Customer Reviews

Reading Made Easy: A Guide to Teach Your Child to Read

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book when my son was almost 4. --- 9 months later he is reading on a 1st/ 2nd grade level! This book was so simple to use and understand. Lessons are short(20 min. ). In a typical lesson you first practice reading words with a new blend, then learn a new sight word, then the child reads you a story, then he answers reading comprehension questions, then he would practice writing an excerpt of the story. If you go on her website you can view sample pages and other peoples testimonies. www.valeriebendt.com

Valerie covers it all. It's written out step by step, and it requires little additional material, which you make yourself - cheap! And it's fun! Even 3-4 yr olds can learn to read if you follow this book. She also suggests modifications for students who have trouble with the material. I wish I'd found it when my oldest was 4. She fell in love with a book I was reading to her & demanded I teach her to read that very night!
It's great for older kids too - my daughter enjoyed the little stories.
Interestingly, this book also follows the progression of sounds presented in 'The Phonics Game' (NOT Hooked on Phonics - this is WAY better!). The Phonics Game has all the spelling and sound rules not presented in "Reading Made Easy", so older children can learn how to spell and how to decipher a word using rules that apply to about 98 out of every 100 words. 'The Phonics Game' and 'Reading Made Easy' work very well together, even though they were created by different people. So, start with "Reading Made Easy", and when your child is about 6 or 7, switch to or add "The Phonics Game". We found the Game first, and it is supposed to teach your child to read, but we hit a few stumbling blocks. "Reading Made Easy" got us over them and now my child reads great! I'm using "The Phonics Game" to reinforce spelling and pronounciation rules we learned. I recommend both!

What an enormous blessing this book has been for us! Teaching my son to read could not be more painless. He loves his reading lessons and never balks at doing them even on weekends. If you are considering "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" I urge you to consider this instead. It is a delight to use, has fun illustrations, copywork, and stories, and it works! V. Bendt suggests going from RME to Learning Language Arts Through Literature ("LLATL" - Common Sense Press) Red Book after this (second grade level) which is what we are planning to do. Don't let the price throw you off either - phonics programs can be very spendy - this is cheap in comparison and oh so simple to use!

I used this book for my son when he was 3 yrs old.
Now, his reading level is about 3-4 grade, which
is very outstanding. I did give him a lot of books
to ready. He is enjoying reading very much. Now,
I am going to buy one for my 3 yrs old girl.

I used this book after trying another popular reading curriculum. My child and I both liked the stories which do not use any slang or made-up words like other beginning readers. Pictures with engaging questions are fun and not distracting. Copy work is included in each lesson. Prep work was not needed although I made flash cards to change things a bit at times. Easy to use and understand for student and teacher. Highly recommend!