RAR #185: Should I Use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons?

Speaker 1 (00:00): Hi, Sarah. Speaker 2 (00:01): Hi, Sarah. My name is Holly. Speaker 3 (00:03): Hi, Sarah. My name is April. Speaker 4 (00:04): I'm in Melbourne, Australia. Speaker 5 (00:07): I have a question about- Speaker 6 (00:09): My name is Julienne, and we live in India. Speaker 7 (00:11): I am wondering- Speaker 8 (00:12): Hi, Sarah. This is Crystal from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Speaker 9 (00:15): Can you give me a suggestion for an especially fabulous book? Sarah Mackenzie (00:23): Hey there. I'm Sarah Mackenzie. This is the Read Aloud Revival. In this short episode, I'm answering one of your questions. Speaker 11 (00:32): Hi, Sarah. I've come across this resource, I'm in a lot of homeschooling, resource suggestions of teaching your child to read. It's called To Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Have you heard of it before? What do you think about it? Do you approve or recommend this approach to teaching your child to read? Do you have an alternative suggestion? Thank you. Sarah Mackenzie (01:05): This is a great question. Yes, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is one of the most talked about teacher/child, phonics teaching children to read programs in the homeschool world. I approve of any program that teaches your child to read and helps them maintain their love of stories and reading, and that doesn't cause anyone to cry. I have heard great things from others who 100 Easy Lessons has worked for. I'll tell you, I did not have a great experience with it. It just didn't work for my kids. I know now why that is. (01:39): I know now it's because most of my kids have some varying shade, for lack of a better word, of dyslexia. They have some amount from a very slight to pretty profound dyslexia. In 100 Easy Lessons, that program is not a great program for teaching kids who are dyslexic. Now, if you Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and it works great for you, your kids don't mind it, you don't mind it, and they seem to be getting it just fine and nobody hates reading, then use it. I think there's no problem with it. (02:12): If however you try it and your child does not understand it, or you find that either one of you is sort of beating your head against a wall, or getting frustrated, or the lessons are taking too long or ending in tears, stop using it and use something else. I would say that about any curriculum in any subject probably. If you have a child who is not learning to read, not progressing at a pace that you were hoping for, maybe they are six, seven, eight and they're still struggling to read, you are not alone. Dyslexia is extremely common, and it's very commonly misunderstood. (02:52): I did a few episodes you'll want to listen to on the podcast. Read Aloud Revival Number 175 is the first one to listen to, "Is My Child Dyslexic?", that episode might blow your mind. It has become one of the most popular episodes here on the show because so many kids do contend with some version of dyslexia. As we say in that episode with Marianne Sunderland, dyslexia is really not a learning disorder, although a lot of us have that language in our heads from when we were kids. It's actually just a learning difference. It's just that dyslexic student's brain works differently than a non-dyslexic student brain. (03:28): It doesn't need to be fixed. There's nothing to fix there. It just means we need to approach certain subjects like phonics and reading in a way that matches the way God made their brain to work. Episode 175, "Is My Child Dyslexic?" and then after you listen to that one, if you want more goods on how to homeschool with dyslexia, either your own dyslexia or your child's dyslexia, you can listen to the next episode, Read Aloud Revival Number 176. If you suspect dyslexia, or if 100 Easy Lessons is just not a good fit for you, or you look at it and think "I do not want to teach this way," then try something else. (04:09): My two favorite programs are All About Reading and Logic of English. These are both programs that are based on the Orton-Gillingham Method, and they are very good for students who have some degree of dyslexia, but they're also really good programs to help your kids learn to read even if they're not dyslexic. I'll put links to both of those in the show notes, and you can check those out. They're very similar, but you don't need to use both, for sure. You just use one or the other. I always tell people "Just look at the both, and which one looks more fun to you." Use that one. That's how I would choose it. (04:45): They're both going to get you probably pretty good results. If you suspect dyslexia, go ahead and go listen to that episode because you want to find a program that works for your dyslexic student. That very well may be All About Reading or Logic of English. Or if they are extremely dyslexic, they may need a different program like Barton or something. You can get