print view

Once children have mastered the alphabet, phonics and word arrangements it’s time to let them take off and read on their own. It’s not hard to help your child down this path. In fact it can be a lot of fun listening to them and watching them as they try to read a book to you.

Always start your children off with very simple books. The words need to be one-syllable words that are easy to sound out and recognize. Having pictures can be very helpful when teaching kids to read. They can associate the picture with the words and it helps keep them from becoming frustrated if they aren’t sure what a word is.

Be patient with your child when they are learning to read. It can be very hard to try to figure out what a word is or how the sentences all come together. Be supportive and help them when they begin to struggle. Once they have it figured out push them to continue on. Don’t let them defeat themselves.

Read with them. Have your child read one page and you read the next. It gives them a break while helping them to comprehend. Sometimes reading can become overwhelming to a small child. Giving them a chance to show their stuff, while still enjoying being read to, can make it much easier for a child to learn.

Don’t burn them out. Children have short attention spans. If they start reading a book and only get 2 or 3 pages read and then want to move on to something else, let them. Just remind them throughout the day to go back and read a couple more pages. Let them take their time. Before you know it they will be sitting down with a book and reading from front to back with no hesitation.

Allow your children to read you a bedtime story. When it’s time to put them to bed instead of you reading the whole book them let them read some of it to you. As they become weary, take over and finish the book for them. This will give the children the sense of giving something back to you. After all you spent many nights reading to them - now it’s their turn to read for you.

Reading opens up a whole world that many of us can only find in a book. It also teaches and gives us help in our everyday life. Teaching children to read and making it fun and entertaining is a way of knowing that your child will continue to read and feel good about it for the rest of their lives.

Submitted by Christmas Fun

Click here to receive free access to Christmas Crafts and Traditions for Families