Littles Love Learning Podcast

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to teach our children to read correctly from the very beginning. One of the ways we can do this is by teaching OPEN and CLOSED syllables, which is an important phonics skill for your child to master to become a proficient reader and speller. Today's episode shares all about OPEN and CLOSED syllables and how to teach this phonics skill using...

Do you know how to properly teach the three sounds of -ed with past-tense verbs? If you're teaching your child to read based on the Science of Reading, you need to understand this important phonics rule! This rule is perfect for beginning readers and spellers because it will help them read and spell more words correctly. Keep listening to learn all about the 3 sounds of -ed with past-tense verbs....

Do you know how to properly teach the two sounds of Long Vowel U when teaching Magic E letters? If you're teaching your child to read based on the Science of Reading, you need to understand this important phonics rule! It's perfect for beginning readers and spellers because it will help them read and spell more words correctly. Keep listening to learn all about the 2 sounds of Long Vowel U. *Vowel...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on letters and sounds with beginning readers. But we must be VERY careful when teaching alphabet sounds so we don't add the extra "uh" sound at the end. This can cause reading and spelling problems later on. Today's episode shares a quick tip that will help your child (and you!) say the letter sounds correctly. I also share how this...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on letters and sounds at home. But did you know there's a RIGHT way and a WRONG way to teach the alphabet to your child? Today's episode shares the top 5 things you MUST know about teaching the alphabet to your child if you want them to become a STRONG reader. >>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click he...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on literacy skills with our kids. We want to teach them according to the Science of Reading so they grow into strong readers AND spellers. You may have heard about Heart Words (sometimes called "Sight Words"), but do you know how to effectively teach them to your child so they remember? This episode includes a quick chant I use with...

Teaching your child to read involves a lot of steps: Helping them pull apart the sounds in words (segmenting) Helping them match those sounds to letters (alphabetic principal) Helping them blend those sounds back together to read the word (decoding) This episode shares a quick and easy game that practices ALL of these skills to help your child become a strong reader AND speller! And the best part?...

Today's episode is a little more personal than usual. I'm doing a deep-dive into why (and how) I taught my kids to read before they went to kindergarten. This was the best choice for my family, but every parent must make this choice for their own child. Thanks for listening and letting me share my story! If you'd like to teach your child to read at home, whether that's before or after kindergarten...

In order for your child to properly learn to read, it's important that you support their teacher's efforts by working with your child at home. When we can get parents AND teachers on the same team, it benefits the child and leads to greater reading success! Keep watching for 5 simple ways you can support your child's teacher at home. Looking for links from the video? Here you go! Join the waitlist...

Reading is one of the MOST important skills your child will learn. If they are not taught correctly from the start, it will cause a lot of struggles later on, which will require intervention to correct. If you're considering hiring a reading tutor, either to help your child who is struggling OR help your child get ahead, keep listening! I'm sharing the PROS and CONS of hiring a reading tutor, plus...

A common question I get as an early literacy specialist is, "Will my child be too smart for kindergarten if I teach them to read? Won't they be bored in school?" I'm here today to share my perspective on this topic and help you think about it a little differently. Then you can make the best decision for your family! Looking for links from the episode? Here you go! Kindergarten End-of-the-Year Lite...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on letters and sounds at home. We want to teach our children according to the Science of Reading so they grow into strong readers and spellers, and regularly reviewing letters and sounds is a KEY component of this. Today's episode shares a quick game you can play to review letters and sounds in a FUN and EASY way. Looking for the LI...

One of the most common questions parents have when teaching their children to read is, "Should I teach my child letter names or letter sounds first?" This is a BIG debate in the early childhood space, and it can be hard to figure out the best choice for your family. Keep listening to hear my opinion on the "letter names or letter sounds" debate and why I think it's best for your child. >>&gt...

One of the most important steps when teaching your child to read is teaching them how to properly blend letter sounds. This starts with LOTS of oral blending (phonemic awareness), and then it's time to move on to blending sounds when looking at printed letters (which is all reading is!) Keep listening for a simple strategy that will help your child blend letter sounds together to read words. >&...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on literacy skills with our kids. We want to teach them according to the Science of Reading so they grow into strong readers and spellers. But do you also REVIEW past concepts and skills you've taught to them so they won't forget? Reviewing past concepts is the KEY! There are 3 drills you can use to review past skills. Today's episo...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on literacy skills with our kids. We want to teach them according to the Science of Reading so they grow into strong readers and spellers. But do you also REVIEW past concepts and skills you've taught to them so they won't forget? Reviewing past concepts is the KEY! There are 3 drills you can use to review past skills. Today's episo...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on literacy skills with our kids. We want to teach them according to the Science of Reading so they grow into strong readers and spellers. But do you also REVIEW past concepts and skills you've taught to them so they won't forget? Reviewing past concepts is the KEY! There are 3 drills you can use to review past skills. Today's episo...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on literacy skills with our kids. We want to teach them according to the Science of Reading so they grow into strong readers and spellers. You may have heard about Heart Words (sometimes called "Sight Words"), but do you know how to effectively teach them to your child so they remember? This episode includes 3 tips for practicing He...

As parents of young children, we know how important it is to work on literacy skills with our kids. We want to teach them according to the Science of Reading so they grow into strong readers and spellers. But do you know how to effectively work with your child at home so they learn and grow? This episode includes 3 tips for working with your child at home to ensure the time you spend teaching them...

Do you know how to properly teach the rule about letter Q? Can you correctly produce the sound represented by QU? If you're teaching your child to read based on the Science of Reading, you need to understand this important phonics rule. Keep listening to learn all about Q and U (the married letters) and how to best teach them to your child. >>> Would you rather watch this information as a...

When you're teaching your child to read and spell, they might wonder why letter S is used to spell the /z/ sound at the end of some words like is, his, and has. Keep listening to learn when letter S spells the /z/ sound and when it spells the /s/ sound at the end of a word (because YES, there is a reason why this happens!) This tip will help your child read and spell more accurately. >>>...

When you're teaching your child to spell, they might wonder how to spell /k/ at the beginning of a word...should they use C or K? Keep watching to learn a generalized spelling rule that teaches your child how to accurately spell words that begin with /k/. Video Links Mentioned in this Episode: High-Frequency Words vs. Sight Words What is Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping What is the Heart Word Method Flash...

Do you know why "am" and "an" are NOT great words to start with when teaching your child to read? You'll see these words in many alphabet books and on lots of worksheets, but they should NOT be the first words you teach your child because of "nasal a." If you're teaching your child to read in a way that's aligned with the Science of Reading, you need to understand this important phonics rule so yo...

Two of the trickiest letters for kids to identify are lowercase b and lowercase d. Many kids have a hard time telling them apart when reading and spelling. But there are certain tricks we can teach our kids to help them tell the difference between these two letters more easily. Keep listening to learn a few tricks you can teach your child to make telling the difference between lowercase b and lowe...

Do you know the difference between blends and digraphs? If you're teaching your child to read in a way that's aligned with the Science of Reading, you need to know the difference between blends and digraphs in order to teach them correctly. This is an important phonics rule that you want to be confident in so you can confidently teach your child. Keep listening to learn the difference between blen...