It is often heard people saying
that “it’s never too late to study”. But, it in fact it will be ‘too late’ if
you won’t teach your child the building
blocks for reading before he ever enter into the classroom. You can begin
working with your child’s teacher, once your child enters the school to get
help in teaching and your child’s learning process. Making
your child read will require constant dedication and unending patience.
So, you should try hard to make
reading a significant part of your child’s life before he can even speak. In
order to do so, read to your child as they develop in the womb and when they
are babies. The great hero Abhimanyu of epic Mahabharata
is the one example that babies start learning when they are in womb of their
mothers. Don’t ever think that they will read by themselves, because nowadays Ekalavyas
are very rare, who learnt the art of shooting arrows without any teacher. When
your child is two years old, begin to read out loud to them while they follow
along by looking at the pictures
in the book you are reading to them. A little later you can begin pointing
out words
in the book to your child when you are reading their favorite
stories.
You should also read your
children books
with rhymes as the rhymes
are easy to remember for the kids because of their funny language and words.
Begin introducing your child to the alphabet
from a young age. You can start singing the ABC’s
song when your baby is just a couple months old, between twelve to eighteen
months, your child will begin to sing parts of the ABC’s
song on his own. After a few months, you can start showing them the letters
of the alphabet on a chart
as you sing through the tune.
Begin to show sounds made by each
letter
of the alphabet when you kid reaches the preschool age. Be patient and take
your enough time teaching him sounds of all the letters
of the alphabet. When your child begins to comprehend the different sounds
made by letters
of the alphabet, you can begin teaching some basic
words. Take each letter
of the alphabet and teach your child common
words that begins with that letter. Write down the words for him to see in
a note
book or the easel
board. Now show these words in his book
to explain him how the word
is written. Till this time, your child will begin to recognize simple words
like apple, cat, bat, dog, cap, rat, mat, ball, doll, etc.
Before going further teach your
child to write
the letters of the alphabet first. You can buy practice
books that facilitates children trace each letter and practice
writing the letters before they try to write letters on their own somewhere
else. Gradually your child will begin learning to trace and write simple words
such as: dog, cat, bat, ball and top etc, in such practice
books.
Now when your child starts
learning the words give him some basic
books of phonics. Then you can give him phonic
cards which come along with pictures which are easier for children to
recognize and remember. You also can add some phonic
puzzle games to enhance his knowledge and practice more on the different
types of words and letter combination.
Colorful
charts with huge or big letter would really be of great help for the children
in the learning and reading process. Read the letters
and words in the chart
aloud and clear so that they will easily listen and remember. It would be of
greater help if you can hang the chart
in such an area where they could easily take a glance to see them often. It
will make them read and remember easily and quickly.
