Yes, You Can Teach Your Child To Read

With school starting, many mothers are thinking about how to start getting their very little ones on the right path of learning. One book that was instrumental in my daughter’s early learning was “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” by Siegfried Engelmann.

This book looks very old-fashioned (though it looks like the cover recently got a facelift) but does the job. Not only can you teach your child how to read well but also how to write with neat penmanship.  It is important for you to read the introduction as it explains the phonetic marks, etc. You are provided with dialogue and how to encourage proper learning. The lessons start off very easy. Gradually the words will increase in number and the font will get smaller.

After each lesson, the child must practice writing a few letters. If my daughter actually put effort in and tried, I gave her a small star sticker. The simple illustrations are humorous and really engages your child. I had to make sure the didn’t ‘cheat’ and look at all the pictures ahead of time. That way it gave her something to look forward to each day.

When we were about two-thirds through, we had a rough spot and my daughter was getting bored with the lessons. We continued on and then her attitude improved. We successfully finished the book. Three years later she was testing at 6th grade reading level though she was only in 3rd grade.

I grew up watching a lot of television and still dread having to sit and read, but my daughter loves reading. She reads 200-page books within a day or two and has excellent comprehension. In addition to that, she reads aloud very fluently with correct pronunciation and tone inflection. What a privilege to have contributed to her love of reading!