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 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’s a toddler and can talk and sing, he can start learning 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 a few 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 that letters and letter combinations make. Children are taught to associate sounds with letters and therefore can use those sounds to read and write words. You can spend ten minutes a day working on letter sounds and three-letter words, preparing your child for longer sessions at school.
Children are also learning to write at this age. When your child begins to show an interest in holding a pen or crayon, she should help him learn to hold it correctly. As soon as he’s mastered scribbling, help him make 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 school. House.
Reading and school-age children
With this good foundation, your child will be ready for his 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 be comfortable when she starts school because she’ll already know the basics. Many four-year-olds who are taught phonics can read before they enter 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 to him will reinforce what he’s learning in school. This is the time to make reading fun, because the 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 consolidate the phonics skills needed to learn to read. The computer is interesting to children, so use it as much as possible when helping your child with reading. Remember, for most children, learning on the computer is play, not education, so they will want to spend time working on their reading skills with the right reading program.