How to teach your child to read in just 10 minutes a day
Think teaching your child to read takes hours of drill work? Good news—it doesn’t! In fact, shorter, fun sessions (just 1-10 minutes at a time) are far more effective than long, exhausting ones. You know your child best, so let’s work with their attention span, not against it.
So, what does that actually look like?
The key is to keep it simple and fun! Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to make the most of those short teaching moments:
Warm Up with Sounds
Before diving into letters, start by playing with sounds—this helps train your child’s ears for reading! Try blending and segmenting words together. For example:
- Instead of saying “hot” as one word, break it down: h-o-t
- For a word like “ship,” say the sounds separately: sh-i-p
This simple practice builds a strong foundation for reading! You can practice this skill with just a few words a day.
2. Quick Review: What They Already Know
If your child has already learned a few letters, do a quick sound review. Flashcards work great for this! Keep it snappy—no need to drill for ages.
3. Introduce a New Sound
When adding a new letter sound, focus on the sound, not the letter name. Show them the letter and talk about how to make the sound with their mouth. What are their tongue and lips doing? Can they feel the sound in their throat? This hands-on approach helps them remember!
4. Make It Fun!✨
Now comes the best part—playing with the new sound! You don’t need fancy materials or hours of prep. Try this:
- Hide letters around the house and have your child find them. Each time they do, they say the sound!
Play a quick game from my list of 20 easy, low-prep phonics games—designed with busy moms like you in mind!
Want to Make Reading Even Easier?
If you’d like a simple, step-by-step approach to teaching your child to read—without stress or overwhelm—check out my Learn to Read Course. You’ll learn:
✅ The best order to teach letters
✅ How to say each sound correctly
✅ More fun, easy game ideas to make learning stick
Click below to get started today! 💜
