3 Things to Help Your Preschooler Learn to Read

Schools are making parenthood and childhood more and more competitive. While it is important to remember that they are only children and they need to play and be active, it is hard to ignore the pressure to have your kindergartner learn to read.

I personally do not like to make my hyper preschooler sit and do worksheets, so I needed alternative ways to help my child learn to read and help with school work. I wanted something fun and family-centered, without taking a ton of time. I didn’t want to lose “play time” while simultaneously making me and my child stressed out. I found three “sure-fire” ways to help my son learn to read without the tears.

1. Sign Up for ABCmouse.com

Learning should be fun! In many ABCmouse ads, they say something similar to “your child sees fun; you see learning.” That is so true. I can’t even get my child to sit in church without wiggling and talking, but I never have a problem getting him to do ABCmouse. He has focus issues, but ABCmouse is so much fun, he can’t look away! He loves to do the puzzles, coloring pages, sing the songs and learn to read! We are only 5 weeks into the school year, and my son (who couldn’t recognize any letters before starting this school year) can now recognize 10 letters, consistently. I think one of the biggest things is that ABCmouse has helped his memory. Now, he can remember and recall longer stories too.

Right now, you can sign up for an annual ABCmouse.com membership for only $59.95 (that’s 49% off)! I would definitely sign up with their special offer before it is too late.

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2. Find Your Local Library’s 1000 Books before Kindergarten Challenge

While you can just keep track for yourself with the app, your library may have a program to encourage parent’s to read 1000 books before kindergarten. Children’s author Mem Fox said in her book Ten Read-Aloud Commandments that, “Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read. Or the same story a thousand times!” Although it is not an exact science (I can’t guarantee you that by book number 1000 that your child will read), it has been proven that one of the best ways to encourage reading is by reading to your child.

Any book your child listens to counts towards their 1000 books: audio books, picture books, even interactive book apps. We just bought the Charlie Brown interactive reading apps, and all three of my children love them. It might seem insurmountable, but it’s actually easy to hit 1000 books. One book a day for three years will reach your goal.

3. Merka Toddler Learning Kit

I absolutely love the Merka Toddler Learning Kit! Doing 5 minutes of flashcards every day has helped my son learn to read SO much. Not only does it only take a couple of minutes, but the daily repetition is helping him remember letter sounds. He loves the included posters and reward stickers. It makes him feel involved and it’s something he looks forward to doing now.

It may not seem like a thing to brag about, but he spelled his first word: poop. He is definitely a boy! It just proved that the cards and ABC mouse are working! We put the posters in his room and we look at them when we get up and go to sleep. We do the cards right after breakfast. The system is perfect for us! He already has his colors and most of his shapes down pat too!

I think you too can have great success with these 3 things to help your preschooler learn to read!