Best Way to Teach My 2 1/2 Year Old to Read..

At that age their little brains aren't hard wired to "learn to read". If you like to teach her to memorize words & such that can be done.
Try the books & DVD's you see on TV.
Good Luck

Not to be rude but you should re-read your question and think about what you are asking. 2 1/2 year old to read? Really?

my sister inlaw used that your baby can read program and swear by it her daughters are reading at a second grase level and are only three she love it

the best way is to start out with picture books let her tell you what the pictures are. also repeative word books (5 monkies,chicka chicka boom boom,brown bear brown bear etc.) check with your local childrens library for suggestions and activities. most important read to her and with her. make your own books with her. my grandchildren live far away so i write them a story about them and send some paper an a envelope so they can draw pictures or have their parents write what they say about the picture. they are 3 &4 years old i cant wait until they are old enough to write me about there day.
____@____.com (retired preschool teacher)

Reading to your child and enjoying books together is the best way to introduce your child to the world of books and the enjoyment there of. I treated all our children the same and one was reading at the age of 4 and another one had a difficult time with reading, each child is different The key is to keep it fun. Flash cards work for sight words. Pointing out words as you go along your daily activites. Repetition of a book. There are plently of programs out there find one you enjoy. Try you public library and use them for free.

Hi Amy---I really don't think you have to do anything other than read to your children. They will learn to read when they are ready. Just set the good example of reading to them frequently, and watching for clues from them on how they would like to learn.

I remember playing little 'games' with our children when they were little. One of them happened every time I wore a t-shirt or sweatshirt with words on it. It would always seem that the kids would point to the letters on my shirt and then we would spend some time saying and eventually learning the letters on the clothing.

A magnetic alphabet/letter set is another great tool to learn letters. The kids loved playing with them on the refrigerator while we were in the kitchen.

And you will find that your daughter will learn to 'read' very soon, if she hasn't already, by sight recognition, for example, Cheerios. So you can spend some time with prducts that she knows, pointing out the letters and how that makes the word 'cheerios'. It doesn't have to be fancy, just look for opportunities during your day.

Hope this helps. Call if you'd like to talk more. D.
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Start by letting her watch The leap frog video called LETTER FACTORY. That teaches letter sounds. Then move to word factory. We got ours from the library then ended up getting them on ebay cause they taught my son so quick.

I would also recommend a book called TEACH YOUR CHILD TO READ IN 100 EASY LESSONS. It is a homeshcooling book that I have heard works very well. You usually don't even get to the 50th lesson before they get learn to read.

Some 2 year olds are capable to learning to read some are not. If it is not clicking - don't push it. As soon as it is not fun for either of you - stop - wait - try again later.

You have gotten some great advise on this and I just want to add something daughters teacher recommended to me is read the nursery rhymes to her. Please don't push the reading issue too early just read to her, expose her to all sorts of children books and let her be a child.
K.
____@____.com

I asked about that program a month ago and this is the response that I got.
if you want to talk to this lady I will send you her name.

Please don't do it. I'm a reading specialist and if you want to PM me I can go into more detail. I don't have a lot of time now to explain why (it could take a while), but this is NOT a good idea. Kelli H has the right idea and a lot of good suggestions in her response.

Most children with reading problems have problems with comprehension, not decoding. I've had kindergartners who could read a 5th grade text beautifully, but if you ask them the simplest question about what they just read, they can't answer it. That's NOT reading. Reading = making meaning.

Teaching comprehension is a lot more difficult than teaching decoding, but most parents put their emphasis on the actual decoding ("reading the words")...that's not where you should be focusing right now.

The decoding will come in due time (closer to kindergarten). For now, read to your child, talk to your child, give her new experiences, teach her songs and rhymes and play with words. Silly songs like, "I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas. I like to ite, ite, ite, ipples and baninis" are GREAT for teaching kids to hear individual sounds in words. That's called building phonemic / phonological awareness and it's the first step. If they can't hear individual sounds and break them apart, they're not ready for phonics.

Most children are not ready for phonics until kindergarten or preschool at the earliest. Introducing it too early can do more harm than good.

For a great parent-friendly book, check out "Beyond Bedtime Stories"...here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Bedtime-Stories-Promoting-Li...

I used to read to my boys every night before bed as a part of their routine. When I started noticing them paying a bit more attention to the pages I started putting my finger under each word as I read it. Then I would reiterate what was on the page in my own words to help along the comprehension end of it. During the summer I got out the sidewalk chalk and helped them write the alphabet out on the driveway but only if they wanted to. Eventually I got to the point where I wrote out the alphabet and they would go along under my letters and write it themselves. Then we expanded it to write out our address and phone number. It's good practice. I also had the magnetic letters and numbers on the refrigerator that we could work with while I was cooking, too. It was the greatest feeling when they wrote out by themselves the first time "I love you". Granted, my kids are special needs and a part of their disability is to excell academically (aspergers syndrome) but at this point my first grader is reading at a fourth grade level and comprehending everything. Just remember not to push it. Your daughter will catch on when she is good and ready and not before. Sesame Street helps a lot, too.

Good luck!

S.

Hi Amy,

I see you have a few good responses but I would like to add just a couple of things. First I agree, that at the age of 2 1/2 they don't really get the comprehension down of what they had read, but they can get recongnition. Start with first word books, example, A is for Apple, B is Banana etc... They learn from repeativness. Also don't push if they don't get it right away, just do the same book over and over. But if you start to see frustration don't push because then they will rebel. There a alot of good books at the library. But I would start with first word books.

Good luck and Take Care,
S.

2 1/2 is kinda young to be reading you should start by learning abc's and make sure she recognizes her letters and just read to her over and over. also help her learn how to spell her name. don't push it she will lose interest