Pre-schools

READING such a civilised hobby!

In this techno world of playstations, gameboys and television, reading is a kids’ hobby that is taking a back seat to the detriment of their vocabulary, spelling and grammatical skills. Being able to read and write is just about essential in everyday life.

Newspapers, magazines and books hold a wealth of information within their pages. A child who can read can learn about countries she may never have heard of, read stories about super heroes and their good deeds, teach herself how to work a new gadget by reading the instruction manual (not something that adults do!) …the list goes on and on. If your child wants to pass her driving test she will have to take the written exam first and be able read road signs or risk getting lost on her maiden voyage.

Children’s books such as the Harry Potter series have done much to encourage children to read for entertainment. In my early years Enid Blyton was the writer who fired children’s imaginations with her stories about the Famous Five and Secret Seven, amongst others.

Literacy is such a useful tool. Reading develops a child’s ability to spell as they begin to recognise printed words that they hear every day. Her vocabulary will improve as she is introduced to new words with each new book and let’s not forget the grammatical tips she will pick up without even noticing.

Start teaching your child to read as early as possible whilst she still has an instinctively enquiring mind. Pre-schoolers are able to sort things according to shape, colours and objects and should be encouraged to do the same with letters. By being exposed to written text and given the skills and strategies to access written words at the same time, children can “get it right first” which is easier than breaking bad habits in senior primary school where children who have lost out are reluctant to “go back to basics”.

Traditionally, senior primary teachers are not trained to address basic skills and curriculum demands do not allow the time. This means that once children get past Grade 3, they have limited opportunities to develop these skills.

Many parents start to teach their pre-schoolers to read at home with little experience, or are too afraid to try in case they “get it wrong” or have been told that their child will get bored in Grade 1 if she can read.

With the knowledge that letters are merely pictures of sounds and the use of the finger, children can start to develop the skill of segmenting (breaking words up into sounds) which is an essential skill for reading, spelling and comprehension.

Playing sound games in the car is also a fun way to develop auditory skills where children can be encouraged to listen for a word when sounds are said in succession (blending). E.g. What word can you hear when I say: ‘c’ ‘a’ ‘t’? ‘cat’

This kind of activity gives the process of sounding words out a purpose and increases reading fluency. Remember - the earlier a child learns to read, the more time there is for the development of spelling, vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Nobody likes to do things that they are not good at so if the love of reading is instilled in your child at the basic skills are developed, there is no reason why your child won’t choose to spend holidays reading, instead of watching a dvd for the hundreth time or playing those dreaded computer games.

Buy books that are suitable for your child’s reading age and ability and put some time aside each day for reading. Even if your child can’t read the majority of the words in any given book, allow her to read the words that she can and you fill in the missing gaps by either reading the complicated words for the child or by breaking longer words up into smaller parts and getting her to read them one “chunk” (syllable) at a time. In this way the vocabulary and visual memory are being developed, never mind the increased fluency and confidence that reading “real books” brings.

Bedtime is ideal as reading is a relaxing pastime and there are no distractions such as television programmes. Allow half an hour’s reading before lights out to encourage her to pick up a book.

Invest in a children’s dictionary and show her how to use it to look up new words and their meanings.
It is an ideal way to keep kids occupied and since it is a quiet hobby, parents will enjoy some peace too!

Bedtime is ideal as reading is a relaxing pastime and there are no distractions.