Tips for Encouraging Early Literacy
Reading to your children is crucial to their educational growth. Many of us were even reading to our unborn children while they were still safely inside the womb.
Cherylyn Feierabend
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Tips for Encouraging Early Literacy
Hey there! You’re listening to the Mighty Mommy with some quick and dirty tips for practical parenting. Today’s Topic: What’s in a Letter?
Tips for Encouraging Early Literacy
Reading to your children is crucial to their educational growth. Many of us were even reading to our unborn children while they were still safely inside the womb. Maybe we were just reading to our bellies, but I’ve heard that the babies can actually hear us. I certainly believe that reading to your children is both fun and educational. I think as our children grow, we need to adjust our reading styles to grow with them. There are a few things parents can do along the way to help promote good reading skills in their children before kindergarten has even begun.
The most obvious thing we can do to encourage good reading habits in our children is to read to them. You should read to your children daily. As babies, they might be more likely to wave a hand at the book or try to put it in their mouths. This is normal and should not stop you from trying. You might consider giving the baby a soft book to hold while you read to him from another. I always enjoyed reading with my daughter during her “tummy time.” I would place her on the floor and put the soft books down in front of her so she could look at the pictures. I would then describe the images and talk to her about the books. This may not have had a huge effect on her reading skills, but she did begin to associate the books with our bonding sessions and would choose those to play with more than any other toys.
Adding New Words
Once your child has reached the toddler stage where he’s beginning to talk or at least try to talk, reading will take on a much bigger role. Picture books can become a toddler’s best friend. I currently have a toddler who is adding new words to his vocabulary on a daily basis. We have one giant picture book full of animals, foods, household objects, vehicles, and many other objects he might see in a normal day. We spend a great deal of time reading this book. It may not be the type of story reading you expect to have with your child, but it’s a great beginning. As we point to the objects, we say the words. He will point to the picture while I run my finger along the length of the word in the book. He may not notice it just yet, but I’m helping him to associate the object with the letters below it.
When you are reading a story to a child, he will probably ask for the same story repeatedly. You can use the same method of pointing to the words while you read. You should still stop and discuss the pictures and ask questions to engage the child along the way, but as you are reading the story word for word, pointing to the words will let the child know where the words are coming from. It’s a concept that takes some time to grasp. A child who can associate words with the letters on the paper is going to have a better understanding of how reading is accomplished.
Sounds of the Letters
Many parents teach their children the alphabet. My daughter could definitely recite or sing it well before she understood that she was singing about letters. It is great to teach your children the alphabet and, of course, letter recognition. The most difficult thing for a child to understand at this point is what the letters actually do for them. Teaching a child the sounds a letter makes, in my opinion, is just as crucial, if not more so than teaching them just what the letter is called. It’s just like teaching about animals in a sense. We teach our children that a cow says, “moo,” and a cat says, “meow.” If a child can grasp those two items at the same time, they can also grasp that the letter B says, “B,” and the letter M says, “mmm.”
A couple years ago I attended a short seminar on the topic of child literacy. One of the tips that stood out most to me involved using the first letter of your child’s name to help the child get a grasp of how the letters make the sounds which make up his name. For example, if your son’s name is David, you will start by teaching him about the letter D. Write his name down whenever you are doodling together and show him his name. You can focus on the first letter and say, “David starts with the letter D.” Once you’ve done this a few times, he will begin to recognize the characters and his name simply by seeing the pattern of letters you’ve written. The next step is to point out the letter D whenever you see it. The supermarket is one of my favorite places to find letters. If David is shopping with you, it will be fun for him to find many of the products displaying the letter D. This is a great game to keep kids busy while you are shopping, also.
Some other words you can write down for your child are Mommy, Daddy, or any sibling’s or pet’s name. With repetition, your child will learn to recognize the shapes. Children at this stage are not actually reading, but they are learning to understand that the letters are forming words. Once they have reached this level of understanding, they might start paying more attention to the words in the books you are reading with them. Children who learn this earlier on will have an advantage in school when actual reading lessons begin. Children who have learned the alphabet and what each letter is named will still learn to read, but if a child is taught the understanding of what the letters actually do, that child will definitely have an easier time learning to read.
Reading is Fun
Finally, be sure to keep reading fun! Never make it a chore. Toys and blocks with letters imprinted on them are great for the little ones. Flashcards with words and letters can be great for creating games with your toddlers. Remember also, that if a child does not want to play with you, put the games away and try again later. Forcing a child to play may cause negative feelings about the activity. Reading should always be presented as fun and never as a chore. Don’t forget to be a good role model when it comes to reading. Take the time to curl up with a good book when you can and make sure your child sees you enjoying it!
The Mighty Mommy’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network at quickanddirtytips.com. This week Grammar Girl is talking about compound possession so be sure to check out her podcast!
Mother and Daughter Reading image courtesy of Shutterstock