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Your child can start to learn the basics of reading from the time they are old enough to hold a book. There are many things that parents can do at home to give their child a head start in literacy. The simple ideas below can be both enjoyable and educational for your budding reader. Read to your child The number one thing you can do for your child is read to them. Allow them to hold the book while you read it. Have them turn the page. Point to the words as you read or ask them to follow along with their finger. This helps children become familiar with books and the concept of reading. Introduce letters and sounds Start to teach your child the letters of the alphabet early on. There are countless puzzles, books, and toys that help children recognize letters. Make it fun. You can start with the letters in their name. As they begin to recognize letters, introduce sounds as well. "This is the letter M. It says 'M' like mom, mouse, and money." Play the alphabet game in the car and search for letters on buildings and signs. Look for opportunities to familiarize you child with letters and sounds. Find Beginning Sounds Introduce your child to the sound they hear at the beginning of a word. You can say "Lets think of words that start with the letter d, like donkey, and door." Have a "Letter J Day" where you point out things that start with the j sound. Draw pictures of as many L words as you can think of. Be creative! Make Rhymes Teach your child about rhymes. Sing songs that rhyme, read books with rhymes, and make up rhyming games. Explain that rhymes sound the same at the end. This can be difficult for a child to grasp at first, but it becomes easier with practice. Make New Words Tell your child that you are going to change old words into new words. Ask questions like "What would happen if you put the sound "r" in front of the word "at". say it slow for them "r" / "at". Put the sounds closer and closer together as you help your child hear the word "rat". This can be done with many words like f/all, b/all, m/an, t/able, g/old. Building Words Have your child be a word builder. Tell them that you will tell them 3 sounds, ad they have to guess what word you are making. Use simple 3 letter words like cat, hit, jam, tap, nut, and more. Say the sounds as three seperate sounds. /c/ /a/ /t/ As you say the sounds again, make them closer and closer together. When first starting, you will need to blend the sounds together more to help your child hear the word. As your child gets better, leave longer pauses between each sound. |
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