الجهل يهدم بيت العز والكرم... How to raise a future reader

Everyone knows how fundamental reading is to your child's success in life, but not all of us are sure how to start our little ones on a path to lifelong learning. What are some of your favorite tips for helping your child to learn to read, and getting them excited about it?
1. Start Early and Be Wary of Phonics Programs

"Hi, I'm a primary school teacher and a mother. These are my best tips: - Start reading to your child from the very start and surround your child with books. Try to read to your child as much as you can. A book before bed is a good routine. Pick books that children will want to read again and again (eg: anything by Mem Fox, the Hairy Maclarey books, fun rhyming/repetitive texts). - As others have already recommended, Reading Eggs is a fantastic program. My 4 year old son loves it and his reading progressed phenomenally after he started it. - Magic 100 Words (check online or in your local bookstore) is something I use in the classroom and have also been using with my four year old. It focuses on teaching children the most commonly used words. They start with Golden words (eg: the, and, was) and once they learn those words, they start on the next level. I make up different ways to reinforce the level words he's doing eg: flashcards, letter magnets, foam letters in the bath. For instance, before he gets in the bath I'll put 'the' and 'is' on the tiles and ask my son to tell me what they say when he gets in the bath. For him it's like a fun game to see what words are there today. The golden words alone (12 words) make up 1/4 of all reading! Just knowing those 12 words gives them a good head start. - Be wary of phonics programs. Make sure they're not just teaching one letter=one sound, as this can become confusing later when they come across words like circus or phone. A good phonics program to look into is THRASS. It's another program I use in the classroom and teaches that sounds can be made from different letters, not just one letter/one sound. I would start this once your child is starting to get the basics of reading. - Point out words to your child, eg: 'stop' on a stop sign or 'milk' on a milk carton." - Jo-anne Hart

2. Use Websites like ReadingEggs.com

"Websites like starfall.com and readingeggs.com at great sites. I have a 4yr old who reads and we use those sites and the leapfrog videos. I also started using a book called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." Great book! It helps with sounding out words as you read them something that has helped my daughter tremendously. At 4 she call read almost any word. " - Brandi McAnally

3. Encourage the Love of Books

"I was an avid reader from a young age, and by the age of 8, had completed the entire primary school reading curriculum, and that was from being read to and a love of books encouraged from a young age. i have read to my daughter from a young age, and she loves books, even picking out favourites from age 1! now i read a book to her at bedtime, then she likes to 'read' the book herself. if i sit outside her room and listen i can hear her telling the story as she sees it from the pictures. she is only 2 and is very forward in her speech" - Stephanie Roberts

4. Read Yourself in her Presence

"I started reading to my daughter when she was an infant because I knew that was the great start she needed. My hubby and I, at a time always had to hide some books from her at bed time because if she found 5 books, you have to read all five before she sleeps..so funny that if she picks on the bible, she would expect that you read it all in one night! That set her off well and now she is well above her peers in reading and all, she even won spelling bees at her grade level last year spelling all 1st and 2nd grade words! Coupled with reading to her, we used starfall, very great site indeed. We are doing same with her brother who is just 3 years old too and has started picking on some sight words and with the influence of the sister picking some amazing science terms and telling us the meaning. We also read in their presence, because seeing your love for books helps to stimulate and encourage them. We have a study at home, with books including theirs, magazines around that they can pick on, take them to barnes and noble once a month and also the library. We play sight words bingo games and the likes, leapfrog leapster and the tag reading system are also helpful. I believe all of this has helped to create the interest in reading and learning." - Oluwaseyi Ademola-Oyerokun

5. Read Every Night to Your Child

"We read to our kids every night before bed since they were babies. We taught our daughter to read by using Hooked on Phonics. She is an excellent reader and reads about 2 grade levels above her grade. For my son, we started sight words during the summer before he started Kindergarten. We also had him do the Hooked on Phonics and he picked it up quickly. His teacher recommends the starfall website. I looked there but haven't had the chance to use it yet. I definitely think that kids must be taught phonics as this will help them later on with sounding out words they do not know. My friends' son wasn't taught phonics in a private school and by 2nd grade he was struggling. She had to use a tutoring company to remedy the situation." - Brandi Franklin