My elder daughter loves books with a passion. A highly auditory learner, she is able to sit through challenging and even chapter books. Her reading skills though need to be worked on. I had thought that she is weak visually, but this is not the case. I have seen her understand and notice details with accuracy and clarity on many occasions.

I have come to the conclusion that it is really a lack of confidence that has stopped her from being able to read. I am quite sure too that my anxiety has rubbed off on her and while I don’t want to pressure her anymore, I feel that she IS ready to read independently.

We tried several approaches, none of which seemed to work. I have Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox & Elaine Bruner, but could not bear its messy layout and boring drills. Other online phonics resources seemed to only scratch the surface. They were also very inconvenient. I would have to spend a long time printing, preparing flash cards and stapling books.

Then I read about Valerie Bendt’s Reading Made Easy : A Guide to Teach Your Child to Read through my friend’s online bookstore. It is such a gem that I wish I had heard about it sooner. With this book, absolutely NOTHING else is needed. I don’t even have to prepare – all I have to do is read the ‘script’ prepared and point to the word lists. Lessons are broken down into bite-size pieces but challenging enough to give the child a sense of direction and satisfaction. I have never felt so relaxed teaching Ms M how to read.

Ms M did 12 lessons in ONE sitting! I feel so positive about this! This book is a definite keeper … ma shaa Allah.

A must-have!