Common early reading snags

My child mixes up b and d or can't blend sounds. Is that normal?

Yes, both are very common in children learning to read, and b and d mix-ups often last until about age 7 or 8. Most children get past them with a simple trick for b and d and slower, stretched-out blending, but if they last despite good teaching, ask about an evaluation.

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Fixing b and d

Teach the sound, not just the shape: b starts with the stick, like a bat before a ball, and d starts with the round part. The bed trick helps too: make two fists with thumbs up, and the left one is b, the right one d. Practise one letter until it is solid before mixing them.

When blending will not click

Say the sounds with smaller and smaller gaps until they join: sss...at, ss..at, s.at, sat. Start with sounds you can stretch, like s, m and f, and play it out loud with no letters at all. A child who knows their sounds but cannot blend usually needs this oral practice, not more letters.

Where Clareza fits

Its Learning to Read course teaches b and d in different lessons, and Clara plays blending and sound games out loud. You can place an older child in it for reading while they stay at their own grade for math. More on reading trouble at /homeschool-curriculum/homeschool-curriculum-for-dyslexia.

What this is not

  • Clareza does not diagnose anything, and it is not a dyslexia program or Orton-Gillingham.
  • There is no special b and d drill. The course teaches every sound in order, with lots of blending.
  • If blending or reversals still do not budge after months of steady teaching, ask your school district or an educational psychologist about an evaluation, and your pediatrician about hearing and vision.

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We collect only what it takes to teach your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers and progress, and their chat with Clara (written by Anthropic's AI, read aloud by OpenAI). Nobody trains AI on it or sells it, and you can see or delete it any time. You create your child's account yourself. Paying by card is how you give consent.

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Your consent is needed before we collect anything from your child, and we collect nothing without it. You create your child's account yourself; they never sign up alone.

  • What we collect from your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers, time on lessons and progress, and their chat with Clara. Used to run the lessons, build their transcript and show you how they are doing.
  • Who else handles it: Anthropic (an AI company) receives the chat text and the lesson, with your child's first name but no last name or account details, to write Clara's replies. That is how Clara works, so it is part of the service. If you switch on answering out loud for a child, their voice is turned into text on our own server and then discarded; it is never sent to another company. OpenAI turns lesson text and Clara's replies (which can include your child's first name) into the read-aloud voice. Our email provider sends you reports about your child. Nobody trains AI on your child's data, and nobody sells it.
  • Your rights: see everything collected from your child, have it deleted, or stop further collection at any time, from your account or by emailingour support address. If you refuse the AI sharing above, Clara cannot teach, so the service cannot run. Chats are deleted after 30 days.
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Questions parents ask

Is mixing up b and d a sign of dyslexia?

Not on its own. It is common in early readers. Ask about an evaluation if it lasts alongside other reading trouble.

My child knows their sounds but cannot blend. What do I do?

Practise blending out loud with no letters, stretching the sounds and closing the gaps, a few minutes a day.

Can my 8 year old use a kindergarten phonics course?

Yes. In Clareza you can add the phonics course for an older child, alongside their own grade.

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