Reading Programs for Kids:

One of the first hurdles in a kids education is learning how to read. What age is appropriate in trying to teach your child to read? You may hear stories of 2 year olds reading basic books and that is great, but the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time is what most kids lack when they are young and therefore reading at age 2 or 3 is probably not in the cards for your child. My wife and I have been reading to our children ever since they were about 8 months old and verbally they were always ahead of the other kids their age. Our daughter, now age 8, was interested in reading and sounding out words from the age of about 3 1/2 so we bought some basic A-Z books with simple sounds and words. We then moved on to flashcards and she was really getting things. Then, we were introduced to an excellent online reading program called Headsprout. It helped make our daughter a reader at age 4 1/2 and we have recommended it to others over the years. I see parents spending $100's on Kumon and Hooked on Phonics programs trying to create the perfect reader at an early age and I think they are all wasting their money.

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The internet has revolutionized the way we learn things and the online reading programs available for kids and struggling readers has tripled in the last few years. Parents are willing to spend an insane amount of $$ to help give their children a head start in reading, math and other topics. The key in teaching any child to read is that you as a parent or guardian read to them daily. Make it a routine so they become familiar with it and look forward to it at bedtime. Ask questions along the way - see if they can recognize sounds or letters in a story. Rhyming is a great way to learn words - the Dr. Seuss books do this very well with words like hat, cat, bat, mat, pat, etc. When your child shows some interest - hopefully by age 4 or 5, look into computer or online programs. We tried to use our household computers as a learning device and gave our children the opportunity to learn how to use the mouse. You'd be amazed at how quickly kids learn how the mouse controls the onscreen functions on a computer. Our son, now 4, is currently working on several online websites - Headsprout.com and Sheppardsoftware.com to learn vowels, sounds, words, letters, and basic sentences. Now he can read simple sentences and he knows how to spell dozens of words if you ask him. What good is it to have a 4 or 5 year that can read? Reading is power - power to learn things. Give your child the gift of reading and they will blossom with all topics. It gives them confidence beyond belief and teachers at school will thank you for having them prepared. I remember our daughers preschool teacher saying how appreciative she was that we had taught our daughter to read. She was 1 of maybe 2 readers in a class of 15 kids which shows you how this sets them apart at a young age. Our 4 year old is heading into his 2nd year of preschool and he will have the same teacher that our daughter did. He is almost all the way through the Headsprout program and should be reading within the new few months. Just what is Headsprout? We will go into all the details in the next section.

Headsprout - Learn to Read Online:

Headsprout.com is where I will point you to online. The program is setup and designed for kids from kindergarten to 2nd grade. We have used it successfully with younger kids and I have heard of older kids that have trouble with reading that used it to improve on their reading skills. The online interactive lessons are easy to follow and the program is designed to keep up the beginner readers confidence with lots of repetition. Throughout the online lessons you will hear things like "good job" and "great". There is both a school and home option available to order online. For parents at home, you can run the FREE trial on 3 episodes (lessons) before committing to the entire plan. The online program is easy to follow and they even send you map of where the reader will be taken along the journey and as you pass each lesson you place a sticker over that # lesson. Each lesson takes about 15 to 20 minutes to finish and I was sure to sit next to both my son and daughter as they first started. I wanted to help them along at first and after a few episodes they are pretty much on their own. As long as your child can use a computer mouse, they can do this. How much does it cost? - The good news is that it is much cheaper than alternative "learning to read programs" done by offline companies. For roughly $100 you can get the first 40 episodes and have your child on their way to reading. The entire 80 episodes is about $200. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we got 50% off for our son since our daughter had already completed their online lessons. You can get progress reports online to see how your child is doing after each lesson and track how well they are doing. Every 5 to 8 episodes they have a small book to read and see if your child has mastered that current section. They are easy and are really meant to build confidence. I am not getting any money to endorse Headsprout on this page. Having used it twice now with our kids I see the results and am very satisfied. Several of our friends have also had their kids use it with the same success.

Kumon vs Hooked on Phonics:

Phonics based reading lessons online are great, but many parents rely on places like Kumon or Sylvan to teach their kids the basics of reading. Kumon treats the learning process on to "professional" of a basis for my tastes. Sure, it sounds great - their marketing is well done and they definitely sell their "learning centers" to upscale households. With the ever increasing use of computers amongst younger kids, I say avoid driving your kids to Kumon and let them learn online. I know some parents will say they want a real person teaching their kids, but if you give the interative demos a chance on the internet you would be surprised to see how well done they are. With animated characters that keep your kids interest, learning to read online is something that lots of children can master. For $100 it's worth the initial money to see what kind of results you can get at home. Then, if you want to, purchase a Hooked on Phonics program or attend Kumon schools and try those avenues. Based on the success we have had, I would say we saved $1000+ on helping our kids become proficient readers.

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