It’s never too early to start instilling a love of books and reading in your children! Several studies have demonstrated that reading to your infant, toddler, or preschooler significantly impacts their vocabulary. It makes no difference if they are too little to comprehend or do much more than babble; they are learning more than we think. So, what abilities can we develop in our pre-readers to help them get ready? What are the effective ways to help children improve their reading skills?
Motivate yourself
Reading to your child is one of the best ways to foster a love of reading in them. At least once a day, sit down with your child and read to them.
You’ll be surprised at how fast they begin to anticipate this time. At a convenient area of the room, keep a shelf of their favorite books easily accessible for them. You may grow tired of them constantly bringing you the same books to read but try not to tell them. To keep them interested, read with zeal and feeling.
Another simple way to encourage your children to read is to read aloud to them! If they see their parents (mom or dad) reading and enjoying it, they will be more likely to enjoy reading books in the future.
Be descriptive
Whenever your child is old enough, let your youngster retell you their favorite story in their own words. Encourage your children to use their own creative imaginations and come up with their own stories.
Ask detailed questions when reading a new book, or even an old one. All of this will help them expand their vocabulary while also providing you with an indication of their comprehension level.
Perfection comes with practice
We often assume that youngsters know how to perform things on their own, yet they still require our assistance. Demonstrate how to hold a book and read a page from left to right and top to bottom. Focus on the book’s title, names of the author and illustrator, and explain their goals. Allow them to try holding a book and turning pages. As you read, use their finger to point to the words so they can follow where you are reading on the page. Though it might seem unnecessary or even redundant, all these little things are getting your child ready to read!
Name that alphabet
Begin teaching your children the letters at a young age. Singing the ABC song is an excellent approach to help them memorize the letters. Don’t worry if they make a mistake or assume “elemeno” is a missing word. Later, there will be a time that will straighten out everything.
Point to particular letters in books and tell them their names. Recognize lowercase and uppercase letters, as well as the sounds they produce. Reading alphabet books like “A is for Apple” is an excellent approach to get kids interested in learning letters. Also, teach them the letters in their own name and observe how well they can recognize those letters in different places.
They won’t remember all of this immediately, but you’re laying the first brick of their reading foundation.
By implementing these four simple strategies, you’re setting up your pre-reader for future success that boosts their reading skills!