Reading Readiness & Recycling: The 3 "R's"
Read the introduction to the logic of being the best reading coach you can be for your preschooler as summarized below. Then go directly to the program through the following link (click here.)
Introduction
You can do so much more than simply read to your child. Your child is at the best age to teach when they are going through that "word explosion" stage and you say to yourself "can he (or she) ever talk now!" If they are capable of memorizing so many new words, then they should be capable of learning letter and phonogram sounds just as easily. The only reason they don't is because nobody is taking the time to show them consistently. How many times did you tell your child to use a spoon before they recognize a spoon for what it is and ask for it? We don't keep track. We simply do it. Likewise, phonics basics can be learned in the same way. Just do it.
We always start by teaching them the names of the letters. Why? Naming the letters is instrumental for spelling...not really reading if you think about it. Introduced this way it is a two step process 1) identify name and 2) identify sound. If you start by teaching the letter sounds, phonograms (letter combinations with unique sounds) and some high frequency whole words, these sounds will be the first thing to pop-up in their heads for the process of word decoding. In this way, you have simplified the process for your preschooler and it is only a one step process and not two: 1) identify sounds. All kindergarten teachers that I know start by teaching the letter names and upper and lower case letters to their students, and they are very successful in doing so. So ask yourself, would you rather your child know the "abc" song entering kindergarten or would you rather them know phonics and reading basics and give them potentially an extra two years of reading practice before they enter grade 1?
The best thing is that preschoolers love to play and learn. They want and crave your attention with a lot less attitude than when they are older. So why not capitalize on this? There is no computer game or app that can replace one-on-one interaction with your child. Can such programs and toys assist in the process of reading? Certainly. But again, your child is a human and needs human interaction as part of learning otherwise we wouldn't have school teachers, now would we?
Summary
To summarize, then, keep it simple (sounds first) and focus on lower case letters; keep it short & frequent to cater to the shorter attention span of younger kids; and above all, keep it fun (through games and arts & crafts using recyclables).