Who designed the program?

A parent, Jeffrey Ahrendt, designed the program in order to teach his own children to read. 

Jeffrey was a scoreboard large screen message center computer operator trainer in the 1970s, who was expected to train customers' staff members in just a few short days on the operation of his company's proprietary computer control software. 

Many trainees had never operated a computer before, so Jeffrey developed a progressive training method to get the operators up to speed and fully trained in the short amount of time he was allotted. He used this method to write and publish training/operation manuals for other computer-based display systems as well.

When it came time for Jeffrey to teach his own children to read, he was unimpressed by the teaching programs available. So he analyzed the mechanics of reading, and broke it down to its most fundamental components, and built a progressive system of learning upon that foundation, geared toward the learning level and attention span of his preschoolers.

The result was a ten step program that he continued to refine with each child. "Five minutes a day" is not just to fit a busy schedule, but also gives a child's brain a chance to assimilate each day's new information. 

Realize that no matter what the 'speed' of progress, your child's brain will be engaging in an incredible act - turning visual symbols into audible sounds that form mental words that come out in understood speech.

Is this phonics?

Certainly the basic foundation is phonetic in nature, but progresses from sounding out in short vowels only to learning the 'rule' for when the long vowel sound is to be used, and concludes with an introduction to 'sight' words. The Program is based on the idea that humans learn best by progressive revelation in small increments.

A foundation for the skill of reading is laid down by interconnecting the separate core functions of reading: alphabet recognition, letter sound recognition, letter combination sound recognition, and finally, word and sentence recognition. Those are the 'bricks' of the foundation.

A sturdy 'structure' - reading proficiency and comprehension - can be built only after the foundation has been fully laid and allowed to cure. Missing bricks weaken a foundation, and more bit off than can be chewed may get spewed.

Why are there no pictures in the book?

You may notice there are no pictures in the Program book; that is intentional. The creator of the Program does not object to your reading picture books to your child - on the contrary, he encourages it, but only in addition to the My Little Nibbles™ Program. 

The Program itself is designed for a specific purpose: to help you teach your child the mental 'act' of reading. Attempting to find 'clues' to words in the pictures conflicts with that specific cognitive process.

Once the Ten Little Nibbles are completed, immediately get your child reading beginning, or even First Grade level books, including picture books. Don't let your child's mind lose what he or she has begun to establish.

From then on, reading books on her or his own, with your prompting and encouragement, should become a regular part of your child's routine, like brushing teeth and eating breakfast.

When was the Program developed?

The program was developed during the ten years between 1996 and 2006, while the author was teaching each of his own four children, three girls and a boy, to read prior to their entering first grade. The program was finalized in book form, copyrighted and published as a "print-on-demand" loose-bound book in 2006, and made available through Amazon.com.

Sale of the book was suspended after 2012 due to high production costs, but resumed in 2023 in response to requests, and a more economical publishing method was found.

ISBN-10 0977989607

ISBN-13 978-0977989607

When can I begin the program with my child?

If your child can speak clearly, it is not too soon to begin the program with her or him. The very first "Little Nibble" is simply singing the "Alphabet Song" together, to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", or a melody of your own.

While traveling, on the playground, just about anywhere or at any free moment, you will have time to sing a few repetitions of the ABC Song, and it's fun!

Because of the patience you take in giving your child time to fully construct his or her brain pathways through the ten Little Nibbles, in a few years your child will be racing down those same highways at breakneck speeds, no "bottlenecks" to slow her or him down, while your child's peers seem to be merely puttering.

And remember, the time you spend one-on-one reading to your child, and helping your child through My Little Nibbles™ Program, will grow into happy memories of your nurturing love he or she will never forget.

Does it really work?

My four children all attended local public school. All four were on high honor roll in high school. Two were 4.0 valedictorians. Three were All-City Scholar Honorees. All were also state participant athletes, three were on state champion teams. Two participated in Destination Imagination, one was in Math is Cool competitions.

Today one is a Registered Nurse, one has a Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy, one is a Mechanical Engineer, and the last is working on her Masters in Speech-Language Pathology and has been asked to work as a Teaching Assistant at her university.

I'd say, I think the program worked. Results may vary, but you've got to at least give them a fighting chance right from the start. The alternative is months or even years of frustration as they get further and further behind. Reading is the key to better learning. 

The rewards will last a lifetime.