By: Alice Langholt
One of the most important skills a parent can teach children is learning to read. The brain functions involved in reading build life skills, concentration, imagination, vocabulary, problem solving, literacy, vocabulary and higher level thinking skills. Teaching reading readiness can happen naturally from infancy if parents are aware of the kinds of activities that encourage learning to read. Here are some suggestions for activities that encourage a love of reading and the skills involved in learning to read.
- Read, read, read. Read to your child. Read books with pictures and point to the pictures. Even if a baby is too young to understand you, hearing you read engages the baby in listening to the patterns and sounds of language. Eventually, the child will follow the story, and the familiarity of the words. When children are toddlers, they like the same story read over and over again. Rhymes and pictures are attractive to the ear. Read to your child every day. Choose a variety of stories, and read the favorites repeatedly. Make reading a positive experience.
- Sing songs. Sing the alphabet song and variations on songs about letter sounds. Make up songs about words and the letters they start with. Listen to music for children that has these letter songs. Rhymes and rhyming games with words, such as changing the words of familiar songs for a laugh are great for teaching the different phonetic sounds. Teach the ABCs in fun ways that are engaging to your child.
- Make a language rich environment. Have bathtub letters for playing in the tub. Talk about what eacy letter is, and make words with them. Teach your child the letter sounds, and sound out words. Draw your child's name and help him color it. Post it on the wall or the fridge. Point out letters on signs, the newspaper, on television, and wherever they are. You'll notice that there are letters all around us. Help your child see them too. Make books with your child on the computer or with paper and crayons.
- Play games. Some of the best games for learning to read include Roll & Read (Endless Games) and Boggle Junior, which allow children to use letter cubes to match and eventually sound out words. There are great educational websites for practicing learning the letter sounds. Some examples include: www.starfall.com , www.pbskids.org, and www.uptoten.com.
- Go to the library regularly. Going to the library is exciting for kids. There are thousands of good books to check out to read to and with your child. The more your child sees you reading, and engages in reading with you, the more he will grow to love books. This interest fosters a lifetime love of reading and learning. It just isn't possible to start too early.
