When I started homeschooling, I was certain that the only method really useful in teaching children to read was Phonics.

It just made more sense to me.

My oldest son was reading fluently at the age of 4. It sure worked with him!

I found that my daughter had more trouble. It wasn't clicking for her like it had for him. We'd go over a phonics rule - like "er" says "errr". And we'd sit there for 10 minutes, going over "er" words. Suddenly, she'd forget what "er" said! This would happen over and over again.

Finally, I found a solution.. I bought books for her from eBay. I think I spent $200 on 70 - 80 books. Different reading levels, different subjects. I left her pretty much alone with them - and she was suddenly reading!

Some good materials for teaching children to read are at:
Applied Scholastics