Ideas for Reading:

• The local library is a wonderful place to visit and increase a child’s repertoire of books. Be sure to look into the library’s Read Aloud times for the various ages as well as any programs that may be occurring for the preschool age.
• Always make reading time fun and full of love. Never allow reading time to be a negative experience.
• A child will pick up on your attitude toward reading. If the child sees you enjoying to read, they will be more likely to enjoy it as well.
• Draw attention to words throughout the day on signs, labels, and while driving.
• Let the child turn the page (excellent fine-motor practice)

When reading new books:

How to Picture Walk through a Book - Even before their precious bundle of joy is born, parents are told the importance of reading to their child. Most professionals agree that children should be read to at least 15 minutes a day. But is there a certain way to read to a child? One academic term that you will hear floating around is "Picture Walk." But what is it? Why is it important? How is it done? Read more...

• Ask the child what they think will happen next
• Point out various items in pictures
• With new words – ask the child what they think the word means
• Review the book after reading and throughout the day
• Talk about favorite, sad, or funny parts of the story
• Name things in the pictures
• Are there animals in the picture? What sounds does that animal make?
• Point and count the animals, vehicles, people, etc.
• Point under the words as you read them. Point to items in the picture as they are talked about in the story
• Look at the title and front cover to guess what the story will be about
• Following the story, talk about what the child liked or disliked about the story
• Picture walk through the book first. Try to figure out what is going to happen
• Stop and talk about what has happened so far
• Stories can be a great time to discuss positive and negative choices that characters made throughout the story
• Allow the child to find some letters he/she knows on the cover
• Discuss the media used to create the pictures in the book (i.e. crayon, paint, chalk)
• Make sure you read using different voices. Kids love this!

When reading familiar books:

• Have the child fill in key words, especially rhyming words
• Have your child read predictable words
• Have the child read the book to you

After reading a book ask the child:

• What was your favorite part?
• Did the ending surprise you?
• Who was your favorite character?
• What happened at the beginning? middle? end?

Teaching your child how to read:

(Adapted from Wow! I'm Reading!)
• When it comes times to start putting together and separating sounds, remember this list of difficulty - from easiest to most challenging -
1. Compound words: cow...boy [cowboy]
2. Syllables: pen...cil [pencil]
3. The first sound with all of the others: b...ag [bag]
4. All but the last sound plus the last sound: mea...t [meat]
5. Each sound separately: c..l..a..p [clap]

When your child is ready to read:

Bob Books are also excellent books for Beginner Readers. We use these with our children. Be sure to read the back cover to get the gist of what the overall story is about. Read some suggestions and print the "Bob Book Reading Checklist."

I Can Read Songs is a wonderful product to teach sight words. Available in DVD and CD, your child is introduced to 13 high-frequency sight words through songs. Read more...

Starfall is an excellent website with a "Learning to Read" section. The sequence moves pretty quickly, but it can be a good supplement.

The free, printable "My Color Books" are an excellent way to help your child experience the joy of reading outloud. These books are used in the 4 Year Curriculum.

Building and Organizing a Home Library

I believe it is mucho importante to build a library of quality books in your home. Books that you read over and over again while introducing your child to classic characters and authors.