Input, input, input

What is the ideal age to start teaching reading?  I don't know.  But I strongly believe it's never too early to start teaching a love of books and reading.

I started working with Claire at about 6 months.  I first heard of BrillKids when Claire was just a few weeks old.  They have several early learning products geared towards helping kids learn to read, learn music or learn math.  I wrote to the company and was fortunate enough to receive a special needs scholarship for their Little Reader program when Claire was about 2 months old.  I had expected the process to take longer than it did so I wasn't quite ready to use it when I got it.  I had planned to start about 3 months old but then I realized the software wouldn't work on my Chromebook so we started really using Little Reader at about 6 months.  It is easy to use and fun for Claire and Austin.  Now that we have the iPad it's incredibly easy to do it at home or on the go.  Before I started using the Little Reader program, I was using other products from BrillKids.  They have an AMAZING set of free online flashcards.  I immediately printed out the black and white infant simulation cards and put them all over the house: the crib, changing table, crawling track and the baby swing.

Another reading strategy I'm using is flashcards.  I found a great iPad app called INKids which allows you to use your own pictures and voice or easily search for a google image.  I LOVE this app for picture/word cards.  I created a bunch of picture cards and I turn on/off the ones I want to work with.  One downfall of this app is you can't really 'fast flash' like you can with laminated cards.  For that reason I also have picture/word laminated flash cards.  I think the variety will probably help Claire learn better and having multiple methods definitely helps me use small windows of time to work on input, input, input.  I keep some flash cards in a mini-therapy tote in the car, I have some upstairs and I have more downstairs.  The INKids app cost $2.99 and I think it's worth every penny.

While I didn't use a formal program like Brillkids or flash cards with Austin, I'm proud to say he was early reading at about 3 years old.  He could easily do sight words by 4 and now at 6 he is independently reading chapter books.  The only thing I did to teach him to read was read him books.  And that is definitely an important part of teaching any child to read.  I try to read to Claire as much as I can.  I keep books in her room, upstairs in the living room, in her mini-therapy bag and in the big therapy bag we use at lunch.

So while I don't know the ideal age to start teaching children to read, I firmly believe they can learn at a very young age.  My goal is to make learning fun and something they both want to do.