How to teach a kid to read (and make it fun)!
I feel like my daughter is on the verge of reading. She can sound out the letters in words but hasn’t quite grasped putting those sounds together to form the words. She also loves to flip through the pages and tell me what’s going on on each page in her own words which is always a blast to listen to. I googled “how to teach a kid to read” just for fun and I found many helpful tips, most of which we are already implementing into our daily routine. What the tips failed to include were ideas on how to make reading fun.
Tips I Found:
- Identify letters in everyday settings
- Read to your child regularly
- Ask questions during storytime
- Be a good reading example
- Sounding out – help your child sound out words he/she sees everyday
All pretty simply stuff, right? But how can you make it fun? I’m sure this answer is different for every child but for my daughter, she has fun when mommy and daddy make the book fun. We could read her the newspaper and make it fun by being silly and getting her involved. Lately we’ve been reading a book from POW Kids Books author Mark Gonyea called Counting on Letters: From A to Z and 1 to 26 ($10.95). This book combines letters and numbers in an easy-to-follow format. It’s recommended for ages 4-6 but my daughter who just turned three just loves it.
About:
This colorful alphabet and counting book is an exciting introduction to letter and numbers for young children who are just beginning to recognize letters and numbers. Lots of elements combine to emphasize learning but in such a clever, fun-to-look-at way that readers won’t even realize they are learning as they go.
Each letter is presented in a strongly contrasting color scheme that combines one saturated hue with white for a bold look.
- Bold graphics create a sense of movement
- Each letter is accompanied by a number, which is shown in numeral form
- Children can count the number of letters, reinforcing both the alphabetic and numeric learning
Mark Gonyea is the author of several books for children, including A Book About Design, A Book About Color, and most recently, The Spooky Box (all from Henry Holt), as well as the web comic series Mr. Oblivious. His recent successful Kickstarter campaign for a graphic counting poster called One to One Hundred more than met its mark. Mark spent the better portion of his early life watching tv, going to movies, and playing video games, little realizing this was to be the essential ground work for a successful career in cartooning and graphic design. Mark lives in Burlington, Vermont.
Disclosure: I received a book to facilitate my review. Any opinion expressed in this article is based on my experience with the book/brand.
GIVEAWAY
Enter to win a copy of Counting on Letters from POW Kids Books using the Rafflecopter form below. We’ll choose one winner after 9/11/14. Good luck! Open to US only.
The best way to get awesome readers is to read, read, read to them make it a fun time and part of their daily routine
Make sure you read to them, so they hear the words too!
Use your finger to track the words when you read.
Make sure you read to them every day and as many books as they will sit through.
Make it part of your routine
Be patient and make reading fun…read with emotion! 🙂
Use your finger to follow from left to right early on. It will be much easier for them to learn that is the correct way to read.
I think parents should know that reading isn't just important for 3-4 year olds because they know whats happening in the story but reading is important for babies too! They can hear the words and see the pictures which stimulates their brains and grows their vocabulary! Reading is wonderful!
Set aside a time for reading on a daily basis and stick to this schedule.
My best tip is to start when they're young! It becomes routine and will help grow their vocabulary!
Start early!! I started reading to both of my children when they were still in the womb. My 12 year old is in all honors classes and my 11 month old would rather sit and read books with me than play with any toy.