Completing Mentava in 3 months

In February of 2025, Tharsio’s oldest son, Lucas, set the record for the quickest any student has ever graduated from Mentava’s Reading program.

Lucas started the program without knowing any letter sounds. Less than 3 months later, he is fluently reading Dr. Seuss books. Here’s how Tharsio pushed Lucas to overcome challenges and develop grit.

Catching up to Lucas’ enthusiasm

Tharsio always knew Lucas had a deep fascination with books. “By the time Lucas turned two, I wondered if I could teach him to read—he just loved books, flipping through 10 of them a day.”

Wanting to nurture this passion, Tharsio picked up Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons—a budget-friendly alternative to Mentava. However, the book required parents to act as the primary teacher. “It felt dry and tiresome,” Tharsio admitted. As a father of three, he hoped for a solution that required less direct involvement.

That’s when he read about another parent, Sean, whose daughter Molly completed Mentava’s reading curriculum in just four months. Inspired, Tharsio believed Lucas could do the same.

Letting Lucas overcome frustrating challenges

At first, the journey wasn’t smooth. “Lucas struggled with words like ‘dogfish’ and ‘at.’ I thought maybe he wasn’t ready. But two days later, it just clicked—suddenly, he could do it.”

As Lucas started accelerating, the real challenge came with more complex four-letter words. “He’d stop at those lessons, say he was too tired, grab the stylus from the iPad, and tap the screen with his toes,” Tharsio laughed.

Despite these moments, Tharsio trusted in Lucas’ ability and interest. “People always say not to force it if your child isn’t ready. I worried I was being too pushy. But I knew Lucas wanted to read, and that it genuinely interested him.”

Tharsio remembered the breakthrough with ‘at’ and remained confident that more breakthroughs would come. By allowing Lucas to work through frustration instead of avoiding it, Tharsio helped him build resilience—a quality that extended far beyond reading.

“When he’d struggle through a lesson, I’d let him keep going. Then he’d reach the final story and be able to read it. Those moments blew my mind.”

Tharsio also learned when to offer help and when to hold back. “Sometimes Lucas will sound out a word and it comes out funny—but then he’ll pause, try again, and get it right. I’ve learned not to jump in too quickly. Most of the time, he figures it out himself.”

Lucas’ transformation

With consistent effort, Lucas learned that he is capable of doing hard things. “His mindset became, ‘we do reading every day—because I’m good at this!’”

Soon, his progress was obvious to others too. “We have a niece who’s really bright. Just a month into Mentava, my wife sent a video to her sister. She replied, ‘Lucas is already better at reading than my daughter—and she’s been in school for three years.’”

Even Lucas’ grandparents were amazed. “They were stunned he could sound out words in Portuguese. That’s when they understood how phonics can impact learning other languages too.”

Just under three months after starting Mentava, Lucas completed the entire reading curriculum. “We practiced almost every day for 80 out of 90 days,” Tharsio said. “If we’d taken longer breaks, it would have cost us progress.”

Now, Lucas reads two to three books a day—favorites include the *Elephant and Piggie* series. But Tharsio knows it’s time for the next challenge: “We’re looking for chapter books with deeper stories he can return to daily. He’s ready.”

Continuing the challenge

Reflecting on Lucas’ journey, Tharsio shared what impressed him most. “The amazing thing about Mentava was the pace. I never pushed Lucas to go fast—other than encouraging him to overcome frustrations. He managed the pace himself.”

Now, the family faces a new problem: Lucas is hungry for more. “Honestly, we’re kind of bummed he finished. He was enjoying Mentava so much.”

Tharsio continues searching for material that challenges and inspires. “Now that he knows learning hard things is cool, I just keep asking—what’s next? How can we continue challenging him?”