Parents sometimes forget that education doesn’t just start at school. Parents really need to consider teaching their children basic skills before school even starts. The reason why this is recommended isn’t to give kids an edge, but it is highly suggested because it is important that kids are already familiar with concepts that their teachers will spend the school year discussing. It does help if children already know the basics, however, teaching your kids how to count and to read isn’t meant to make them better than other kids – it’s meant to help your child go through school much more smoothly and with personal success.
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| Label everything in your home |
Reading is integral to learning. Beyond reading itself, other subjects require that you read about them and understand them. For example, every school subject has a text book full of definitions and examples. Teachers write on the chalkboard so kids can copy notes for reference. Worksheets, exercises and other assignments require writing skills as well as reading comprehension skills – so why not begin teaching your child to read from the very beginning?
Turn Your Home into a Reading Rich Environment
There are many ways in which you can implement reading while your kids are growing up. Place letter magnets on the fridge. Have books everywhere, whether they are for kids, adults, or even babies. Label everything. Encourage your children to sound out letters of everything in the house. Familiarizing them with letters and words around the house and with things that they see every day can make reading come much more naturally to them, and learning can feel more like fun.
Cook Together – and Use Recipes!
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| Cooking with Kids |
Having your children help out with meals like dinner can make for some great family time, but it can also help introduce kids to new foods and healthy ones, too. Studies show that kids are more likely to eat food that they had a help in preparing, so it’s a great tactic for getting your children to finish their vegetables! But making food with your kids can be great for another reason, too. If you’re cooking, you’re following a recipe, right? Have your kids read off ingredients and have them spell out the steps involved. You can even help them write down a family favorite recipe, too!
Point Things Out in the Car
You pass by words every day. While driving you zoom past storefronts and signs, so why not point them out to your kids? You can even turn this into a fun game. Ask them to spot certain letters and words as you drive around town. This will familiarize them with letters and words and help your kids look out for opportunities to read everywhere as well.
Spend Some Quality Family Time Together
There are so many things you can do to have fun and relax with your family. One of the most popular things families can do together is have family game night. Incorporating kids into bigger games that contain words and rules can help boost their confidence and inspire them to learn to read on their own. You can start out by helping them, but they may soon want to venture out as their own player in whatever game you are playing which may help them want to learn to read so that they can feel like one of the grownups.
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| Reading Bedtime Stories |
Don’t Underestimate Bedtime
Reading to your child is integral to their lifelong relationship with reading. The more you read to or with your kids, the more likely they will form a healthy relationship with books and literacy. Make it a habit to read every night or at various parts of the day so that reading becomes a staple in both of your lives.