We started the Children Learning Reading program when Little Mr. was 2 years and 10 months old, and by the time he finished it at 3.5 years old, we had a reading toddler! It was this reading program that inspired me to try teaching other things in a 5-minute timeframe in the first place.
When I first heard about Children Learning Reading, a program that could teach kids as young as 2.5 how to read, I was very interested to see if it was true. I personally consider reading to be one of the most important skills for kids because it is necessary for independent learning: if kids need/want to learn about something new by themselves, it requires reading about it. If reading is effortless, then it is just the learning part that might be challenging. But if both reading and learning are difficult, it makes learning about anything new that much harder and less enjoyable.
Children Learning Reading
When I first heard about this kids reading program, I was skeptical, but the results I got were incredible! Children Learning Reading was created by Jim Yang, who has taught thousands of parents how to teach their kids to read using phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and identify phonemes, the smallest unit of sound, and use them to make words).
I didn't believe toddlers could read either until it worked for my kids!
I can say from my own experience that it does work with kids as young as 2 and a half if you can consistently spare just 5 minutes, 3 times a day. There are two potential ways to do the Children Learning Reading program:
You can teach your child how to blend first, THEN start the lessons (which is what is recommended for young children: this is what we did).
Teach your child how to blend in conversations throughout the day while going through the lessons.
Here is the progression of 5-minute activities we did for reading:
1) Learning to blend: Every night during bedtime reading, as well as in conversations throughout the day
2) Reading lessons: 5 minutes, 3 times a day
For any interested, here's an explanation of how Jim's reading program works:
1) Learning to blend: Recognizing sounds and blending them together to create words
This first step to Children Learning Reading doesn't use any reading of words or letters yet - it's just training their hearing to recognize the smallest pieces of sound. After using Jim's techniques and suggestions, Little Mr. was already able to blend (connect individual sounds together to make words) after less than 2 weeks!
Little Mr. was 2 years and 10 months at the time (that was when I first discovered Children Learning Reading). Initially I was a little worried about Little Mr. because he only really started talking between 2-2.5 years instead of the 1.5-2 years for most kids. All that worry went away as I watched him learn to read even when he couldn't pronounce all his words properly yet!
I already knew about Jim's program before Copycat turned 2 and a half, so when he was 2 years and 5 months I was already using some of these techniques to get him to blend (I might have gone a bit overboard, but that's another story!).
2) Reading lessons: Associate individual sounds with letters
Because Jim's techniques were working so well with Little Mr., I purchased the rest of his Children Learning Reading program, where Jim's 5-minute lessons teach kids to associate sounds with their letters and letter groupings. Not only does Jim's method teach kids how to sound out single words, but it also teaches kids to read sentences and stories before even knowing all the letter sounds!
Aside from being very impressed with how well his program works, I was also very pleased with Jim's eagerness to help. He answered every question I emailed him within a day!
Little Mr. finished the Children Learning Reading program when he was 3.5, and was able to read on his own. He was able to read so enthusiastically, especially when he saw an exclamation point or words written in all caps!
How age affects progression through the Children Learning Reading program
While Copycat understood how to blend at 2 years and 5 months, it took him longer than Little Mr. to figure out how to connect the sounds to letters he saw. Little Mr. was 2 years and 10 months when he started the program, and after he could blend, he was able to move onto a new lesson every 3-ish days as suggested by Jim's program. With Copycat, it took him about 3 months to consistently link the sounds to the letters in words, so we spent about a week on each new lesson and only started moving onto new lessons every 3 days when he was 2 years and 9 months. So just know that the younger your child is when you start this program, the longer it may take to complete the program, though Copycat is still on track to completing the program a couple of months before Little Mr. did. This is just my experience with my sons, and I'm sure it's different for all kids. But the program potentially taking longer when you start just may affect when you decide you would like to start this reading program with your own child (simply because more patience is required the earlier you start!).
After finishing Children Learning Reading
After finishing Jim's reading program, I didn't want to stop Little Mr.'s 5-minute learning time, so I came up with another 5-minute reading activity for him to do, which eventually inspired me to teach Little Mr. other educational skills in a 5-minute timeframe, and ultimately create Taylored 5-Minute Learning.
Having a reading toddler
We have really enjoyed having Little Mr.'s reading abilities before he's been to school!
He stopped needing naps when he was 3-4, so we did quiet time instead while Copycat napped. I kept all our kids books in his nap time (quiet time) room, and he would come out of nap time spouting off information he learned all by himself!
During nap time or on long car rides, he could read the instructions in his activity books for entertainment already, whether it's to find hidden objects, or connect the dots. He's much more independent and can more easily entertain himself.
We've been able to do spelling and writing as some of our 5-minute learning activities, which probably wouldn't have been possible had he not been able to read already.
I'm hopeful that when he does get to school, reading instructions will be second nature to him so he can focus on learning whatever is being taught rather than trying to understand what he's reading.
In short, I am incredibly thankful that I came across this reading program and only wish I had come across it sooner. For any of you guys wanting to teach your kids to read, whatever their age, Jim's Children Learning Reading program is my recommendation!
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