The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading

by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington

[cherryblossommj]

My first exposure to homeschooling was through SisterL and her decision to do so. She's a Catholic Stay-at-home Navy Wife and Mama to six and it fits their life perfectly. My second introduction was not just to homeschooling, but also to a Classical Christian Education through my job as a long term and short notice substitute teacher at a Classical Christian Education School in Georgia. Working there was some of the best months ever as I learned about the methods in teaching a Classical Christian Education and really involving God on all levels of the educational experience as well as using a tried and true method of teaching that works so well. It was through preparation to work there that I found The Well-Trained Mind and in essence Jessie Wise. (More to come on TWTM...)

The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is a perfect place for people to start if they are going to homeschool in a Classical Christian Education method. Better yet OPG is for everyone! If you're using any method of homeschool, or even if you are sending your child to school, you could benefit from the OPG to Teaching Reading. Some children pick up reading skills easily and others may find them a bit later and need more effort to acquire them. Yet once those skills are established the entire world is opened and an adventure of education awaits.

I am absolutely delighted to get my hands on a copy of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading! True, AppleBlossom is only 16 months old, but I'm not opposed to venturing out and making some decisions on where we might go in the next few years. Already she has a vast vocabulary far more varied that I would have expected both in verbal language and sign language (more to come on the sign language...). When she is ready, because I have equipped myself with the OPG I feel confident of what to do and where to go. After reading TWTM I was ecstatic to discover co-author Jessie Wise had continued on with other materials to aid in the education of children's minds. The OPG is the perfect place to start.


The complete set, with everything related to the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Included in [the] combo pack are 1 paperback copy of the OPG, 1 copy of the flashcards, 1 copy of the Audio Companion, and 2 magnetic letter boards (1 set of the board and letters, 1 additional letter storage board). All of this is available at $55, a savings of almost 14%.

When we get a bit closer to time where AppleBlossom is talking more and ready to really learn the alphabet and to read, I definitely plan to invest in the other parts of the OPG kit or pieces like them. Reading through the lessons, I can definitely see where they will come in and be valuable. In addition to lessons that take you through the vowels, consonants and many combining words... there is a great FAQs section that answers so many questions in a clear light. This really is a book that they have made where anyone may be qualified to teach their child to read. (Even an avid reader with poor grammar like myself...)

*Thanks to Kim Norton of Peace Hill Press for providing a copy for review.*