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Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 26, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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My almost four year daughter has expressed an interest in learning to read. I am lazy, and don't particularly want to teach her to read, but also can't afford preschool any time soon, so probably should.

Recommendations for methods/curriculum/concrete actions would be appreciated. Preferably that doesn't include a lot of small pieces -- my mother is really into teaching reading, but tends to give us a bunch of matching letter toys that are instantly scattered throughout the house.

Friend of mine swears by the book "teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" by Siegfried Engelmann. It's from 1986 or something and I think there are free pdfs floating around online.

I tried that when my son was 4 and I just could not get him to pay attention through any of the lessons. He ended up learning to read at school in Kindergarten and is the top reader in his class now. If OP's daughter is actually driving the effort though, it should work well!

That looks interesting, thanks. I find it appealing that it's one book instead of a set of 50 books or something.

My parents are book hoarders, and while I do own children's books, I mostly prefer to check books out from the library, and still have trouble managing even the ones we have, and those my parents have given us.