reading and babies
Child development begins at birth, as does the teaching of reading. From the moment babies are born they are learning the different sounds of human language. Even before they can understand a single word, their ears hear the sounds and their brains process them. This is the first step a child takes on the path of learning to read.
If you have a baby, you should talk and read to him to prepare him for later reading activities. Once he is a young child and can talk and sing, he can begin to learn letters and their sounds. This comes sooner than most parents think. Children as young as two years old can recognize letters and associate sounds with them, with proper instruction. Pre-reading activities include reading aloud to the children, singing the alphabet song, and pointing out the letters to the children.
Reading, writing and preschoolers
Three- and four-year-olds are ready to start learning a little more about how to read. Once children have mastered the names of the letters of the alphabet and learned some sounds, they are ready to begin reading activities at home. This is the time to introduce phonetics.
Phonics is a system of reading instruction that emphasizes the sounds letters make and letter combinations. Children are taught to associate sounds with letters and thus can use those sounds to read and write words. You can spend ten minutes a day working on letter sounds and three-letter words, thus preparing your child for longer sessions at school.
Children are also learning to write at this age. When your son begins to show interest in holding a pen or crayon, she should help him learn to hold it correctly. As soon as he has mastered scribbles, help him form simple letters, like O or T. Reading and writing are taught together at school, so you can do the same when helping your child with reading activities at home.
Reading and school children
With this good foundation, your child will be ready for their traditional education. Don’t be surprised if he is ahead of his classmates when he first enters school. She may decide to homeschool her so she can keep working. Either way, she’ll feel comfortable when she starts school because she’ll already know the basics. Many four-year-olds who are taught phonics can read before entering kindergarten.
Once your child enters school, be sure to continue working with him at home. Do some reading activities every day. Even if all you do is read with your child, taking turns reading age-appropriate material will reinforce what you’re learning in school. This is the time to make reading fun, because memorization and exercises will be done at school.
Another way to reinforce what is taught in school is to use the computer. Programs like Child Font can help your child practice and solidify the phonics skills that are necessary for learning to read. The computer is interesting to children, so use it as much as possible when helping your child with reading. Remember, for most kids, learning on the computer is play, not education, so they’ll want to spend time working on their reading skills with the right reading program.