Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons: Why It Works!

Are you considering Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons? Then I’m here to help.

Let me start this review by sharing one of my early homeschooling memories. I remember it like it was just yesterday.

“Why are you homeschooling her?”

“Aren’t you worried about socialization?”

It seemed all of my daughter’s friends were going to kindergarten and I was dodging questions from their respective mothers.

When I began homeschooling, I felt the pressure BIG TIME. And I wanted to get the naysayers off my back.

So what was my solution? To get my kid reading ASAP.

Not sure if this resonates, but I know I wasn’t alone.

So, whether you’re a new homeschool mom or you’ve got a 12-year-old who’s still cries at the thought of picking up a book, keep reading.

Today, I’m sharing 7 reasons why you should try Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons!

Let’s get to it!

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Homeschool Goal #1: Get My Kid To Read

Before I jump into the 7 reasons why Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons works, tell me if you can relate.

“Public school was good enough for me, so it’s good enough for my kids.”

My nosey neighbor

Yes. My neighbor decided she needed to share this little insight with me.

Man, that was beyond annoying.

‘And why do you care what I am doing?’ I retorted (in my mind).

It’s been more than 11 years, but I remember it clearly. I felt attacked and therefore, I became a defensive and determined.

I MUST TEACH MY KID TO READ.

This was my goal. Once I taught my oldest to read, I’d sure show them. (No, my motives weren’t pure. Live and learn, right?)

Do you relate to these feelings? If so, stick with me.

My Search for the Best Reading Program

My first step was to hit up the local homeschool store to find the perfect reading curriculum. (Hint- it doesn’t exist.)

But in the end, it wasn’t an expensive boxed reading curriculum that worked.

Nope. It was a $15 paperback.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons was the best homeschool investment! Both of my girls learned to read at age 4 using this book.

Whether your child is 4 or 14, you should definitely consider Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

Here’s why.

7 Reasons Why Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons Works!

The following 7 reasons will help you understand why Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons works!

1. One Book and 100 Lessons

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is one book divided into 100 daily reading lessons.

It’s effective for all types of learners including those with ADHD, APD, and older kids who need extra reading support.

The program gives kids a jump start on reading. Its stated goal is for the child to read at a 2nd-grade level by the 100th lesson.

It does this by focusing on:

• Decoding skills
• Fluency skills

Reading comprehension is not specifically addressed.

2. Works for Kids ADHD & APD

If you didn’t know, we are an ADHD family (Hint… ADHD is hereditary).

On top of that, one of my girls has an Auditory Processing Disorder diagnosis.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons worked beautifully for my girls’ ADHD brains for a few reasons.

1. The lessons are short and to the point,
2. No-prep work for mom (limited decision-making required),
3. And the lessons support visual and kinesthetic learners.

Ultimately, the quick progress and small goals are encouraging to the child and momma.

3. Visual Cues for Visual Learners

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons uses a modified alphabet system. The system provides visual cues to indicate which sound is associated with each alphabet symbol. 

For example, the letter symbol “e” is modified slightly depending on how it’s used in a word.

• In the earlier lessons, macrons are shown to indicate long vowel sounds.
  • What’s a Macron?
    • (A macron is the little line above vowels. You typically will see these in a dictionary.)

4. Vowel Teams & Silent Letter Scaffolding

All silent vowels are initially introduced in a smaller font to indicate that it should remain silent.

As shown below, the silent /a/ in the vowel team /ea/ as in EAT is printed in smaller font in order to show that it’s a silent vowel.

In the end, visual cues like these are extremely helpful for kids who need extra support.

Slowly Remove Reading Supports

DISTAR’s unique letter symbols are gradually removed as kids begin to recognize the letter patterns and sounds.

In other words, the brain no longer needs extra visual cues.

For most kids, this transition happens seamlessly.

5. Scripted Lessons

One reason I love Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is that it’s scripted!

Scripted lessons are great because homeschool teachers don’t have to think!

Now, this may seem to be stifling to some. But here’s my thinking:

We mommas already have to make 1,987,867 decisions in a day. Less decision-making means I have more capacity for those life-or-death moments.

(For example, remaining calm so I can keep my kid alive when he’s hanging from a two-story foyer. True story.)

6. Unique Multisensory Approach

When teaching anything, using multiple senses increases engagement and retention.

Notice the multiple senses used in this simple walk-through of the reading lesson.

• Mom verbalizes the script aloud to the student. (auditory)
• Letter sounds and words are repeated by the child. (Hint… oral language is physical movement)
• The child follows the visual text with his eyes. (visual)
• Physically follows the text with his pointer finger. (again more kinesthetic movement)

7. Easily Modified for Different Learners

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons can be modified to meet your learner’s needs.

The following are two simple tips to modify 100 Easy Lessons.

1. Think About Visual Processing

The pages in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons are minimalistic with limited pictures or color.  

On the surface, the text may appear dry and boring. 

However, this is one reason why the system can be effective for children learning differences.

Many children (and adults) become overly stimulated with lots of visual input.

On the other hand, the way that 100 Easy Lessons is laid out could be a problem for some kids.

Here’s why: visual discrimination.

What is Visual Discrimination?

When looking at a page of text, the brain has to tease through all the visual input it receives through the eyes.

This requires cognitive fuel.

When learning a new concept or skill, the brain uses more energy because the process is not fluent.

By removing visual clutter, it’s easier for the brain to focus on the learning objective rather than teasing through excess visual stimuli.

2. Shorten Lessons

The lessons in Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons are short. They’re to the point and no more than 20 minutes a day.

The minimal time commitment makes learning to read very manageable for kids. However, some kids with ADHD, for example, may not have the capacity to sit for that long.

In my experience, I broke up the lessons into smaller 5-to-10-minute sessions.

• I’d break up the lessons into a short 5-minute lesson in the morning,
• And then a 5-minute session before lunch.

On the other hand, if you’re using it with an older student with a greater attention span, do more than one lesson per day.

The point is that Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons can be modified to fit the student.

Modify Any Curriculum to Fit Your Child

In the end, I highly recommend modifying ANY curriculum into smaller chunks of time when necessary.

I especially recommend short lessons with younger children and any child (or teen) who struggles with executive functioning.

Jumping on my soapbox for a second, Friend. If you know me this won’t be a surprise.

Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons: Final Thoughts

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is user-friendly, requires no prep time for the instructor, and is cheap (around $15).

While it’s not exciting, it certainly does the trick for many students.

In the end, I highly recommend Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

It’s a great tool for the beginning reader as well as older students who need extra support.

So, Friend. What are your thoughts? Have you used 100 Easy Lessons? Comment below.