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I have posted here before about how I have used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Today, I would like to show you how easy it is to use this method.
The book tells the parent exactly what to say and when to say it. Notice the red words prompt the parent to give an example, “Annie is a girl.”
You can see in this portion, the red words prompt the parent to question the child’s comprehension. “Who sat on the log? Who didn’t sit on the log?”
Could it be any simpler? There is no guess work or thinking up what to ask the child next.
Here is a video of my five year old doing her daily reading lesson. Notice how when she stumbles or gets stuck, I do not immediately tell her what the word is. Instead, I coach her on what the sounds say and see if she can work it out for herself, which she does when given the chance.
Oh, and please do excuse the Rastafarian dreadlocks. And the commands from the eight year old in the background for her baby sister to “BACK OFF! BACK OFF!” I’m still not sure what that was all about – it’s always something in Smockityville!
This post is linked to A Soft Place to Land and The Homeschool Curriculum Review Roundup.
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She's adorable! I have a 5 year old also, but she is only recognizing sight words right now. We homeschool and I'm trying to find the right method for teaching her to read. I've heard both good and bad about this book. However, we might have to give it a try and see how it goes.
We use this book as well. Highly recommend it.
I bought this book because I had heard such raves about it, but it was so time consuming that we just left it on the shelf. We're 2/3 done with teaching reading and plain and simple phonics worked best both times around. I'm hoping Child #3 learns well with just plain phonics taught by me because the two older ones will still need a lot of my time. So, I have a practically brand new copy that I'm looking to get rid of. (But it did work well for all the people I know who used it!) It was great for you to provide a little demo for your readers.
mychildsview.blogspot.com
I used this book with my two older girls, and it worked great!
Great audio/visual! We like this book as well, but I had to learn that it's OK to tailor it to your needs. For instance, it was taking us FOREVER to get through a lesson, so I dropped the writing portion and just set a timer for 15 min. When we got to the 15-min. mark, I would mark where we were with a pencil and we'd pick it up the next day from there.
And sometimes I have chosen to have children read the story only once, not twice.
I really like this book. I think whatever method people use, they need to feel free to adjust it accordingly and not feel guilty about making those adjustments! That's what homeschooling is all about, right?
Thank you for posting this! I have been doing this book with my daughter for a few months, but it was helpful to see how you deliver the lessons.
we just started using this with my 5 year old son.
Do you start them at a certain age or just when they seem ready?
Mirage,
I usually start when they turn 5, depending on signs of readiness.
I used this book too, with my two daughters, when I was just considering homeschooling. I checked it out of the library, just to see if it would work, when my older daughter was four. It was great, so I bought the book. We never got more than about 2/3 of the way thru though, because by that time they could read pretty well on their own. We switched to Phonics Pathways when we started homeschool "for real" and I think I like it even better. It starts with letter recognition and goes thru fluent reading. We started about 50 pages into it and finished by the last day of first grade with both girls. If I were starting over, I would probably just use Phonics Pathways. My second daughter used Christian Liberty's Adventures in Phonics workbooks A & B as well. I bought the first one because it was cheap and I wanted some table work for her to do while her sister was busy. I really like those too, she is almost thru the B book in second grade. They cover all kinds of phonics and spelling rules that I was never even aware of, just like PP. I think you could teach a child to read easily with just those workbooks. Just goes to show that teaching reading is not rocket science, and expensive programs are just not necessary.
Love this book! I just started using it with my five year old son who wasn't "getting" Explode the Code or Hooked on Phonics (two methods I've used with other kiddos in the past – with good results). This just clicked with him and he begs to do more.
So cute! I just started this again with my third child and love it all over again! I don't think we've ever made it to the end, because they are reading so well, they can't wait to try real readers!
We use this book too! One son really took off with it, the other is just ehhh so far.
I was SO excited to be sifting through your homeschooling posts to find this one! We have been using this book w/ my 4 yr old daughter the past several months and she seriously caught on and begs for it every day! I wasn’t going to push it, at all, as she is younger than I cared to start, but she asks for it!
We don’t read the story twice b/c she tends to get a bit frustrated but she usually gets through it the first time pretty easily. I love this book and I was so pleasantly surprised how easy it was to follow and also how effective it was! My mom got it for me at a garage sale!! How about that!!
I really appreciate the visuals. I’m always whining (in my head!) that I want to *see* how other moms do things, react to things, and so forth. Great idea!
Oh my gravy, you’ve lost me forever.
I used 100 EZ Lessons with 3 kids and it failed me 3 times. I HATE it! But I’m so glad it worked for you. My theory is: any product will work w/ a kid that’s developmentally ready to read and nothing will work w/ a kid that isn’t.
Hi,
We are using 100 EZ Lessons and I was wondering at what point you have them start using readers and which ones?
Thanks!
Carey
Around lesson 75. I have a set of VERY Early readers they would read. These are similar to BOB books. BOB books would be a good start. I would then search through Early Readers at our (small) library – They have only a couple that are for the earliest readers (with help) but now he can read “Level 1 and 2″ with out much help.
Look in the back of your 100 EZ lessons book and you will see a list of recommended books to continue with. I have found almost all through our inter-library loan system.
Hey there, I’d love to watch your reading lesson. For some reason the video won’t work for me. I’m using Firefox. I’m very interested in this method of teaching reading as I will be homeschooling my son this year. Thanks for any help you may be able to offer!
Suzanne, Have you tried updating Adobe Flash player?
Hey Connie,
Wow, I love your site. I was a home schooled child and I taught in the public school system. Just like you said about the seeds that sprout I think the seed of homeschooling is sprouting in my heart. My oldest is 5. That book looks just like a program called direct instruction that I taught in kindergarten. I am very familiar with it- there were also workbooks but the writing wasn’t great because of the formations they used. My husband and I are also living on a faith walk. You have really blessed me tonight. Thanks! http://www.saintlewismusic.com
Thank you, Cyle! I’m glad you came by!
I used this book and it worked beautifully. Loved it!! My son is colorblind and colorful reading programs were not workin for him! Colorblind children tend to prefer black and white books so this was perfect for us! Once he learned to read we went through other reader books for fun. But this was truly the system that taught him to read. Now he is reading chapter books fluently at the age of 8
I am now beginning this book with my 4 year old…but at a slow pace 
I started it with my older son at age 5. We skipped the writing parts.
Thanks for including the sample shots. It helps to see what the book is like. I’ve heard people talk about it for years, but have never needed to use it. ADORABLE video!! I love listening to littles read. : ]
I stumbled upon your blog last night and have been catching up. : ):)
I love Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons! I will be using it with my 3rd child this year and I can’t wait because I know the reading strategies presented in the book WORK. I know a lot of people get hung up on the funny symbols and the script, but I always tell my friends who are struggling with this book that it gets easier and easier once you get past about the middle of the book. And of course, once you’ve gone through the entire book with one child, you know the script and the flow of the lessons almost by heart and it’s not as daunting as it first seemed.
Thanks for sharing an actual recorded lesson. It’s fun to see other children doing the lessons besides my own!
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