Before the Books: 2 Hidden Skills Your Child Needs for Reading Success

Cheri Beaumont
20 hours ago
2 min read

Is Your Child Ready to Read? Start Here!

Before you open up that first reading book, there are two crucial "secret ingredients" your child needs to master first. Reading doesn't start with the eyes—it starts with the ears!

Let’s do a quick, playful check-in to see where your child is on their reading journey:

1. Can they hear the first sound in a word?

How to check: Say the word "sun" and ask your child what the very first sound is. Can they say the /s/ sound?

If not, don't worry! You can easily practice this at home just by pointing out beginning sounds during your normal day.
👉 Need a helping hand? [Watch my step-by-step video class here to make sound-matching fun and easy!]

2. Can they blend two sounds together orally?

How to check: Say /p/, pause for one second, and then say /ie/ (long i). Ask your child to smash those two sounds together to make a word ("pie"). Other great words to try are: by, me, so, am, on, and up.

👉 Want to practice this skill? [Download my free list of 2-sound words to use at home or in the car] or [Check out my blending masterclass here!]

3. The Next Step: Unlocking Letter Sounds

Once your child has conquered those first two skills, they are ready to learn the code!

My Top Tip: Always start with lowercase letters. Why? Because the vast majority of words in books are printed in lowercase! The only uppercase letter a beginner truly needs is the letter "I" (since it’s a word all on its own).

Want to fast-track their progress? In my 4-lesson video series, I teach children just 6 letter sounds, immediately show them how to blend those sounds into mini-words, and then—the best part—help them read their very first mini-story! It is incredibly rewarding for a child to experience the joy of real reading so quickly.

[✨ Enroll your child in the 4-Lesson Reading Class]
[📖 Skip the class and grab my 2-Sound Mini Stories directly!] (Bonus: These stories "hide" the pictures until after the words are read, ensuring your child is actually reading, not just guessing!)