Use what you have.

In the interest of staying on brand, I want to talk about using the tools you have on hand right now. I’m going to assuming in a typical household you will have these three items. Teaching reading is much more simple than you have been told. Teachers have been doing it on very little pay for a very long time, so this means that you have what you need to not only make teaching reading fun, but doable.

Item one:

Shaving cream.

Most of us have shaving cream or could remember to get it at next to nothing at the store. What’s the big idea behind shaving cream? It makes phonics fun! If you’re into sight words, this is an easy way to practice them as well. Here’s the catch, when you say the sound of the letters (Cheat sheet here) slowly and draw attention to how your child is making that sound in using their tongue, voice, and breath then this activity is VERY effective.

Let me give you an example: We’re working with the sound /c/ makes this is two sounds /c/ as in cat

[ made by closing the back of your tongue and top of back of your mouth, and pushing air through] phew that was one sound!!!

Shaving cream + slow sound meathod= learning letter sounds in a fun way!

Why does this matter?

This matters because your child will eventually learn all the sounds, and with the method, you’re slowing down their ability to sound words out. Connecting the right sound to the right letter shape ( Think piano playing one note per key) This matters because when we slow them down and really make that connection in their brain then voilà they are set. They can remember better, is the long and short of it.

If you don’t have shaving cream here… https://amzn.to/3y9Vnxd

2: Books ( I know, I know…)

This seems like a no-brainer but it’s not. You need books in your house BEYOND your baby shower. Kids’ interests are as finicky as ours one week you’re all unicorns then BAM mermaids. That means the unicorn books you stocked up on, are old news. AH such is life. So you probably got new books and stashed them away, or you can head to the library to freshen things up. Here’s the kicker Let your child pick the books even if it’s a repeat or you hate it. Follow their lead.

How to help?

• If they can read, swap pages so they read a little but also get a break from taking the load.

• Read in accents of funny noises, gain their interest.

• If you have a baby, point to the words, call out new words in the illustrations, and read all the time.

• And again, let them pick out the books. If you have classics you love then go for it, but if not just let them do it okay?

Here are a few to get you started:

https://amzn.to/4dpPcoZ

https://amzn.to/3QCQJxV

https://amzn.to/4b8yqZU

3: Talk a lot with your kids

“But Jordan they talk all the time I have to talk to them more??” Yes, the more you are talking engaging in conversation, the more vocabulary they are learning, and the better readers they will be. It’s really as simple as that.

Why does this matter?

When our child is hearing their native language, they are building vocabulary. When they go to read, they will come across a word they don’t know. They stretch out the word and file in their brain to find the right word and BOOM something from your conversation in the past will creep up and help them read. Books are made of words, therefore, we need to use words to help build our mental filing cabinet.

The more words you speak to them the better access to words they have.

If you are stuck try these. Talking points: https://amzn.to/3UPyMxJ OR https://amzn.to/4bqnLt9

So that’s it, you can do a reading lesson right here right now. Just go grab some shaving cream, a good book, and have a great conversation.