There was a time in this country when children were not allowed into school until the age of 6, or until when their right hand can touch their left ear while placed across their head. Those generations of children are now our fathers – and most of them even with that rule went to school and studied. It is in our time that kids are sent to school even before the age of 2. This gave birth to the idea of crèche, playgroup, and nursery classes.
Some parents and educators are of the opinion that we let kids be kids for as long as they can. Why push them to start school at a very young age? Why force them into a rigid education structure before they’re even out of diapers? This is a good opinion which I agree with. But I also believe that helping children begin developing literacy skills during early childhood is a key to healthy development and success in their future schooling.
However, developing these literacy skills does not mean you have to send your children to school right away. What you can do while they are still under your care is by reading to them. This is one of the most important literacy-building activities you can do to prepare him to learn to read and succeed in school. Try a few of the strategies below when next you are reading with your child, and see if there won’t be an improvement.
Run your Finger under Each Word
Running your finger under each word as you read starts developing literacy skills for small children in ways you might not even imagine. At first, your child may not even notice what you’re doing with your finger–but they will sooner or later. Then your child will start watching your finger, and as he does, he’ll not only develop a sense of orientation for reading and writing, but he’ll begin developing a concept of words, spacing between words, and print. Before you know it, he will start running his finger under words as you read mimicking what he’s seen you do, and he will begin pretending to read–a very big step toward early childhood literacy.
Hunt for Letters
If your child is a little older, doing a letter hunt with him from time to time is a great way to make story time fun while helping him begin to recognize and learn his letters. Teach your child a specific letter, like “A”, or maybe use the first letter of his name “C” (for Charles) to make it interesting. Then have Charles search each page you read for the letter C. Count how many times he finds C on each page, then count how many times C appears in the story. Repeat this exercise for all the letters in the alphabet to improve your child’s letter recognition and help lay a foundation for future success in reading.
Focus on Vocabulary
A child doesn’t have to know how to read to build vocabulary. In fact, much of a child’s vocabulary is acquired long before he starts to read. Having a well-developed vocabulary is key to learning how to read down the road. The brain of a child learns by attaching new information to old information – if we can attach something new to something old, it is easier for us to understand it.
Are you aware that children who enter kindergarten with strong vocabulary are able to learn about 8 new words per day compared to other children who struggle to learn only 2 words per day? The stronger your child’s vocabulary, the easier time he’ll have learned how to read and comprehend what he’s reading.
Use your story time to expand your child’s vocabulary. Take time to point out important words. Use picture books to start developing associations between words and the objects and meanings they represent. As you read, discuss important words with your child that he may not know. Building your child’s vocabulary at a young age will make it much easier for him when he starts learning to read.
Check for Comprehension
Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills school-age children need to have. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the areas where many children struggle the most throughout their elementary and high school careers. Focusing on comprehension at an early age will not only give your child a head start, but it will also help ensure that your child will be able to develop the ready comprehension skills early that he’ll need to succeed in school.
After you get done reading a story to your child, ask him a few questions to see how much he understood or remembers. If he is unable to answer a question, go back to the page where the answer is found and reread the page. Then ask the question again.
Read with Voice Inflections
Voice inflection describes the various changes in our voice when speaking. This means that the meaning of our reading does not come from the words alone, but from how the words are used. When reading with your infant or young child you should use voice inflections. Using voice inflections in your reading serves two purposes. First, voice inflections help children hear how reading should sound. They’ll pick up on how you emphasize words and use voice inflections as they hear you use them. Second, using voice inflections as you read holds their attention and gets them excited about reading. It isn’t necessary to exaggerate every word, but it is useful to use voice infection whenever appropriate.
Ask your child to make a Prediction
Before you start reading a new book, have your child look at the cover, read the title and possibly flip through a few pages to look at some pictures. Now ask your child to tell you what he thinks the book is going to be about. After you’ve finished reading the book, have your child tell you how close his prediction was to what the book was actually about. This exercise will help your child pay attention as you read and focus on comprehension as he hears the story and mentally compares the actual story to the version he predicted.
Read it again and again!
Reading the same book every day may seem a little bit tedious, but if it’s a book your child enjoys, they’ll love reading it again and again. Repetition is key to learning. It’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t, switch it up a little, but reading from the same book regularly will enhance all of the learning strategies you’re employing, enhance his vocabulary and make it much easier for him when he is required to start reading on his own. Read to your child from the same book every day, and in no time he’ll start turning the pages when you come to the end of the text, correcting you when you make mistakes or change the story, and even pretend reading the book himself.
More important than developing early childhood literacy skills is helping your child learn to love books and enjoy learning. Include some learning activities, games, and exercises in your reading, but most of all, make sure that story time is a fun time for your child.
