Top Tips for Teaching Your Child to Read | AD
This is a collaborative post, thank you for supporting the posts which make this blog possible.
If you’d like to teach your child to read before they begin formal education, there are lots of tips and tricks to help you on your way. One of the most important aspects of this journey is to remember to keep it positive. If you’d like to give your child a love of literature, then their very first experiences with books and reading should always be safe, comforting, fun and happy.
Books are there to educate but above all, to bring joy. Without story, we’d be a much less interesting and happy society as a whole – so remember to keep things light!
Read, read, read…and then read some more
Little children love to be read to. They love the closeness and companionship, they love the words, the pictures, the rhythm and routine of it. If you can possibly dedicate a regular time every day to reading with your child, then do it. Even more than once a day is best – slot in a book whenever you have a spare moment.
Make a special moment of it, cuddle up under some blankets, cosy up on a sofa, or if it’s warm, lay out a picnic blanket in the garden and lie under the trees. Make it special and your child will begin to associate books with joy and a feeling of safety. Once this is routine for them, they will begin to turn to books without encouragement. Ensure there are plenty within reach of your child – low level bookcases are a good idea.
Provide comfortable child-friendly seating in quiet spots around the house and place books on low tables. Your child will naturally gravitate to those spots and find time to flick through their favourite picture books. As they grow, they’ll pick up the books they love you to read to them and begin making early attempts to read alone.
Words all around
There are opportunities everywhere – signposts, instructions, cereal packets – point out the words on your child’s favourite toy packaging or on food packets. As they learn the alphabet, ask them to find the letter which their own name begins with.
This will help them start to pick out individual letters. You can graduate to reading individual words as they become more confident.
Above all, don’t become anxious about reading. Once your child begins school, they will have dedicated teachers who are there to help them learn quickly with the aid of phonics and other methods.
This independent day school in London makes reading fun with a wide selection of books, regular reading challenges and fun associated games.Continue your reading at home routine and your child will be fluent before you know it.
Leave a Reply