the resources you need to help you navigate those waters, and just help your child get the kind of instruction that works with the brain that God gave them. (05:14): We'll put links to all these in the show notes. I just want to reiterate, whether it's teaching your child to read, or it's math, or it's spelling, or it's history, or science, it should never be a cause for strife in the relationship. When you're looking at curriculum, you can ask yourself "What is the easiest way for me to approach this subject or this topic with my kids in a way that's also nurturing and nourishing to our relationship?" Any time you're using a curriculum and you find that it's getting between you and your kids, or you're finding that it's getting between your kids and their desire for learning, which is a very natural God-given innate thing, or is getting in the way of their desire for reading, then you probably want to rethink the program. (06:03): The problem is very rarely our students or us. It's just us trying to fit ourselves into the whole square peg into a round hole, or a round peg into a square hole. I don't remember how the saying goes, but you know what I mean. My short answer for you, maybe it's not so short, my long answer for you on what do you think of 100 Easy Lessons, is that use it if it works for you. I've heard lots of people who've loved it and have taught multiple children to read successfully with it. It has never worked for me, and just like any other curriculum, if there is something that doesn't work for your particular kids, there's nothing wrong with you. Just find something that does. (06:39): We'll put links to our favorite programs in the show notes. Those show notes are at ReadAloudRevival.com/185, since this is episode 185. Okay, let's listen to the kids and see what they're enjoying lately. (06:58): All right, what's your name? Dean Lucas Wiggle (07:01): Dean Lucas Wiggle. Sarah Mackenzie (07:03): How old are you? Dean Lucas Wiggle (07:06): Five. Sarah Mackenzie (07:06): Where do you live? Dean Lucas Wiggle (07:06): Washington. Sarah Mackenzie (07:06): What's your favorite book? Dean Lucas Wiggle (07:09): 101 Dalmatians. Nora (07:12): My name is Nora. I'm three. Sarah Mackenzie (07:15): Where do you live? Nora (07:15): In a tent. Sarah Mackenzie (07:15): Do you? Nora (07:20): I live in Washington. Sarah Mackenzie (07:21): What's your favorite book? Nora (07:24): The Funny Little Woman. Sarah Mackenzie (07:26): The Funny Little Woman, in Pinkalicious. Nora (07:26): Pinkalicious [inaudible 00:07:28]. Isaac (07:29): Hi, my name is Isaac, and I am six years old. I live in Florida. The book is called [inaudible 00:07:39], and I like every part of it. Joann (07:42): Hi, my name is Joann. I'm seven years old, and I live in Montreal, Canada. My favorite book is The Lightening Thief because there's this kid called Percy and he can... I like this book because he can control the waves. Sarah Mackenzie (08:08): Thanks for listening. If you've got a question for an upcoming episode, leave me a voice mail at ReadAloudRevival.com/message. Until next time, go make meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books. (08:29): So many of us feel overwhelmed in our homeschool. There's a lot to do, and it feels like every child needs something a little different. The good news is, you are the best person on the planet to help your kids learn and grow, and home is the best place to fall in love with books. I'm Sarah Mackenzie, and I'm a homeschooling mother of six, the author of Teaching from Rest, and the Read Aloud family. I'm the host here on the Read Aloud Revival podcast. (09:07): This podcast has been downloaded over eight million times. You know, I think it's because so many of us want the same things. We want our kids to be readers, to love reading. We want our homes to be warm and happy havens of learning and connection. We know that raising our kids is the most important work of our lives. That's kind of overwhelming, right? You are not alone. In Read Aloud Revival Premium, we offer Family Book Clubs, a vibrant community and Circle with Sarah, coaching for you, the homeschooling mom, so you can teach from rest, homeschool with confidence and raise kids who love to read. (09:56): Our Family Book Clubs are a game changer for your kids' relationship with books. We provide you with a Family Book Club guide and an opportunity for your kids to meet the author or illustrator live on screen. All you have to do is get the book, read it with your kids, and make those meaningful and lasting connections. They work for all ages, from your youngest kids to your teens. Every month, our community also gathers online for a Circle with Sarah, to get ideas and encouragement around creating the homeschooling life you crave. They're the most effective way I know to teach from rest and build a homeschool life you love. (10:48): We want to help your kids fall in love with books, and we want to help you fall in love with homeschooling. Join us today at RARPremium.com.