This Ordinary Parent's Guide To Teaching Reading

We are your average American family.  Normal, whatever that means.  We "homeschool" our kiddos, all 3 of them.  Boys, all 3 of them.  This is our 3rd year in and our first time to have a Kindergartener...kinnygardener. With Kindergarten comes a whole bunch of responsibility, like teaching a human boy how to READ.  A vital lifelong skill, and I'm the one who's in charge of programming the brain of my 5.5 year old son, whose name means "immovable warrior", with knowledge and understanding of phonics, grammar, and all things "reading".  I really didn't think we'd still be homeschooling when this time came.  I thought we'd be in some nice private church school and some sweet, enthusiastic, bubbly K5 teacher would be responsible for this monumental task. 


Nope.  It's me.  The Mom.  Teaching the Immovable Warrior how to read...and Math...and everything else.  


me


So, the Lord, being the loving, all knowing, sovreign, wise, beginning and the end Heavenly Father of mine that He alone is and can be...The Lord saw fit to bring into my life a distant relative.  This relative is my Dad's cousin.  This cousin's wife was inspired by God to write a handbook that I use every day.  You see, this book is for normal people who want to teach their kids to read.  It's helping me teach my Immovable Warrior to read.  We actually started using this handbook when he was in K4 to compliment the phonics lessons he got in the 1/2 day - 3 days/week preschool he was in.  And he loved it.  We didn't go all the way through the book, but what we covered stuck.  This year we are starting at the beginning and going all the way through.  So we are in "review" mode.  


This summer he was bound and determined to read, so we sat down together before nap time and covered some lessons.  I ordered (free on Amazon!used my swagbucks!) the suggested "Bob Books" & he devoured them like candy when they came in the mail.  It absolutely delights me to tell you that Immovable Warrior is a READER!  Or in his own words, "I'm a Weeduh!"  (We are working on that.)  He can read and has good understanding on books at the 4th grade level.  In short, we highly recommend this book.  I'm so thankful.  Thankful for the sweet relative who sent me this book.  Thankful for the opportunity most of us normal parents don't get.  I'm so thankful to have been equipped to teach my son to read.  


You know what?  If I can do it...You can too!