This post is sponsored by Learning Dynamics. All opinions are my own.
Growing up, books were my best friends! My family would go to the library at the beginning of each week. And I’d come home with a stack of books. I would read through the entire stack in the next week, then return them and start again. We laugh now when we tell people that punishment at our house was losing our books. And we didn’t get them back until we’d finished our chores, or done something else our parents had requested of us. Don’t even get me started on what our house looked like every time a new book in our favorite magical series was released. Because of my upbringing, it’s always been my goal to teach my kids to read early.
I’ve looked forward to introducing my kids to reading since long before I became a mom. I have an entire list of book series and characters that I can’t wait to share with them! I’m excited to see them go on adventures while curled up with a blanket and a good book! I’ve always known that I want to instill a love of reading in my kids so we’ve been reading them books since the day they were born. They’ll bring me stacks of books and ask me to read “one more” over and over again. Now I’m starting to teach them to read on their own. And I hope that their love of books continues for the rest of their lives.
Related: 10 Tips for Cooking in the Kitchen with Toddlers
We discovered the 4 Weeks to Read program from Learning Dynamics and have been having a lot of fun working on recognizing letters and reading books. It has been fun for me to see my kids learn. And they get excited when they remember something that we worked on the day before. 4 Weeks to Read has a 98% success rate and 30-day money-back guarantee. You just have to commit to sitting down with your child for 15 minutes, three days a week and you will start to see those results. The program is fun and helps kids build confidence one letter at a time.
When I tell my kids it’s time to do our “reading homework”, they grab our CD player and run to the kitchen table. Each lesson starts with a song and each letter has a song that goes with it as well. Music is one of our favorite things so having a song to help them remember the sounds that the letters make has been really helpful. I love that the lessons are outlined for me in the parent handbook and are easy to follow along. There are a variety of activities to help you teach each lesson. So your kids won’t get tired of doing the same thing over and over again.
Related: Date Night Ideas for Parents to Enjoy After the Kids Are in Bed
One of our favorite activities in one of the first lessons was to walk through our house and identify objects that started with the letter we’d worked on that day. The kids continued to find things and bring them to me or me to the object, for the rest of the day. And they’d ask me if it started with the letter ‘M’. They were excited to show their dad when he got home from work as well. We loved that activity so much that we decided to make it part of every lesson, whether it was in the plan or not.
I think my kids love learning with me! They love having my undivided attention while we work together to discover something new. As parents, we are our children’s first teachers. But it can feel overwhelming to find ways to do that and teach them what they really need to know. I’m grateful for programs like 4 Weeks to Read! It is research-based and I know it will help me teach my kids in a way that is effective. As I’m actively teaching my four-year-old to read, my three-year-old joins us and learns along with him. I love that this program starts with helping them recognize letters. And builds upon what they’re learning until they’re reading the books that are included.
In a few years, I’ll be introducing my kiddos to my favorite books and the friends I made in them. I’ll still spend time sitting with each of them, cuddling and reading books out loud whenever they ask me. But I’m also looking forward to when they can read to me. Or when I find them buried in a book, discovering new worlds through the words on the pages of their books. And it all starts here, with my helping them learn how to read.
