May I Recommend…

Here Come the ABCs, Here Come the 123′s, and Here Comes Science by They Might be Giants: Awesome music that teaches basic letters, numbers, and science concepts in a way that won’t want you to cut your ears off. Seriously, some of the songs are really catchy. We listen to “High Five” in increments of about 30 times in a row, and Tiny singing “I am a Paleontologist” may be one of the cutest things ever.

There Is a Bird On Your Head! (An Elephant and Piggie Book): Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series is a new hit at our house. The words are straight forward enough that Z can read them, and the pictures and stories are hilarious enough that she WANTS to read them.

Now I’m Reading! Playful Pals, Level 1 : This is what we’re working through now for reading lessons, and Z is loving them. Each “book” has 10 mini books inside, and there are 5 or 6 sets.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons: This is the book we used with Z, and it is fantastic. It lays out word for word what to say and how to lead your child through the lesson. Each lesson takes 20 minutes or less.  We did have to stop at around lesson 65 as it takes the kids up to a 1st or 2nd grade reading level, and Z hit her personal ceiling. HIGHLY recommended.

LeapFrog – Letter Factory: This DVD, along with the Talking Words Factory, Word Caper,and  Learn to Read at the Storybook Factory make up a FANTASTIC introduction to letters and reading. They really work incredibly well. There are math DVDs too, but we haven’t used them as much. I should get them out again.