Help Your Child Become A Phonics Reading Pro

Step by Step

At Phonics Reading Pro we’re all about helping you be the best teacher you can be for your child. As you start your quest into teaching initial sounds of letters to your child remember to have a pattern to follow. What I mean by that is, don’t just teach reading lessons indiscriminately. If you taught your child the short vowel sound of “a” one day, you shouldn’t follow it up with teaching “ch” the next day. Kids need to build from more simple lessons to more complex lessons.

With this in mind, lessons should follow a path similar to this: Short vowels first (a,e,i,o,u), followed by long vowels, blends, the ‘er’ family (er, ir, or ur, ear), diphthongs, etc. Confused? Don’t worry! This site will teach you step by step what you need to know to give your child the best phonics reading foundation. You can also purchase the premiere complete phonics reading program called " How to Teach Reading: A Golden Age Success model" by A. Victoria Pugh. This phonics reading program will give you instructions and materials to teach your child how to read step by step with a proven method developed by a Montessori master teacher. Please check out the link on this site and let us know what you think!

March is National Reading Month!

March is the month to celebrate reading with your little Phonics Reading Pro! It is National Reading month and now is the time to commemorate with your child! No matter where your child is in their reading development, find a way to have fun and cultivate a love for reading—this month especially.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

-- Go to your local library and get a list of activities they will be hosting for the month

--Aside from planned library activities, take the time to go explore books with your child to take home and enjoy!

--Read a new bedtime story to them every night

-- Or have your child read you a new bedtime story every night

--Discuss your favorite books growing up

--have your child write their own storybooks

So get out there and have a great time reading with phonics with your child!

 

“The more that you read, the more that you’ll know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Talk it Out!

The more ways you introduce your little Phonics Reading Pro to language, the better they will be able to grasp an understanding of the spoken and written word and how language works as a whole. This is why from birth it is so important to talk to your child, ask them questions, answer their questions and really develop their speaking skills in the process. I know it’s easy to get roped into day to day responsibilities, but remember that your child is a sponge wanting to soak up all the information around them. Don’t let the TV become a replacement for real interaction.

 

Here are some things all parents should do with their kids to immerse them in language early on and subsequently help them academically before they even make it to preschool:

 

--Read books and encourage your child ask questions and predict the course of the story

-- Sing songs and recite poems together

-- Teach them rhymes

-- Play interactive games like “I spy” and “Memory”

-- Start to teach your child the letters of the alphabet and their sounds

-- Point out signs when you’re out driving to introduce word association

 

…you get the idea! There’s a whole exciting and new world out there for your child to explore, so engage them in it and the possibilities will be endless!

Workbooks are Where it’s At!

A tip Phonics reading Pro would like to share with you is to spend some time researching companies that sell phonics workbooks. Workbooks are very important because they solidify the reading skills your child learns and helps them learn critical writing skills. Workbooks can also give you ideas for activities you can branch off of and teach to your child when you’re done with the workbook or for extra lessons in the meantime. There are many companies that make phonics workbooks, yet the books don’t follow any one order.

 

 Because of that it’s very important to be sure the workbooks present the lessons in the same order that your child is learning them in school or at home. It’s okay to skip around in the book if you have to! It’s more important that you not confuse your child with lessons that they haven’t learned yet, right? Something you can try is to find workbooks that come from the same company that you buy your child’s phonics reading books through. Helping your child become a Phonics Reading Pro can take some research and work sometimes, but it is definitely worth it!

Role Reversal

Here at Phonics Reading Pro we’ve discussed many ways you can reinforce your child’s reading skills, but one technique I want to highlight is role-reversal. The way to really tell that your child has a mastery of whatever reading lesson you happen to be working on is to have them give the lesson back to you. Tell them that you want them to be the teacher and show you the lesson you were working on just like you had shown them.

 

The easiest lessons to do that with include working with the movable alphabet (which we’ve recently taught you how to make), hands on games like the ‘mystery box’, and lessons like ‘The Ladder” which we’ve discussed in the past. Make sure when they are teaching you that they are able to explain the phonics rule(s) and show you examples of how the rule(s) works. When they can demonstrate this, you know they’ve got it down and can move on to the lesson!

 

Another way to explore your child’s absorption of lessons is to have them read to you! Tell them you want to hear a bedtime story tonight and have them read either a book that you’ve read together before or a book that you know is at their reading level so they can build confidence. There’s another easy way to help build your  child’s phonics reading skills!

