question for DU parents and educators....

[Fleshdancer]

My daughter will be going to kindergarten next fall (where does the time go?) and I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to get a head start and work with her on the fundamentals of reading before school begins.

She knows all the letters, we've been working on the sounds each letter makes, I read to her all the time and she is expressing a strong desire to learn how to read.

Here's the thing...how in the world do I teach a child to read? I don't know where to start. I vaguely know that there are different methods, but I'm completely clueless. Any thoughts, recommendations, ideas, etc??

[SmokingJacket]

1. I taught my son via little boxed readers.

He was a couple years older than your kid, but the school wasn't doing it, so I had to.

Barnes and Noble has a little section of readers -- Bob Books, etc -- but my favorites were the Ready for Reading series by Laura Callahan Busch. (No relation!) They are supposedly out of print, but I still see them at B&N. They are fantastic -- bring the kid through the most basic words up to pretty complicated sentences, plus they're cute and funny.

If she wants to learn, though, anything you do will work.

[MissB]

2. You'll probably get lots of different recommendations

and just keep in mind that each child is different. Both of my kids learned how to read before Kindergarten - one was a very strong reader. He tested out at the 5th grade reading level by mid year his K year. I can't say I'm responsible for that - he is a very determined child.

Reading to your child is probably the best single piece of advice that I have.

I also loved the Bob books - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0439145449/qid=1116949186/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-0401632-9569416?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

The Bob books are quite wonderful- they introduce a couple of sounds with each book. The words are simplistic as are the pictures. They really do seem like a modern version of the See Jane Run type of books.

My oldest picked these up when he was four, and had quite the aha! moment when he read his first one. My youngest started into them just before Kindergarten. You might check to see if your library has the sets before running out and buying them. They are just soft cover booklets.