How To Start Teaching Your Toddler To Read

If you have been following me for any length of time, you know my son took to reading like a fish to water. Right now he is 4 and reading at a 2nd grade level. Everyone asks me how we taught him, so awhile back I shared this post  –  Teach Your Toddler To Read – A Hooked on Phonics Review. It’s one of my most viewed posts. But, what should you do before that? Before Hooked on Phonics? That’s a question I get asked a lot. So often, in fact, I decided to put this post together.

UPDATE: Because I’ve had several people email me and ask where I got the map in the picture above, I thought it might be a great idea to put the link here! It’s and awesome map it goes up in panels with a paste just like wall paper, it’s dry erase and we figured out that vinyl stickers work AWESOME on it!  

First, read to your child. We have a rule in this house. If one of our children brings us a book to read we STOP whatever we are doing and read them the book. The next step is for them to learn the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. It really is just that simple. Here are my top 3 ways we encourage learning letters and their sounds.

Side note – how cute is he reading Frog and Toad to little brother? I just stumbled across this old picture.