5 Ways To Help Your Preschooler Learn To Read

Studies have shown that early reading is a good indicator of future success in school and in life. And learning to read starts with a desire to read. But what can you do to foster a love of books and reading in your preschool child? Read To Your Child Everyday The best way to get your child to love books and want to learn to read is to start reading everyday as early in your child’s life as possible. Make reading an experience and go slow. Talk about the pictures on every page, discuss what the characters are doing and what they might be doing next. Ask questions even if the child is too young to answer, just provide the answer yourself and turn the page. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat Be willing to read some books over and over and over again. Before you know it your child will have the books memorized (just try to skip a page then). After memorization, children begin to recognize the groups of letters as the words they know from the story. Believe me I know that this can be one of those annoying parts of being a parent but it will be well worth it the first time your child reads a word before you can get to it. Use Word Flash Cards You can buy word flashcards in more stores that carry toys. Of course it’s much cheaper to make them yourself on index cards. Start with and letter and move up to very easy work such as cat and dog. It helps to add pictures to illustrate the letters and words. However if, like me, you can’t draw anything more than a stick figure you can use pictures from magazines or that you print from the Internet. Use Labels Around The House Label items around the house to help your preschooler associate objects with their names. Magnetic letters are also a good way to practice reading and labeling with your young child. Don’t worry about words that seem too long (such as refrigerator) as preschoolers will learn words as they are exposed to them, length doesn’t matter when it comes to labeling. Play Word Games, Letter Games And Songs By singing songs like the alphabet song and B-I-N-G-O, you can make it easier and more fun for your child to learn about letters, sounds, and spelling. Popular and effective word games include apples and bananas, old McDonald, and A is for Apple, B is for Bear. All show connections and letter sounds. Teaching your child to love reading and the world of books is one of the most important jobs you’ll have as a parent. By using the tips in this article, this important task won’t only be easier, it’ll be much more fun.