| For parents, teaching your child to read is of | | | | to reason, therefore, that programs that require |
| paramount importance. The moment we teach our | | | | weeks or even months of preparation before the |
| children to read this reveals a whole new world for | | | | business of working with the child begins, would not |
| to them. All of a sudden the child's environment | | | | be meeting the parents needs or expectations. |
| begins to make sense to them. It is such a rewarding | | | | Children are motivated and excited by doing well in |
| and beautiful gift to endow a child the gift of literacy, | | | | their studies, but it is well documented that children |
| however the question on many parent lips is "where | | | | learn best through play, so parents need to make |
| do I go to find reading help for kids?" | | | | sure the phonics program that they choose involves |
| In today's ultra-competitive world parents | | | | pictures, games and music. |
| everywhere want to give their child a helping hand in | | | | Perhaps the most effective system for teaching |
| learning to read. Often they find that the school is | | | | children to read is through the use of pictures. |
| not giving the child quite enough help with reading. | | | | Whenever a new sound is introduced it is |
| What we often seem to hear for parents is "I may | | | | accompanied by a picture. This in turn allows the child |
| not be a teacher but I still want to help my son or | | | | to easily recall the sound that they are learning, by |
| daughter to read" Increasingly research shows that | | | | associating the picture that goes with it to that |
| the best answer is for children to learn to read with | | | | sound. |
| phonics. Any good quality phonics program will not | | | | For example, one of the sounds that can be made |
| require any specialist teaching skills for the parent, | | | | by the letter 'e' is the beginning sound of the word |
| but rather allow them to show the way for the child | | | | 'elephant'. In this case the child learns to say the |
| using a quality phonics system. The parent who | | | | short 'e' sound whenever they see the elephant |
| wants to provide reading help for kids just needs | | | | picture. The 'e' is then shown on the back of a card |
| follow the phonics program which can be relatively | | | | with the elephant picture and consequently the child |
| straightforward and would not require any training. | | | | moves from being prompted to make the short 'e' |
| Any parent who is motivated can teach their own | | | | sound by seeing the picture, to eventually reading the |
| child to read with a good quality phonics system. | | | | letter itself. The visual prompts make it a system |
| So what are the key qualities of a good phonics | | | | that can be used with children as young as two |
| system? The overall aim of teaching your child to | | | | years old. |
| read is often to learn to read more quickly than | | | | If you decide to teach your child to read, the best |
| would otherwise be the case. Parents often want to | | | | advice is to do some online research and find out |
| see results fast so that they know they are on track | | | | which programs have been successful for others. |
| with giving their child invaluable reading skills. It stands | | | | |