It all goes back to Glenn Doman, and my discovery of his book, "How to teach your baby to read". It changed my life! I read it when my oldest was less than a year old, and I became very enthusiastic about the whole process. I made lots of flash cards and got started. But then a few discussions with others as I discussed the whole-word method, and with my own prejudices against it, I decided to try a phonetic method instead.
I maintain that you don't have to have a fancy program to teach your baby, toddler, or preschooler to read. Doman's method has worked for thousands of parents. Companies like YBCR, BrillKids, and MonkiSee were designed to help parents with his method, but you don't need their products to be successful. You can buy index cards and write a bunch of words on the blank side, and show them to your child and joyfully tell them what the word says. Start with words that have special meaning to your child, like the names of family members, or parts of the body. Make labels and tape them around your house, so that the computer is labeled "computer", the couch is labeled "couch", and so on. Read lots of books to your child and make a habit of running your finger under the words as you read. Play games where you make labels for a group of toys and show your child the word. Ask them to get the toy that goes with the card. There are a myriad of games and activities like that that will make learning to read fun for you and your child.
Recently my husband asked me "So what's next for Peter?" What a profound question! He still needs to learn some basic skills like how to write, but he is on a fourth-grade reading level, and is accomplished academically in many other areas. Now, at age five, he is ready for desk work, and he is the trailblazer in our homeschooling journey. I know that I need to spend a lot of time and effort to help him excel, and that's where I want to put my efforts this fall. What an exciting time this is for our family! Peter is not gifted, he has just had access to an early learning education. It has been a joyful experience for our family. His three-year-old sister wants to read books like him, and she is progressing rapidly. Even our 23-month-old is well on his way to learning how to read.
All of this without Little Reader.
So why do I come to it now? Well, I watched their recent promotional video and saw a few things about it that I really liked.
Why Little Reader is a good fit for our family:
Mia and Greg
former and current 6th Grade English Teachers
"Little Reader should be in everybody's home."
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