How I Taught My Kids to Read

When my oldest daughter was two, she already knew her letters and letter sounds. I knew the next step was teaching her to read her first words, but I had absolutely no idea where to start.

So I spent time learning about phonics and how to teach young children. When she was about 2 ½, we started practicing together for just 10 to 15 minutes a day. Little by little, she grew into a confident reader. She’s now 5 and reads third-grade-level books independently, simply because she loves reading.

I’m now going through the process again with my younger daughter, who just turned 3 and is already reading at an early second-grade level. This time, I knew where to start, what to do when she struggled, and how to keep moving forward.

I’m sharing what worked for us in the hope that it makes the process feel a little less overwhelming for anyone else who’s wondering where to start.