Parents play a hugely important role instilling in children a love of books. Most children do eventually learn to read, but not all children become ‘readers’. For preschool children the main focus should purely be about enjoyment and an opportunity to snuggle up together.
Top tips for reading aloud with preschool children
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Reading anytime, anywhere
Listening to stories should not always be a passive experience just saved for bedtime. Whilst reading at bedtime helps to calm children down, try to read at different times of day, particularly on holiday. Travelling is a great time to play audio books.
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Bring the book to life
As much as possible, particularly if you have a young child who has difficulty focusing for more than a few seconds, make the book sound as exciting as possible. Involve your child in the reading of the story by using props, sound effects, funny voices, and exaggerated expression, predicting what might happen next. Let them take on different characters, dress up and help with any rhyme or repetition.
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The right book
It is so important to select the right book for your child. Every time your child really enjoys the experience of listening to a story they will be excited. If the book is uninspiring or they don't even like the 'look' of a book this will definitely affect their enjoyment and attitude towards reading.
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Range of genres
Expose your children to a full range of different genres. Parents tend to read a lot of fiction to young children, but many (especially boys) prefer non-fiction books linked to something they are interested in. They need to experience the different formats and structures of texts, e.g. poetry, play, diary entry, recipe.
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Developing preferences
Many young children don't need much encouragement to develop a preference for a particular book. They may become obsessed with one book and want it to be read repeatedly every night for months. One way round this is for parents to allow the child to pick one book to read each day and the parent also chooses one.
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Reading from memory
Encourage children to read from memory or ‘pretend’ to read. Even if they are not actually reading the words on the page, they are experimenting what it feels like to be a reader. Encourage and praise that as much as possible. They may also like to 'read' the book just by looking at the illustrations.
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Comprehension
From a young age, get children into the habit of talking about a book once it has been read. Fifty percent of learning to read is about decoding, but the other 50% is comprehension. Be understanding of their mood, but when possible and they are really engaged in a story, ask questions like:
What did you think of the story?
Which bit did you like best?
How do you think....felt when...happened?
Can you retell the story?
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The conventions of print
Sharing books with children teaches them a huge amount about the physical features of how books work, long before they formally learn to decode words on a page. Reading aloud to your child teaches them simple concepts:
Distinguishing between front and back, beginning and end of a book
Understanding the directionality of print (left to right, top to bottom)
Knowing that print carries meaning
By Rachel Vecht – Founder of Educating Matters who provide seminars, webinars, courses and one-to-one consultations for parents/carers in the workplace, schools, homes and remotely. Covering a wide range of education and parenting related topics.
'Parents are a child's first and most important teacher'
www.educatingmatters.co.uk
July 11, 2018