Teaching your Little One to Read

5 Easy Ways to Teach your Child to Read

Teaching your child to read can be a rewarding activity for both you and your little one.  Children love the attention they receive and quality time shared when being read to or when being taught to read.  Remember, children learn to read at different ages with some learning to read as early as three years of age while others may not begin to read until six years of age.  So be patient with your little one and do not attempt to implement all of these techniques at once.

1. Read to your child as often as possible and start reading to them when they are just infants. The more you read to your child, the more they will become interested in reading themselves and the more they will enjoy reading. When you read a favorite book to your little one multiple times, they will begin to memorize the words and will then be able to look at the words in the book and relate those words to what you have read. This will help teach them word recognition.  If possible, read 3 to 4 books a day to your little one, even when they are very young.
2. When reading to your child, ask them questions about what you are reading and then point to pictures in the book that relate to the answer. For example, ask your little one things like, “Do you see the apple?” while pointing at the picture of the apple. This will help make the listening experience more exciting for your child because you are involving them in the process and allowing them to interact with you.
3. As your child gets older, ask them more complex questions about the book such as showing them just the cover of the book and then asking them what they think the book will be about. Or, you may ask him what he thinks is going to happen to a particular character. When you are finished reading the book, ask him if what he or she predicted came true. These actions help children with; predicting, inferring, connecting and summarizing and helps increase reading comprehension.
4. Be the example or role model. Children learn and do what they see the people closest to them do. If they see you taking time out to read, they will most likely follow suit.  Often times taking advantage of what is known as “teachable moments” works better than forcing or drilling words or letters onto our children with methods like flashcards or any repetitive process. Take advantage of natural situations. For example, when you go shopping or take a walk, ask your little one what the letters are on a particular sign.
5. Incorporate learning letters with arts and craft activities, songs, and games. You and your little one can make pillows shaped like letters, you can cut out and decorate letters, and even sing songs and rhymes about letters. While doing this make sure you have him or her sound out the letters to help fine tune motor skills.

There are many ways great ways to teach your child to read. Enrolling your child in Get Ready, Set, Grow will help your little one get a head start on learning how to read. To find out more about our preschool curriculum give us a call at 561-349-4308 or schedule an appointment to visit our Delray Beach learning center.