Getting Your Preschooler Ready to Read

We have some good news! Teaching your child to read is a relatively simple process. Surprised? Puzzled? Most parents are. Reading seems to require such a complex set of skills. How can we be a part of making it happen without expert assistance from educator?

Only one behavior predict success in reading: being read to by parents. Research has found that children who are read to daily are the best readers during the elementary years

Here are some tips for reading to your preschooler, so he or she is bound to succeed.

• In the beginning, don’t read. Point! Reading pictures is an important pre-reading skill that your child will prefect first.

• Move your finger across the page to help your child learn left-to-right progression - a key pre-reading skill.

• Point out familiar things first, and then gradually add unfamiliar pictures and words as you read the book again.

• Start with books that can be used for different purposes. For example, if a book tells a story about animals, use the book to explore the different sounds animals make as well as to tell the story.

How much time is enough? Read to your child at least 30 minutes a day. If you can’t find 30 minutes, grab 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there to add up to 30 minutes a day.