Are you looking into homeschooling your preschooler with all the uncertainty of the pandemic and the upcoming year in terms of childcare and public school?  Are you feeling totally overwhelmed? Do you feel over your head teaching the important skill of reading to your precious little one? Do you fear that your child might fall behind in learning academically while they’re at home in quarantine or if you take up the role as teacher and homeschool?

I’m here to reassure you, you’ve got this! You don’t have to worry! (Take it from a worrier, learning to read is not on the list of things to worry over) YOU CAN DO THIS! You can teach your child to read. I will show you simple tips for teaching reading, and incorporating learning into your everyday life so that you won’t even notice that your child is learning. I am willing to bet, you’ve already started to teach your child the basics of reading without even realizing it. With a little intention and some useful information from this series of posts, you’ll be on your way to becoming a much more confident teacher and you will teach your child to read.

I joke that I “accidentally” taught my daughter to read. She could read before she was 3 and is now 4 and can read chapter books independently. We were in awe when she first started really reading, not just reciting memorized text. Then I stopped to think about it and I realized just how much I really did to encourage reading in our home.  

I tell you this not to make you think that your child should be reading chapter books by the time they’re 4. Kids learn things at different times, and some children learn to read much later. I tell you about my daughter to let you know that I’ve been there, teaching a young child to read. I am very certain my son will not be reading on the same timeline of his sister and that is totally ok! He is 1 and is learning a handful of letters which is PERFECT! He’s learning early reading skills and starting on letters. As he shows an interests or masters skills, I will introduce more.

I followed my daughters lead as she was interested in books and playing with language. I taught her reading skills from a VERY young age and exposed her to books from the start. She learned to read as a result of what I did and my ability to know how to support her curiosity, as well as her temperament and personal path of development. Development doesn’t happen on a straight path. The path that each child takes is uniquely their own. My son is more social and learning about how his body can move, whereas my daughter is more introverted and likes to take everything in before she tries something new. Neither is wrong. Neither is better than the other. All this to say, it is a combination of factors that leads to WHEN your child will learn to read.

It is your job to simply share the love of reading and support them on their journey. You’ve got this!   

If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of teaching your child to read at home, I have the blog series for you! I want to boost your confidence and give you the tools to become the teacher to your child you can be. Below, I’ve linked the blog posts in this series to help you on your path of teaching. Each one details a different aspect of teaching your child to read. PIN THEM to save to reference later. Teaching reading may be achievable, but it certainly doesn’t happen overnight! You’ll want to reference back to these posts periodically to help remind you of the ways to incorporate reading skills into your everyday.

How to Teach Early Reading Skills: A Series on Homeschooling Reading

1. HOW TO BEGIN TEACHING EARLY READING SKILLS

2. HOW TO TEACH LETTER RECOGNITION

3. HOW TO BUILD SIGHT WORD RECOGNITION

4. HOW TO TEACH LETTER SOUNDS

Related Posts

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S LIBRARY TO ENCOURAGE READING

BOOKS TO ADD DIVERSITY TO YOUR CHILDREN’S LIBRARY

Look for more related posts to come throughout the year!

I know after reading through these posts you will feel much more confident in your role as teacher! I can’t wait to hear about your child and their successes as they learn to read!

SHARE SHARE SHARE! Reading is the foundation for all future learning. The more we can implement these strategies and spark a love for reading in our children, the better prepared they will be to succeed in life!

COMMENT with any questions you have or break throughs you make with your child. I would love to hear from you and help you find the answers you need!

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