Those who are last shall be first—how smart kids learn quickly

Practice makes permanent

Have you ever watched your child practice a skill — tying their shoes, riding a bike, or setting the dinner table — and realized they were unknowingly locking in a mistake?

My piano teacher used to say, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent.”

A wrong habit, repeated enough, becomes second nature. A right one, practiced carefully, becomes a lifelong skill.

Proper technique > speed

Learning to read using these shortcuts is like tossing bricks into a pile. Quick initial progress leads to instability that eventually blocks further growth.

Many kids get stuck for this reason — they relied so much on shortcuts that they can’t move forward without starting over.

When building a house, each correctly placed brick strengthens the foundation, while shortcuts create instability.

Your kid will naturally want to complete activities quickly. In doing so, they may realize it’s easier to guess letters, tap random answers, or memorize patterns rather than carefully sounding out words.

That’s why Mentava’s core educational philosophy isn’t on speed — it’s on practicing using the correct method.

Learning to read is hard — that’s a good thing.

When we work out, what really matters isn’t how much you lift — it’s how effectively you exercise your muscles.

Sloppy form leads to injury; good form builds strength.

If your kid is learning by using the correct method, each practice session will be a rigorous workout.

Remember that the mental effort it takes to recall, blend, and sound out words is as demanding as lifting weights.

However, kids don’t realize that feeling their muscles burn is a sign of growth. Whether practicing a sport or practicing reading, the natural tendency is to try to complete reps using the easiest method — even if it means resorting to sloppy form. Your role as a parent or coach is to encourage correct form, every time.

Thinking hard is harder than taking shortcuts. Kids will always take the easier route if possible.

Correct answers require slowww thinking

The techniques are simple. Your child needs to carefully think through every answer:

• When saying letter sounds, think and recall the sound instead of guessing.

• When sounding out a word, blend the letters instead of saying them individually.

• When doing multiple-choice, consider each option thoughtfully instead of guessing.

The challenge is helping them maintain this throughout the playsession.

Your child’s learning habits are highly malleable

Observe how your kid comes up with answers.

Do they pause to think, or do they quickly select an answer without consideration, hoping to make progress? If they’re not pausing to think, they’re probably using shortcuts.

When you spot this, gently guide your child to pause and restart using the right technique.

MESSAGE: You might say, “Oops! Let’s try that again — this time, let’s think through each step.”

You’re not just teaching your child how to read — you’re teaching them how to learn. Your child is doing the heavy lifting; you’re their feedback mechanism.

Quick, intense, morning practice sessions

We recommend short but intense playsessions. Our youngest students’ attention span tends to be less than 15 minutes, but as they get a few years older you’ll likely see them able to focus for 30-45 minutes as stamina builds.

If your child is getting tired, end the session early. Asking them “are you done or should we keep going” helps give them some control, but if they insist on guessing let them know that it’s still time to stop for the day. Fatigue often leads to guessing, which we want to avoid at all costs.

It’s hard for kids to focus when they get tired, so earlier in the day generally works better. Many families habit-stack by making reading practice part of their morning routine at breakfast.

Confidence is built brick by brick

Learning with the correct technique may feel slow and frustrating at first. But by helping your child practice the right way, you’re teaching them to believe in their own thinking.

So show up every day. Keep guiding them back to good form. In doing so, you’ll build a lifetime of strong learning habits.