There will come a time in your homeschool journey when you have to tackle learning how to read. The internet is full of various materials and various methods to go about this. I don't think there is one best way, I think there is the best way for you and your child. 

Find a program and stick with it except you find it is not working then find another one. 

I found the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" through a friend and he was generous enough to let me use it. 

With more than one million copies sold, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is a remarkable step-by-step, phonics-based program that teaches your child to read in just twenty minutes a day—with love, care, and joy a parent and child can share. Now fully revised and updated with a Practice Guide for parents and an extra section with supplementary material! [source]


My Experience

When we started with the book, I just started with Day 1 and went on with it but because it wasn't a style of teaching my son was used to he pushed back a lot, each of the lessons was supposed to be done in 20mins because of his push back we ended up spending like 30 - 45Mins on one lesson. It was frustrating for me, it was frustrating for him. I stopped doing it all together after a couple of weeks. I would pick it up and stop on different occasions but at the beginning of 2024, I was determined to finish it and finally teach him. So we did another round of pep talk and set a target to finish by his birthday in March and we did. 

What I did differently 

What I did differently was become firm with him, letting him know he had no other choice but to actually go through with each lesson, and set a timer for us to see how long it would actually take if he didn't interrupt or complain to see how long we actually spend. I put a grand reward at the end of our goal ( A family friend gave him some cash). I did the lesson out of the book sometimes, created cardboard cards etc. We did a catch-up for the days we missed so we could finish our goal. I read the initial manual for the book. 


What I love about the book

Here are a few things I love about the book. 

1. I love that even as someone who knows absolutely nothing about how to start the template is for you, exactly what to say and how to go about it. 

2. I love that the lessons are short and straightforward. 

3. Love that the way it is designed it removes the confusion of English and how the rules and sounds can get confusing for young minds. 

4. I love how you can go through it in such a short period. 

5. It builds confidence for the child as there are a lot of repetitive words. 

6. The program is not just about learning to blend, it incorporates comprehension, critical thinking, asking the right questions and writing. 

Things to note if you want to use the book: 

Read the initial write-up: I made the mistake of not reading the initial write-up because I don't really like reading small prints but when I eventually read it, I could understand better what I was supposed to do and how to better execute. 

Learn the right pronunciation of the sounds: The way the program is designed and trying to mitigate against confusion where there are 2 sounds for "o" and "e" and "I" etc, they created it to be able to differentiate it quickly. If you are not familiar with it, when you are doing the lesson you might get confused yourself. Take time to learn the right sounds before you do the lessons. 

You become better as you go along: As you go along you, will become better at it and you might not have to even do the lessons word-for-word as suggested. 

You can always take a break: You don't have to do the 100 days at a stretch if you don't want to or if its getting frustrating for you or the kids. 

You can use the opportunity to build on other values: We used the opportunity to understand that there has to be a process for everything, setting goals, powering through, hitting a target, and doing what needs to be done. It wasn't really about just learning to read, it was about so much more. 

It is just the beginning: 100 days to teach your child to read is just a foundation, it doesn't stop there. You have to continue to build on the knowledge and at the end of the book there is a write-up to guide you on what is next. 

It might not be for everyone: If your child doesn't naturally learn in this rigid way, it might just not be for you. My child doesn't learn this way normally but I used it as a tool to help him learn other things as he is older now. I wouldn't do that if he was younger, I would have tried another method. 

Where to buy 

I have not seen where to purchase the book here in Nigeria so if you have someone abroad or you have the means to ship it to Nigeria you can purchase it here

I found an e-copy of the book online and I uploaded it to my store for easy access as a lot of people were asking me for it on different occasions. Access it here

They have a website which has resources to help you as you use the book: https://startreading.com/ 

I recommend it and give it a 4/5 Cuddly loves. Would you try it? Get the e-copy first and see if it is something you would like to invest in.