Learning to Read
“Children are made readers in the laps of their parents.”
Emilie Buchwald
Simple ways to support your child’s reading journey:
Engage your child with words
The more we expose children to language, explains Linda Phillips, director of the Canadian Centre for Research on Literacy at the University of Alberta in Calgary, the easier reading will come. This means talking, singing, cuddling, playing — any way you can engage your child with words.
I remember talking to my first baby constantly - even while while grocery shopping. He loved sitting in the cart as soon as he could sit up independently at six months. I’d ask, “Where are the green apples? How many apples should we buy?” Counting them 1…2…3 while adding them to the produce bag. I’d get a few funny looks since it was clear he wasn’t old enough to respond with words yet, but engaging children through real conversation and open-ended questions is an easy way to build your child’s vocabulary. The richer a child’s vocabulary, the more confident he’ll feel about reading.
Model the joy of reading
Reading aloud to your child is one of the most powerful ways to share the love of reading. Aim for a wide variety of quality books and make them super accessible. I like to place books in areas of the house that invite lingering. Rotating books and adding new titles regularly help keep interest high. I also love to strew different titles they may have forgotten about or create themed baskets (based on the season, topic we’re studying, or new interest). Strewing is really just a gentle way of suggesting…basically leaving things out for children to discover and stumble upon on their own. It’s also important for children to see you reading and enjoying books. This is one reason I don’t read digital books. Children need to see us with a physical copy, not us with more screen time.
Develop phonemic awareness
Memorizing the ABC’s can be fun, but isn’t as important as learning the sounds associated with each letter. Letter recognition is of course part of early literacy, but something I feel is unnecessarily stressed. Sounds introductions, as well as letter recognition, can be naturally woven through conversation and organic play. No need for quizzing or formal lessons until they show interest in learning to read full words. Scandinavian countries have the highest literacy rates in the world and they don’t start formal reading instruction until age 7.
Encourage play-based learning until at least age 7
In New Zealand, several key investigations compared children who started formal literacy lessons at age 5 with those who started at age 7. They showed that early formal learning doesn’t improve reading development, and may even be damaging. By the age of 11, there was no difference in reading ability level between the two groups. However, those who started aged 5 developed less positive attitudes to reading and showed poorer text comprehension than those who had started later.
The fear is that the English system – which was introduced in 1870 in order to get women back into work, rather than on the basis of any educational benefit to children – is now causing profound damage. A similar story applies in the rest of the UK, and there is pressure for greater formality in preschools in other countries, such as the US. Experimental psychology has consistently demonstrated the superior learning and motivation arising from playful, as opposed to instructional, approaches to early education.
“When children have educational experiences that are not geared to their developmental level or in tune with their learning needs and cultures, it can cause them great harm, including feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and confusion.” Read more: Reading Instruction in Kindergarten: Little To Gain and Much to Loose
Explore some of my Favorite interactive titles and picture books to help pre-readers build positive connections Here.
Reading education tools
There are so many choices for reading programs! When my oldest was about to enter Kindergarten (and we decided to homeschool - 2013) I researched all the options veteran homeschoolers suggested. I narrowed it down between All About Reading and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Since the 100 Easy Lessons was significantly cheaper (less than $14!) and had such great reviews I figured we could always start there and reevaluate if needed. And I’m so glad it did! I’m now using the same copy with my 4th child! I have repaired it with packing tape a couple of times…but I’m sure it will last through my 5th child as too. Talk about great value!!! It provides comprehensive phonetic instruction while guiding parents every step of the way. Honestly, it was a fantastic review for me as I went through this the first time. I swear I never learned phonics as a kid! But regardless, definitely don’t skip the intro pages. Those pages teach you how to approach the unique (but simple!) lessons and are very important. The program has no fluff but it’s super efficient and effective. The first handful of lessons can feel awkward and slightly tortuous, but I promise - if you can keep it as light as possible it’s totally worth it! You’ll both get accustomed to the style and rhythm. I incorporated a hand puppet for my first child (the puppet was responsible for all the ‘teacher’ parts - funny voice is a bonus) and that helped keep it fun and entertaining during the first handful of slower lessons. Kids seem more receptive to corrections (ie. proper pencil grip reminders) when it’s coming from Mr. Foggy for some reason ;)
Although the book recommends aiming for at least 3-4 lessons a week, we often took breaks. Extended breaks - like whole weeks…or even months off. It’s not always easy to follow a child’s lead, but you really have to trust that it doesn’t matter if they complete the book at age 5 or age 7. It’s more important that they find the lessons valuable and want to cooperate for those short 15-20 minute bursts. Of course, I can usually tell when they needed a true break or just a little motivation/incentive to stay focused. Being flexible is important to me, but I’m also not above a little bribery (ie. no tv time until after we complete the lesson or making sure we have a little treat to share while we sit together for our reading lesson - something to make it a little special if needed). One child loved laying on my bed away from everyone else for these lessons. That was an easy wish to grant and it let him have control of the situation. A little choice can be empowering! What a game changer. And remember - it doesn’t matter if it takes 6 months or 2 years to get through the book! I also have friends who don’t homeschool and report using this book with success for their reluctant/struggling readers. So simple and effective!
The First Reading Library is the perfect segue towards reading more independently after finishing (or while still working through) the TYCTR phonic lesson book. There are 50 books in the set and the first 22 books are stories that have very simple words for the child to read in a shared reading format. The adult/stronger reader reads the bulk of the text and the young reader reads the very simple words. This approach takes the boredom out of the equation since there’s more variety in the stories. The books naturally progress in difficulty and as they gain fluency. We have just loved reading the stories together (most are fables and classics from around the world). There are fun comprehension puzzles at the end of each book as well - my kids think they’re fun! Teaching points for parents/educators are included as well to help support early readers. Totally worth it.
