Tajweed is not a style added on top of reading -- it is how the letters are pronounced correctly in the first place. Children start it with their first Qaida lesson, not at some later stage, and a child who reads quickly with the wrong letters is not ahead of one who reads slowly with the right ones.
Three things it is not
- It is not a beautiful voice. Melody is not Tajweed, and a child with an ordinary voice can read with perfect Tajweed.
- It is not an advanced course for later. The letters are Tajweed, and they come first.
- It is not a speed test. Fast reading with merged or mispronounced letters is the most common thing parents mistake for skill.
What to listen for, even without Arabic
You do not need to know the rules to hear whether your child distinguishes letters. Ask the teacher to say a pair -- qaf and kaf, sad and seen -- and then ask your child to. If the two sound identical from your child, that is the work in front of them, and it is ordinary work.
The other audible one is the stretches. Where a madd is held, it should be held every time and for the same length, not sometimes.
How it is taught here
- From the first Qaida lesson, letter by letter, by ear and repetition.
- Rules introduced one at a time, with reading practice that uses that rule.
- Corrected in the moment, then repeated correctly, so the right sound is the last one the child made.
- Reviewed in the Quran itself rather than as an exercise on its own.
Related
Tajweed rules for kids
The order to learn them in.
Teaching the Quran to a child who only speaks English
The sounds that take longest.
When to move from Qaida to the Quran
Readiness, honestly assessed.