Parents can try a few easy activities at home to help their children develop basic reading skills.
Most parents are able to handle teaching their children the ABC's. However, teaching reading seems so much harder and a bit scary that many parents opt to wait until their children go to school and let the school teach them instead. Leaving it all up to the school doesn't always work, though. Some children need extra help to be able to connect that string of letters with actual reading. Luckily, there are some simple things parents can do at home to help their children prepare to read.
Label Household Objects
It seems so simple, but few people utilize this easy technique to familiarize children with words. Simply label common household objects with a neatly printed index card. Every time a child uses the object, he or she is seeing the letters that make up the word. Encourage the child to sound out the words written on the cards to help reinforce the fact that each letter makes a specific sound
Read Together
Read to the child every day. It is important that he or she sees the pages as the book is being read. Ideally, the person reading should follow along under the words with a finger for at least part of the book to reinforce the idea that those printed letters make up the story.
Make a Personalized Book
One great way to get a child excited about learning to read is to create a book starring that child. The book can be as simple as ten or so pages of typing paper folded in half with a photo glued onto each half sheet. A short sentence can be placed below each photo. On the front cover, print the title of the book. Include the child's name in the title. For example, "John's Book" is a simple, but effective title.
Inside the book, each page should relate to the child. Examples of pages to include are:
- This is John.
- John is four.
- John has a sister named Jane.
- John has a mommy named Lily.
- John has a daddy. His name is John, too.
- John has a dog named Spot.
- John goes to school.
- John loves cars.
- John loves pizza.
- John does not love naps.
Remember to keep the sentences simple and to avoid using contractions and long words. Read the book to the child several times and then encourage him or her to read it to you. It is okay for the child to "read" the book from memory by himself after he becomes familiar with it. This still reinforces important reading readiness skills and helps the child become used to the way basic words look.
Use Books on CD
Books on CD allow a child to follow along with a story when the parent is busy doing something else, like driving to the store. Children enjoy the novelty of wearing headphones and listening to a story no one else can hear and are usually delighted to follow along in a book. Before handing a child a CD book and a hardback copy of the book, parents should sit down and listen to a book with the child, modeling how to turn pages as the story continues.
