does anyone have any good resources like web sites or books they can recommend?

Lily is 5 but she won't start kindergarten until fall because her birthday wasn't until January. Shes more than ready to learn how to read I just don't know where to begin. She knows all letters and the different sounds they make, she can write most of them very well. Shes at the stage where she wants me to spell everything for her so she can write notes and letters. I know thats a huge first step I just don't how to continue.

hooked on phonics worked for me back in the day;)

http://hooked-on-phonics.com/hooked-on-phonics-category.cfm?category_ID=21&cat=On%20Sale&AFID=122&redirCampID=56

all the Dr Suess books!! my baby is only 7 months and i'll put her in my lap and read and get all animated and she really really enjoys it! and all the disney books ya know? with lots of pictures.. but mostly books with minimal words on the page so she can go along with the letters and she might even memorize the words before learning it but hey its a start! he he.
yeah.. uhm.. get her coloring books with letters where she can draw the letters and she can tell the difference between letters..
and get her those games that teach letters.. they sing to her letters and songs.. i have one of those little thing that lights up and sings and stuff..

well i hope that helps a lil! i had to cut myself off cuz i started goin all over the place!
good luck girl.

Yeah - I was going to suggest all of that.

If she knows the sounds of each letter then phonics will be very fun and easy for her ... K-aa-t ... cat.
simple and she'll have a blast!.

What about those simple to read books with levels?! We read Level 1 books to Ethan like Elmo, Boats, Diego, etc. We got them at Walmart! I believe the were 2 for $5.

we use dr suess with zoe and she's getting pretty good at them. same with the simple "i can read" books. she's doing really well with them, and loves to read and can now spell way too many words.... i can't spell things out in front of her anymore, cuz she'll sound them out :doh

We've gotten him books with his favorite characters, Blue, Lightning McQueen. Also, he loves to watch Word World on PBS. They "build" words on that show. We also have a phonics farm for our fridge.

We used the Bob books for Tristan, you can find them at Barnes and Noble, they were great! Also, my kids learned a lot from the Leapfrog videos.

For Breanna I found books that were very easy. She has a set of Dora that is geared towards kids learning how to read. She is out of those books now so we have harder books for her to read. Breanna also wanted to spell everything out and that helped her when it came to reading cause she already knew some words. In kindergarten there was a list of 50 words they called Star words (sight words). They were words like go, to, in, I, a, etc. real easy but it helped the kids when they were learning to read. Also, I don't know if you work with her with workbooks and such, but if you do start having her read the directions.

Good Luck.

Honestly the best thing to do is sit and read to your child, with them on your lap, every day. I did that with all of my children and they were reading when they started K and are voracious readers today. Each of them read a Dr. Seuss book to begin, I think two started on "Green Eggs and Ham" and the other on "One Fish, Two Fish".

We've gotten him books with his favorite characters, Blue, Lightning McQueen. Also, he loves to watch Word World on PBS. They "build" words on that show. We also have a phonics farm for our fridge.

HAHAHA!!! Is that show like Read Between the Lions?!?

Word World is a cartoon, keeps his interest way better than Between the Lions.

My daughter was also a fall baby and started a year behind. By the time she started Kindergarden she knew alot of sights words already. Before she started school we bought those workbooks from walmart and give her a few pages a day to work on so she knows the basic before she started school.

She is one of the best reader in her class and has been chosen to read a one page poem in her kindergarden graduation.

We take her to the library and have her check out very simple to read books. I found that the whole series of Biscuit books was really easy for her to start off in the beginning.

Goodluck!

We used the Bob books for Tristan, you can find them at Barnes and Noble, they were great! Also, my kids learned a lot from the Leapfrog videos.

We love love love the Bob books, they are great!!!

Ditto the BOB books as well as Before Five In A Row (BFIAR) & Five In A Row.

http://www.fiveinarow.com/index.html

Try Teach Your Baby to Read by Glen Doman, I learned how to read at age 3 with his flash cards and system. Not even kidding. :) :yes

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985

I used this book when I was in college and during my internship. Kids need to know phonics in order to be a successful reader.

The book is fairly cheap, and really easy to use. It gives the parent/teacher background info on the program and step by step instructions on how to use it. It is based on the Direct-Instruction reading program. It teaches them letter sound and then how to blend them into words.