Use This Cheap Method to Teach Kids How to Read Easily

Do you want to teach kids how to read easily?

Giving the gift of reading to your child might be one of the most rewarding experiences in your homeschooling journey.

Because it’s hard to overstate the importance of reading for your child, it’s worth spending the time and money to get it right.

But, do you have to spend a lot of money if you want to do it right?

Read on to find out what I used to teach my kids to read at the ages of 4 and 5, for less than £7 each.

Reading is the Foundation of Learning

Reading is the great springboard of learning. A skill so fundamental and essential, that we can’t comprehend living without.

Just imagine all the rewards on your scale of good deeds every time your child reads an English translation of the Qur’an or an Islamic book because YOU taught him how to read in the first place.

I think this is well worth teaching your child – whether you homeschool or not.

Teaching your child how to read involves a step by step approach. Each new step builds on previous steps. So, it’s important to use a reading system that builds and reinforces these steps pretty thoroughly, as your child goes along.

Other than patience, you will need a great resource that keeps learning focused, simple and clear whilst your child goes through the step building process. This is an absolute must.

So, should you set aside hundreds of pounds for the latest reading program with all the bells and whistles?

Well….you could if you wanted to; but sometimes expensive approaches to teaching how to read can overcomplicate the process. What you and your child need is a way that simplifies it.

An Affordable Way to Teach It

‘Why Johnny Can’t Read and What You Can Do About It’ by Rupert Flesch is an example of such a simple yet effective approach to learning how to read.

You will find the reading lesson exercises at the very back of the book. The rest of the book is an informative and valuable contribution to the ongoing debate surrounding phonics instruction, but is not essential to read.

The step by step approach served both my children well and was all we needed for teaching and learning to read. Once your child has mastered the lessons all they need to do is keep reading books regularly.

Do be aware that it was first published in 1955, so a few words are a little dated. You can remedy this by crossing them out beforehand or just skipping over them as you go through if they aren’t to your liking.

It’s an affordable and straight-to-the-point phonics-based approach to learning reading.  The book cost us around £13 for the paperback version and my two kids were taught from it making that less than £7 for each child to learn how to read. Not bad at all.

Every Child Has Their Timing

Not all children are ready to learn reading at the same age. Whatever age your child is when he’s ready to learn, having a great resource up your sleeve can make all the difference when it’s time to start.

The debate still rages on in educational circles about phonics based instruction vs other methods and you could look more into this if you feel like exploring that rabbit hole.

But if you’re after a phonics based approach, the book above is a great resource.

p.s. I don’t receive any money for recommending the book, this is just my honest opinion based on my experience as a teacher and homeschooler.

What reading resources worked for you and your children? Please let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts.