Introducing Reading In The Early Years

Within the first three years of your child's life, they should have the necessary building blocks for language and literary forms. Within the first year, your child's brain will double in size. When your child is three years old, his brain is twice as active as an adult. The results are very understandable. You need to raise your child in a home that promotes family literacy so they can become better readers and do well in school.

If you want to prepare your children for school, you need to help them develop early learning and literacy skills. Remember that strong reading skills are the basis of learning in every subject, so you should identify those with reading issues early enough. If you read to your children at home, they can attend school with the best literacy skills. Here are some of the best ways to improve your children's language and literacy skills.

1Read Aloud To Your Child

Research has revealed that once you read aloud to children, it will make a significant change in the development of their brains. They will get an excellent way to discover things surrounding them and make connections with various experiences. They will also create crucial pathways they can use later on in their lives to learn essential information and skills. Reading aloud to your children is the best way to stimulate language and cognitive skills. It's also a great way to build curiosity, motivation, and memory.

As a parent, reading aloud to your child is one of the most important things to do. It's a way to build the most critical foundational skills, introduce new vocabulary, model expressive and fluent reading, as well as help your children recognize the importance of reading for pleasure. Reading aloud stimulates language development even before a child can start speaking.

2Don't Stop Reading

Even when your child starts reading on their own, she still benefits from the connections you help her make when you are reading aloud. Choose the best way to learn from your family, and keep it engaging and fun. As your children grow up, you will have an influential role to play in their connection to learning and reading.

When you are reading aloud to your child, you are offering rare and affluent words, especially those they have never heard before. You will be giving them those words in a context they can understand and absorb. Don't be surprised when your child uses one of those fancy words during the next read-aloud session.

3Make Connections Between Books And Activities

Remember that the purpose of reading is not to sound out the words but to understand what you are reading. You can help children make a connection to the text they are reading by talking about something you have read about previously, experienced, or watched on TV. They can build on this knowledge bank for later.

You can always ask a few questions to make sure they are learning. For instance, you can ask them what this book reminds them of. Your child should be able to connect to the story in the book or information on another book you previously shared, something they talked at school, or another life experience to answer the question.

4Talk, Talk, Talk

When your little one was in the womb, all they've heard was your pretty voice. It was the most distinctive sound to them when they were in the womb. Well, you need to keep talking to them. Talk about everything you are doing, about the clothes they're wearing, and what you are reading at the moment. Your words to them will be the last thing in your child's head until they can make their own words.

Talking near your child, like when you are on the phone, is not totally the same as talking to them. You can try putting down the phone and making eye contact with your child. You need to engage with your child; they must know that they are the main focus. You can repeat their babbling because it's a way to strengthen your connection. Eventually, your child will put more effort into engaging with you in the future.

5Make A Special Cozy Space

Reading time should be quiet. It should be a snuggling, safe time for kids. Your children will connect the loving and safe feeling with your voice and the pleasurable feeling of you reading to them. In their earliest years, you will wire your child's brain to include reading as a regular part of their lives.

You should create a cozy reading nook in your house so you can have a dedicated space for reading a good book. There should be kid-friendly seating, such as beanbag chairs, footstools, furry rugs, and pillows. Kids love these small and unique spaces, so you should create a pleasant reading nook in some places, such as under the stairs, for the best results.

6Choose Books About Things They Love

As your child grows, they will become passionate about something. It could be dinosaurs, trains, princesses, and much more. Use that passion to make your child feel thrilled about reading. Go to the library and find books on what your child is passionate about and let them flip through the books about it. Repeat doing it as much as possible to make them enthusiastic about reading.

You need to identify your child's personality traits and preferences when they are choosing a book. Choose a book with your child in mind. Choose a novel or an informational reading that matches your child's interest; look at the passages in these books and read them aloud to your child. Choosing the right book is a handsome investment for the mind and spirit of your child. So, you need to pay proper attention when buying a book for your child.

Whenever you read a book, write a note, check the TV listings, sort the laundry, or recount the day's happenings, you can use these skills to teach your child how to read and write. Share everything you read with your child. You can read aloud a portion of the newspaper and talk about why it interests you. Find numerous ways to improve your child's literacy and language.

Sharing stories and singing with your child every day boosts their development. They will become familiar with the language, words, and sounds and build a love for reading. It's a great way to improve their literacy skills. Use these tips for the best results.