Reading is one of my favorite parts of life. Obviously my beliefs and family come first before everything, then there are some other important priorities under that, but not far down the list is reading. Reading is my hobby, my “escape”, my entertainment, my passion and so much more. I am beyond thrilled that both of my children seem to have inherited my “book nerd” gene and both are head-over-heels in love with books. It has been so fun for me as a mother to experience this with them, however, we just entered an even more exciting stage.
*I received these reading programs free of cost and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
My oldest is learning how to read with me at home and it has brought even more joy to my “book nerd mom” heart. I am SO excited to see his enthusiasm for learning to read and it is extremely rewarding to watch the success that he is experiencing. He is just as thrilled as I am that soon in his future he will be able to read so many of the books in our home library all by himself and at his leisure. He seems to grasp the concept that a whole treasure trove of adventures is opening up to him and it is amazing to see.
Below are a few of the main tools that we are using right now to help him learn to read. I share basic highlights of the program as well as our personal experience with them thus far. Each one is fantastic and is one that we are in love with.
I See Sam: Reading for All Learners Starter Kit
When looking at reader programs my mind kept going back to the one that I had fond memories of with helping my little sister learn how to read. It is the “I See Sam”program from “Academic Success for all Learners”. I loved reading through these book with my sister and cheering her along with her success with each book she learned. I found the characters not only likable, but memorable and the program was so approachable that even , as an older sister, could assist my younger sister.
Because I loved this program so much and wanted to try it with my child I took the initiative to reach out to the company that prints the program. I was thrilled when they agreed to send me their “Reading for All Learners Starter Kit”and my little guy was so excited along with me when it arrived.
We dove-in right away and we started experiencing success immediately. One of my favorite things about this program is how it builds your child’s confidence right away by starting with a darling book that is super easy and then taking baby steps with each reader after that. Plus, the characters and illustrations are so fun and the tiny “stories” that they manage to create with just a few words are ingenious! My little boy loves the characters as much as I do and he often stops to chuckle at the scenes in the stories and it is pretty much the cutest.
This set includes 54 leveled readers (set 1 and 2), an instructor guide and a coloring book. I cannot recommend this program enough and my little guy is always excited when it is reading time and we get to work on them together.
Dash into Reading
This is probably the most adorable leveled reader set that I have ever seen! It is another leveled reader set that is absolutely wonderful and we are in love. Right before I started teaching my child to read “Dash into Reading” reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their leveled readers. I quickly agreed because they looked darling and it was such perfect timing for us.
When they arrived I was even more impressed with them in person and I am thrilled to have them as a tool for teaching my kids to read. This is a ten book set with a short-and-sweet parent guide and even a little horse “finger guide” that you can cut out and use with your child as they practice “finger tracking” words as they read. I especially love how it each reader includes a section at the front that outlines pertinent information such as what sounds and words will be practiced/introduced in the book.
After my son “passed off” the first several books from the “I See Sam” program we started using these as supplemental readers for him to practice with and enjoy alongside “I See Sam”. He was so excited about the cute characters and imaginative stories. On my end of things I was also smitten. This program really “packs a punch” by following a blending path for teaching your child to read. This means that each book introduces new blends for word building that help your child learn to read a bunch of new words all in one little book and in a way that is completely manageable and still approachable. Love!!!
They also have a second set that is due to release soon and hopefully more sets to come after that. With more books added to the series and with such a promising first set, I feel that this set would be an excellent “stand alone” program as well and another great option to look into for new readers. We love Dash into Reading and I am hoping that there are dozens released when we are ready to teach my daughter to read because I am just so in love.
Starfall.com
I went on a hunt looking for a great online program to use that teaches reading with my son because I really wanted to teach him some basic computer skills and hadn’t started with him yet. I figured that this was the perfect opportunity because it seems like a good age to start and finding a reading program online would do “double duty” for us by helping him learn these skills while finding a different way to practice his reading.
I tried a few online programs and, especially for reading, Starfall.com really impressed me. We signed-up for a free trial and we loved it enough to go from the free service to the extended service through a paid subscription. What I love about this website for teaching reading is the way the “learn to read” section is structured. It teaches basic sounds and word building through a couple games then lets your child practice them through a simple story. The story also allows your child to have whole sentences or individual words read to them to either help them read the word or help them self-check to see if they got it right.
We have mostly been focusing on this section because that learning to read is our main effort right now, but my son is also loving the kindergarten math games on the website and there are a lot of other educational games and features that we are excited to try out in the future. It’s also nice that you can try a lot of the program at no cost to see if it is a good fit for your child.
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