Teaching your child to read is an incredibly important part of your role as a parent. As your children transitions from preschool to school age, they will start to learn this important skill. Chances are, at this age, your children already know the alphabet. Which is good news because the ABC’s are the essential building blocks to learning to read.

There are a few steps that you can take to make the transition from the ABC’s to reading independently on their own.

How to Get from the ABCs to Learning to Read

Phonetics

Once your children can identify the individual letters of the alphabet, they can start learning to read using sounds. Teach your children which sounds go with which letter and how to identify them. This is an essential step to learning how to read. Use repetition, make sure you have the right materials and be patient through this step.

Blending

When your children know the sounds that each letter makes they can start blending them together. Try stretching out the sounds until they can identify the sounds and what they make when combined. Start with simple three letter words with no sneaky, silent letters. Keep it simple to start.

Word Families

Word families have the same ending sounds, making it easier for your little ones to put those sounds together into words. Words like: Cat, bat, hat and mat are all from the same word family with only the first sound and letter changing. Teaching word families can help your children to transition from their ABC’s to reading through the ability to identify the similarities and differences.

Sight Words

Using sight words is an important teaching tool when it comes to learning to read. Sight words are simple and easy to memorize words that can making teaching your children to identify them, fun. Write down a list of sight words and once they get them all move on to harder ones.

Be Supportive

When teaching your children to read, it can be easy to get frustrated. The key to success is to remain calm, collected and supportive of your children. If you both end up frustrated, you will only end up doing more harm than good. If you find yourself becoming aggravated, take a break. Teaching your children to read can be a fun and exciting learning adventure for both you and your kids if you take it slow and show them you believe in them and their abilities.

Moving on from the ABC’s to reading independently is an important step for both parents and children alike. Make sure to follow some simple steps and remain calm and supportive and your little one will be reading you a bedtime story in no time!