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I’ll be honest and admit that I hate teaching kids to read. It’s really the hardest thing I’ve ever done! I thought teaching my daughter was tough until I had a son with a hearing impairment. Let’s just say, I’ve learned a lot through trial and error while trying to improve reading skills in our house.
As a fresh homeschooler, we used Dick and Jane books to learn to read. It worked but my daughter struggled for a few years until it finally clicked. Right now, I’m in the trenches of helping my son become a fluent reader. Being full of energy and having a hearing impairment makes learning to read nearly impossible. But, with a little hard work and a few simple tips, we’ve seen him improve his reading skills in just a few short months.
With the help of Virtua, I’ve found that it’s not that hard to improve reading skills with my kiddos. Virtua does all the dirty work for me, so I can swoop in and snuggle up on the couch and enjoy books with my kids.
3 Tips to Improve Reading Skills
Make It Fun:
One thing that kids hate about reading is that it seems boring to them. If they’ve been struggling with reading, pushing them further does no good. It simply makes them despise reading. Instead of sitting down with a book, add some fun to your reading routine. Read restaurant menus when you’re dining out. Have your kids read maps, movie titles or magazines. There are so many places to enjoy reading besides on the couch, struggling to read textbooks.
Virtua offers several online magazines that makes reading fun for all ages!
Short, engaging magazine articles are the perfect confidence-booster for kids who need to improve reading skills.
Use Audio Books:
Listening to other people read is actually a great way to improve reading skills in kids. Kids can hear the pauses, build confidence in their own reading and increases problem-solving skills, all while listening to read-alouds.
While younger kids may prefer their parents read to them, I’ve found that middle and high schoolers really enjoy audio books. We’ve made it a habit to listen to our audio books in the car or as bedtime stories at night, before bed.
We also like to sneak them in during our lunch time and when we need a break from school. Sometimes, we turn on audio books while we clean our house and it helps the kids focus on tackling the tasks at hand.
Virtua offers some of our favorite audio books including The Chronicles of Narnia and To Kill a Mockingbird!
Don’t Dismiss Ebooks:
The truth is, kids love looking at screens. They thrive on watching educational YouTube videos, binge-watching their favorite movies and doing schoolwork online. Technology is the future, just like our kiddos are. Instead of pushing your child to read from physical books, allow them to pick an ebook that interests them.
There are thousands of ebooks available on Virtua and this is a simple way to improve reading skills!
Your kids won’t even know that you’re working on their struggles.
More about Virtua
Virtua is a new and amazing way to learn! Instead of searching for different programs that help you improve reading skills, you can get all you need from one company, Virtua! Besides being awesome at improving reading skills, they also offer all kinds of online learning materials.
It’s a new addition to one of our favorite homeschool companies, Homeschool Buyers Co-Op and it doesn’t disappoint! Besides the amazing reading resources, it also offers science, math and language arts lessons for grades 2-10.
The monthly subscription is affordable for large families and you can even try it out for just $1 right now!
Find out more about Virtua and try it out for just $1!
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