read

1. Know the Alphabet… it’s a must!

It is vital for your child to know the alphabet in order to learn to read.  A great tool to use to start the learning of the alphabet is the ABC’s song.  Even if they miss a letter here or there or mix up some of the letters, this is a start to a great foundation for learning to read.

Here is a link to a YouTube video with the ABC song to get you started!

ABC Song

If your child does not know their ABC’s and you are not quite sure how to teach them, please look for the next article in this series where I explain with examples and provide activities to do to help you teach your child their ABC’s.

2. Letter Recognition

Letter recognition is the ability to hear a letter and identify what that letter looks like without assistance.  You should be able to show a letter to your child and they should be able to identify it. Make sure you are not asking the child to identify letters of the alphabet in order of the ABC’s, because they might answer out of memorization rather than actually recognizing the letter.

3. Upper Case vs. Lower Case Letters

Just like it is important for your child to know their ABC’s prior to learning to read, it is just as important for them to know what lower case letters look like and how they are the same as their upper case letter.  This also creates the foundation for writing sentences later.

4. Be able to Write the Alphabet

It is important for your child to have exposure to how to write, as well as learning how to properly write each letter of the alphabet.

5. Understand the Concept of Reading

This is a big one guys!  The foundation of reading is based on seeing a letter and understanding that letter makes a sound.  When you combine letters to make a word, you can then learn how to sound out that word… thus allowing you to read.

Whew…  Let’s just say I am incredibly excited to be able to share some pointers to help your kids learn to read!  I love reading and being able to pass these skills on to children is so important to me.  I don’t want to see any child struggle, especially if there are ways to make it easier for them.  I also love helping you learn how to teach your child.

Cheers to Summer Reading,
Lisa