Anonymous wrote:Op, this is a good question, I was the clueless mom that thought preschool and reading before bed would be enough and now have a 1st grader struggling to stay on grade reading. I don't plan to make the same mistake with my younger kids. Some things we are using:
Learn to read in 100 easy lessons
Bob books
Lakeshore sight readers
Alphabet magnets
Pointing out reading in everyday life
Library, get a ton of books, bring home, spread out in playroom
Reading a book during meals and more times throughout the day than bedtime.
This is good advice!
Maybe some kids are just natural readers (or geniuses) but my kids both took some extra effort to get into reading. It's easier to get them started before it gets to the point where they are stressed out in school or feel like they are 'not good' readers because the other kids are reading 'better' than them.
We also did a lot of 'letter sounds' in the car. Once they know letters and sounds, ask them what sound Cat starts with or what sound Tree starts with, etc.