learning to read

we are halfway through our reading book, teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons.  I think I mentioned it several weeks ago because my friend Jill recommended it and I excitedly ordered it online and got started with Brady right away.  I just wanted to write a little post about how we're liking the book, more for my own reference than anything, but if you have any questions for me about it... text me! I'm happy to answer whatever you've got!

first, these lessons truly are easy.  I know they're easier than usual for Brady because he's known all of his letters and sounds for a full year so that part wasn't new to him, but they are gentle and gradual still at forming words and oh so slyly making the words and stories longer and longer without being noticeable.  my favorite part is that the lessons are scripted.  I used this heavily in the beginning but once we learned the pattern and routine, it was easier for me to just be quick and tell Brady "ok, say these sounds" and "sound out the words and tell me the words" and "read this list of words the fast way."  but really, the script makes it so you don't need to know anything before you get started on each lesson.

probably my favorite part of the book is that it's consistent and straight forward.  there's no fluff.  there's no star charts or hands on lessons or extra work books or letter magnet boards or anything else required.  we don't do the writing part at the end of each lesson so I literally just need me and Brady and the book.  we have done this in my bed, his bed, the sofa, the gym, outside on our driveway, and really, anywhere that we find is convenient.  it's so portable and easy to do which makes it easy for me to acknowledge that I have no excuses not to get it done.  if I have 20 minutes and the book, that's all I need.  that's another thing that I love.  it's consistently 20 minutes or less.  it would be closer to 13-15 minutes except that Brady will frequently have moments of either whining or distraction and we have to work through those.  sometimes he just wants to hold up the book and see how much of it he's accomplished before or look to the end of the book to see how long the stories are that he'll be able to read when he's finished. also, if he's tired or in a bad mood, it just doesn't work as well.  those times, I try to convince him to take a break and finish later.  sometimes that works but a lot of times he just wants to finish (even though he's totally whining and complaining).  those are the times that we've had lessons take even 22-24 minutes because half of it is whining or complaining.  the lessons are totally doable, but I have to remind myself that it's still hard work and learning for him like if I was learning a second language.  totally doable, but still requiring mental effort.  but really, the actual lesson is always 20 minutes or less.

I also like that the lessons are numbered and follow a consistent pattern.  it gives routine to our lessons and lets Brady know what to expect.  it's also gratifying so work your way to 100 and I like that I don't have to determine the pacing.  most days we do at least one lesson.  we skipped several days when my parents were in town over Labor Day weekend, and there have been plenty of days when Brady has wanted to do 2 or even five or six lessons in a day (we pretty much work together through all the hours of quiet time together), so we're not super consistent, but I like just having that guideline.  going forward, I'm thinking that we may either do just half a lesson a day (the sounds and words are the first half, reading the story at the end is the second half) or do a full lesson one day and then free reading (bob books or partner reading) for 20 minutes the other day and just alternate like that.  we'll see.

we're still doing a piece of gum for each lesson although for just a couple harder lessons lately, I've let Brady get a treat halfway through the lesson and then again at the end.  like an otter pop or a starburst.  he still frequently chooses gum though.  for lesson 50, I let him get a blow pop and he loved that.  we went through a phase during the 40's where Brady was so whiny about doing lessons and I struggled knowing how or if I should continue.  it was hard because I felt like I was forcing it on him but I knew he could do it and liked having it done because he would pray at night about how thankful he was that he could read super long stories now.  but, the double treats pulled us through that rough patch and I'm going to try to be more cognizant of that going forward.  I've been trying to do a little better on scoping out the lessons before hand to see if there is a particularly long story or if there are any words that Brady hates (he used to hate anything with "th" but that's easy for him now and he hates the word "was."

so, I'm sure there's a ton more that I could write, but for right now, this captures my general thoughts. for $15, I highly recommend this method of teaching a kid to read.