With the start of each new year, we are incline to make resolutions we feel will help improve either our lives or the lives of our loved ones. Whether we pledge to lose that unwanted weight, spend more time with our families, or volunteer more, we begin each year with a new zest on life. This year, I encourage our parents – especially those who have children in grades kindergarten through 5 – to spend more time reading with them. Reading helps boost vocabulary, while allowing your child to learn about different people, places, and things.
Below are a few tips for you to use to make reading an enjoyable and positive experience for both you and your child.
1. Predicting. Look at the book cover together and talk about what the book might be about. What story will be told? What is the main topic and what might the main character be like?
2. Read familiar books over and over again. Children need practice in how to read comfortably – and with expression – using books they know.
3. Build reading accuracy. As your child is reading aloud, point out words he/she misses and help him/her read words correctly. If you stop to focus on a word, have your child reread the whole sentence to be sure he/she understands the meaning of the word.
4. Build reading comprehension. Talk with your child about what he/she is reading. Ask about new words. Talk about what happened in a story. Ask about the characters, places, and events that take place. Ask what new information he/she has learned from the book. Encourage him/her to read labels, etc. on his/her own.
5. Share conversation with your child over meal times and other times you are together. Children learn words easily when they hear them spoken often.
6. Read together every day. Spend time talking about stories, pictures, and words.
7. Be your child’s best advocate. Stay informed about your child’s progress in reading. Talk with your child’s teacher and principal about expectations, assignments, and needs, and work with them to help your child learn.
8. Be an active reader and writer. Children learn habits from the people around them.
9. Visit the library often. Story time, computers, and homework help are available for the entire family.
I wish each of you a wonderful year full of good books and a renewed passion for reading. Remember, “it’s all about our children.”
