Early Reading Can Be Fun!

By Author: Ellie Dixon
Total Articles: 21
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Being able to read is essential for success in modern society and acquiring early reading skills should, above all, be an enjoyable activity for your child. It's one thing to be able to teach a child to read, but it's something quite different to teach a child to enjoy reading. Early reading therefore mustn't simply involve teaching your child to recognise letters, string them into words and put them into sentences, but must also be concerned with developing a love of books, words and the written language. Here are some ways to nurture this love:

Be selective - For very early reading select books with large, clear, bright and happy illustrations and brief, straightforward text. Lots of toddlers prefer rhyming books as they particularly like the rhythms in verse, but now is also a good opportunity to begin to introduce some very easy tales in prose.

Be persistent - Lots of toddlers do nothing but wriggle the first time they're read to, but repeated attempts are generally successful. Introduce a regular time for stories, bed-time is the traditional favorite, but if you have time in the morning a cuddly story-time ...
... session in bed can be nice too.

Be imaginative - You know what your child enjoys better than the book's author. So don't feel you have to read the words exactly as they're written. Permitting your imagination to improvise along the way can enormously increase your child's enjoyment of the story and help encourage early reading.

Let your child participate - Long before your child is able to read, they can participate in the reading process. Ask them to point out the different characters in the illustrations as you go along, or later get them to fill in some blanks in sentences or rhymes in books they're familiar with. As they get older try asking them questions like, "What do you think will happen next?" Joining in is part of the fun experience that early reading should be - your child adores having your attention and will actively anticipate these sessions together.

Be expressive - Remember - early reading must be fun - and no one enjoys listening to a tedious monotone. A toddler who is still developing language skills will find an expressive reading style not only more enjoyable, but also easier to understand.

Be repetitive - Toddlers adore hearing the same story over and over. It can drive you to distraction (believe me I know!!) but it's immensely satisfying to their young ears - and will encourage those early reading skills too.

Keep it brief - Your young child hasn't developed a long attention span yet, so keep those early reading sessions brief. Go through the pages quickly to keep them from getting bored, and be ready to finish story time after just a few minutes if they're really not in the mood.

Be cuddly - Children who associate reading with the comfort of curling up on a much-loved parent's lap almost always enjoy reading books later on.

Set a good example - If your toddler sees you reading, even occasionally, they're likely to understand that it's a good, grown-up pastime and will probably begin to initiate their early reading sessions themselves.

Lastly, cut down on the hours of television that's watched by your toddler and the rest of the family. Studies have shown that families who watch less read more.