This morning my 5-year-old daughter sat down with my 3-year-old son and read “Walt Disney’s ‘Cinderella’ ” to him. It was, of course, an entirely heart-melting moment. But beyond the cuteness, I was also so, so proud of my little girl. She’s been reading words here and there for 
quite awhile, and I’ve known for some time that she could read. Until recently, though, she hasn’t been confident enough to pick up a book and read it. Here’s what we’ve done to get to this point:
Read, read, read and then read some more. I’ve been reading to Poppy since way back in her pre-crawling days. (I haven’t done as well at 
this with Pete.)
I love to read, so the kids see me reading frequently. I think this plays a big role in showing them that reading is important and can be fun.
Poppy started her “official” reading lessons with the Bob Books. It’s a graduated system that very slowly builds reading skills. We used the first three sets last year for preschool.
We haven’t used any sort of reading curriculum this year. It’s been a lot of reading out loud and trying to encourage her to read on her own. And here’s what I credit for her recent leap into independent reading: Pizza Hut. Seriously. Their BookIt reading incentive program is available to homeschoolers, so I signed Poppy up. The promise of a free pizza all her own? It’s motivated her more than my cheerleading ever could have.
So. Reading and pizza. They work for me and for my daughter!