Helping your child take their first steps towards reading can be challenging, but with so many stories to discover, new worlds to visit and adventures to be had within the pages, it’s definitely something you’ll want to encourage from an early age.
If your child just loved dressing up for World Book Day 2022, then there really is no better way to keep the magic alive than to continue to introduce them to the world of reading.
But we know that sometimes life can just get a little too busy and it can be hard to dedicate the amount of time you want to advancing your child’s learning.
So, we’ve put together a short list of easy ways you can help introduce your child to reading, to help make both yours and your child’s life a little easier…
Songs and nursery rhymes
When it comes to learning to read, there are five crucial skills that all children will need to develop.
These include phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency.
Each of these will come in time, but it’s important to be aware of them as you embark upon the challenge of creating games and singing songs to help your child along the way.
That’s right – singing songs and nursery rhymes is a clever way to help your child learn to read.
The rhyme and rhythm help your little one to hear each sound and syllable in the words.
They can begin to build phonemic awareness by clapping and singing in unison, and actions can help them to physically understand the meanings of the words.
Play word games
Whilst seeing printed words around the home can help your child to apply connections between sounds and letters, when you’re always busy and out and about, you could introduce simple word games.
Whether you’re around the house, in the car, or even at the park, asking questions like “what sound does the word cat start with”, or “what word rhymes with dog”, for example, will help to get your child thinking, listening to the sounds that make up each word, as well as what they mean.
Let technology help
There are many games available online to aid your child in their learning, so why not utilise this from time to time?
If using the computer, your tablet or phone is a treat, then you could download some word games for your child to play to make reading more fun.
Play with letter magnets
Letter magnets can be a great way to help your little one get to grips with middle vowel sounds.
If you prepare all the magnets on the fridge and put all the vowels to one side, you can say a word like ‘cat’, with a consonant, vowel, and then consonant, and ask your child to spell it using the magnets.
To help, point at each vowel and make its sound, letting them pick the one that sounds similar to the middle sound in the word.
Read together
Games aside, one of the best ways to introduce your child to reading is to actually read to them.
Reading together for 10 minutes every day is proven to help your child form a lifelong love of learning, so by showing them what a fluent reader looks like and letting their imagination run wild, you’ll be helping them learn crucial skills.
Asking your little one questions about the book to keep them involved and engaged is a great way to help them build a love for reading.
What’s more, there’s no better way to bond than embarking on new adventures together!