Helping your child read is one of the most important things you can do for them. Research shows that reading to your child from an early age gives them a huge advantage all throughout their school years. Other than helping your child to grow up healthy and happy, the one thing as a parent you can do for them is to help develop their reading skills.
It is no stretch of the imagination to say that how well children learn to read affects them not only in school, but how well they do throughout their entire lives. When children learn to read it’s like a key that opens the door to all the knowledge the world has to offer.
Creative Kids Child Care whole heartily agrees that reading to your child is the single most important activity you and your child can do together. It creates a strong relationship with parents, can lead to academic achievements and better communication skills. Our child care centre on the Gold Coast actively participates in reading from day care, child care and preschool. Even just picking up a book and looking at it, is the start of early reading skills.
Here a 7 tips to get your child reading, talking and enjoying books.
Tell your child the authors name and who illustrated it
Always explain to your child who wrote the book and who illustrated it. This is to grasp the understanding that someone “real” wrote the book.
Ask your child “what happens next”?
“What do you think will happen next”? This gets you and child interacting together with the book – it also encourages their language skills.
Talk about the pictures
Talking about the pictures in the story helps develops their language skills. Every third or fourth picture will give them a chance to tell you what they see. It also develops their inference skills (reasoning and conclusion skills).
Guide your finger along the words
Moving your finger as you read helps your child understand left to right, and top and bottom. It also helps kids to understand what words you are saying as they can see them on the page.
Ask questions
Involving your child is paramount for their learning and understanding. Asking simple recall questions at the end of the story engages your child and gets them thinking. Don’t ask too many questions throughout the story – your little one may lose interest with all the interruptions.
Don’t discourage your child for wanting the same book over and over again
Children like to read book over and over again, this helps to make the book permanent in their mind. It’s a lot for a child’s brain to take in, the words, concepts and illustrations. Regardless of the repetition you may find it, it is helping your child’s brain develop understanding when you happily read and re-read their favourite book to them.
For more information on our curriculum at Creative Kids Child Care, pop in to one of our Gold Coast child care centres to see great minds at work.
Creative Kids Educare Child Care
Biggera Waters QLD 4216, Gold Coast
Tel: (07) 5537 9989