Parent Guide to Helping With Reading at Home

Are you a parent of a struggling reader? Are you trying to get a head start on Kindergarten with your child? Whether you are a working or a stay-at-home parent, it is important that you are involved in your child's education. This is probably something that you are well aware of since you are on this site at all.

The #1 question I am asked as a teacher is, "What can I do at home to help my child?" or "Where do I start?" The best way I can answer this is to say that if you are working with your child at all, then it can't be wrong.

An important thing to remember is that you are your child's example. Allowing your children to see you reading on a regular basis is an excellent way of motivating children and teaching them the importance of the art.

Motivational ideas for parents to encourage their child at home.

I am here to help guide you in choosing activities that are most beneficial for your child.

The first thing you need to do is determine what your child already knows. One way you can do this is by simply observing how your child is doing while you are doing activities with him. You can also ask your child's teacher what your he knows and what you need to work on at home. Most teachers are more than willing to take the time to work with you and give you ideas.

The activities in this site are designed to be sequential in learning to read. Phonemic awareness is the foundation. These skills are typically mastered by the end of first grade. But even if your child is in 2nd or 3rd grade, and they are struggling, they may still need help with these concepts. Don't be afraid of working on these activities with them.

After you have worked on phonemic awareness activities, you want to begin working on some phonics skills. Remember to take things slow with your child. You don't ever want to overwhelm a child with too much information at once. Make sure your child is proficient with one skill before continuing on with the next.

By clicking on the phonics 1 button, you will see the progression of phonics skills. I have tried to explain these rules in a quick and simple way to follow at home. The skills listed on this first phonics page will be the most important for your child to learn, so don't rush through these.

I have tried to explain each of the major components of reading on this site, as well as give you ideas of how to work on each of these. There are many more materials out there if you need them, so don't give up. Remember, every little thing you do with your child will help them tremendously, even if things seem to be slow moving.