I’m tackling teaching my 2nd child to read. It doesn’t get easier.

My first daughter was a real struggle, but she is now 9 and a bookworm who reads for hours a day. So keep hope alive!

So once again, the struggle. My second is now six. It’s show time, and we need to get beyond sight words like cat, the and love. It’s time to chunk and sound it out, which can be as uncomfortable as it sounds.

I have tried all kinds of resources in my quest for a teach to read quick fix.  None exist unfortunately, but there are some useful tools out there.

Starfall is a great learn to read site –  it’s engaging and helps children to see how to chunk it out. But it can be a bit challenging for a very early reader, and my daughter tends to click for sounding out help too quickly.

What’s really worked for me best so far is the Brand New Reader books.  They are very simple, nicely illustrated, and actually funny. My daughter is much more willing to try to figure out the word because there are only a few per page. I like the boxed sets.

To add to my teach to read arsenal, I did some research on iPhone apps. The following are good ones to try if you are bit stuck or bored on the reading front.

Abc Pocketphonic: Helps with learning phonics. I like the word games a lot, so its definitely worth the $.99 if you are struggling to get them to learn sounds.

Word Magic: It’s easy spelling that helps teach sounds to kids. Its fun and you can turn off the reward sounds and even the word sounds for the older kids.

Teach Me Kindergarten: It has a great sight word game, plus spelling and math. The narration is less annoying than most educational apps and I like the ability to track progress and the reward system.

Pocket-Wally-Sightwords:  If you play along with your child at first this is a great way to practice sight words. I love that you can turn off the auto play, play at different levels, and the rewards.

I don’t think any of the these apps will teach your child to read on their own (that would be the killer app), but they are a useful and fun way to get children to practice and learn. Good luck on your reading adventures, let me know if you have any good reading tools or tips to share.

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