I’m a teacher, but I teach older kids, so I’m out of my element with this question. I’m preparing for the possibility of virtual/hybrid school with my soon to be 1st grader. She’s considered a little behind on reading (at a level B in March). She’s improved a little since then, but I notice that she seems to struggle with combining sounds while reading. For instance, she’ll try to sound out each part of “ing” rather than understanding that it goes together. She also struggles a lot with whether a sound is a short or long vowel, and sounding out a word that way.

Knowing this, I’ve been having her work through a phonics book, and we talk through the pages together. I’ve also been having her read to me, and I help her sound out words she’s unsure of. She’s in an online summer school course, but the additional reading zoom she has each week is really more about making predictions, comprehension, and vocabulary, which are areas she excels in. She loves books and loves to be read to, and is happy to discuss them. It’s just the reading on her own that she’s struggling with.

I want to help her without pushing too much or ruining her love of reading. Are there specific reading programs (supplemental or homeschool) that any of you would recommend? I’d ideally start this with her in the next few weeks, so we could get a head start before school begins in September.