Q+U= a perfect reading couple

Every Phonics Reading Pro knows there are certain go to reading rules that you can teach your children to build confidence. For example, here’s a rule to share with your children early on in their reading lessons that’s easy to remember:  "Whenever you see a word with ‘Q’, a ‘U’ is sure to follow". Words with ‘QU’ are reasonably plentiful so it’s worth it to point out the rule and even do a word building exercise with a movable alphabet to give your child a visual. Read back a few posts to learn how to make a movable alphabet of your own!

 

This is a more advanced reading rule and I’d suggest introducing it sometime when they’re in the long vowel sequence of lessons. Make sure you use words that start with ‘QU’ and words that have “QU’ within the word. Some words you can use include:

-queen

-sequin

-quest

-request

-quake

-quilt

 

Introducing simple reading rules is another way to help your child become a Phonics Reading Pro!

 

Hot topic: Homeschooling

A hot topic Phonics Reading Pro is no stranger to is homeschooling. We’ve discussed the pros and cons of homeschooling in the past and we feel that homeschooling is something all families should consider. To an extent all parents home-school, right? Even if your child goes to school every day, it’s our responsibility as parents to make sure they understand their homework, complete it, and bring it to school the next day. We act as tutors on a daily basis and help them practice skills to make sure they are assimilating all of their lessons. I think some parents enjoy it so much, they make the decision to do it full time. Depending on what state you live in, most parents who choose to home-school must have a teaching certification in the state.

 

Despite what some may see as obstacles to homeschooling their children, the U.S. Dept of Education has actually seen an increase in the number of children being homeschooled in our nation: http://news10now.com/content/all_news/473821/homeschooling-on-the-rise/ .  That’s definitely food for thought isn’t it? With all the phonics lessons you give at home, do you think you could ever home-school full time? Do you think being homeschooled would be a disadvantage or advantage for your child? Please give us some feedback on this exciting subject!

 

How to Make a Movable Alphabet

The editors at Phonics Reading Pro have been drilling our readers about how important it is to build words with your child. Look back at our posts about creating word lists, “The Ladder”, name writing, etc. on how important it is to build skills through tactile learning and not just visual or auditory learning. Watch your child build dendrites while they build words with a movable alphabet.  You may find it hard to buy inexpensive movable alphabets, or even find them in stores for that matter. For this reason, Phonics Reading Pro has decided to teach you how to make your own set of movable alphabet letter for your child!

 

Here’s how:

1)   Buy a sturdy paper cutter  and thick white index paper (plain with no lines) from any local office supply store

2)   You will also need to buy red and blue permanent markers

3)   The vowel cards are to be cut 1 ½ inches by 1 ½ inches or 1 inch by 1 inch

4)   The consonant cards are to be cut 1 ½ inches wide by 2 ½  inches tall

5)   The vowels are to be written in red and the consonants in blue

6)   The last supply you’ll need is a small no-heat laminator in order to laminate all the letter cards you’ve worked so hard to make! This way the letters will last a long time and you will be able to periodically disinfect them. The laminator can be used for your own personal office use as well, so think of it as an investment.

 

Have fun using these letters to build word lists with your child and increase their phonics reading skills in the process!

Cooking Up Knowledge

Who would think there was a practical way to teach phonics reading through cooking? Phonics Reading Pro does! Here’s how:

1)   Recite grocery lists to your child and make sure they spell everything correctly

2)   Have your child spot the listed items at the grocery store and help them read the brand names and ingredients

3)   Once you get home, have them help you read the recipe(s) you’re using to cook the meal as they help you cook everything.

It’s crazy how many reading and writing opportunities there are just by cooking a meal! Do you see how easy it is to be creative in engaging your child’s phonics reading skills? Think of other simple household chores that can become reading opportunities. It’s easier than you think… just look at the world through your child’s eyes. Even the most ordinary tasks can be interesting for them.

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how simple household chores can become phonics reading opportunities for your child? Please let us know in the comments!

The Family Tree

A simple and fun idea to do with your child is to talk about your family tree.  All you have to do is set aside the time to reminisce with your child. A part of learning to be a Phonics Reading Pro is learning the how to tell a story: the sequence, the imagery, the conclusion. You can start by telling some of your favorite stories about your childhood. Talk about school and your teachers and what some of your favorite lessons were. Hopefully some of them will involve learning about phonicsJ

You can tell them stories about what your parents and grandparents were like and the things you did with them. Can you remember stories they told about their childhood? Explaining history through your parents and grandparents lives can be a great way to explain historical events to your child because it makes them personal and not just something read in a text book.  Don’t forget to whip out the family photos to make the stories that much richer!

As a final exercise you can help your child make new memories with your family by keeping journals on family vacations or other big events. They will build their phonics reading skills, writing skills, and storytelling skills all at once! How’s that for a great way to help your child become a Phonics Reading Pro?