Helping Children Learn to Read Posted By : Jeanette McLeod
April 16th, 2009What can you do to help?
Children love modelling what their parents or carers do. So let your child see you reading. It doesn’t matter if it’s the newspaper, a cookery book, an eBook, a romantic novel, a magazine, short stories, a computer manual… anything!
Encourage your child to join in – ask them to read out a recipe for you as you cook, or the TV listings when you are watching TV. When they are just starting to read ask them what the first letter of the next ingredient is and have them guess what they think it is or look for a word beginning with В‘sВ’ if the TV programme starts with that.
Try using different settings to read
Play at a restaurant. At restaurants, kids can attempt to read the menus.
Play when booking a holiday. Parents can ask their children to browse vacation brochures or look with them as they surf websites.
Play at the shops. Get them to help you reading your shopping list.
Play at home. Baking some cookies can be educational (and tasty!) for children. Reading recipes, finding ingredients, and following instructions can all enhance reading skills.
Play in the car. Parents can ask their child to look at maps, road signs, and even roadside billboards in search of specific letters. For example, children may be asked to locate as many “A’s” as they can while travelling, or to find all of the letters that comprise their names.
Play on the Internet. There are lots of free ebooks for children on the internet. Using the computer to play whilst reading makes this a fun activity for children.
Try using wall charts with pictures and words to practice reading with your child.
Try writing out words in dots for them to join up and form letters.
You could write out words with missing letters and get your child to fill in the gaps. Draw a picture of the word or cut out a picture from an old magazine
Read some instructions for playing a game or making a model.
Make a family photo album and write the names and places next to the pictures.
Make your own books! Kids will love to read books they have written over and over again.
Summary
Helping your child become a reader is a gift that every parent wants to give to their child. The benefits to your child are immeasurable, and in the process you will find your world becoming richer as well.
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