Learning To Read Starts Early

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When it comes to learning to read, the process begins long before your child starts school. Most children will have grown familiar with the letters of the alphabet on your refrigerator door or the side of the bath, long before they see them on a classroom blackboard. Your little one can play with, and learn from, your first-born too! THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY PRACTICE FOR LEARNING TO READ

Your older child is probably already on his way to becoming a fluent reader. But what about the little one?

Actually, it’s never too early to start and, particularly as she has the example of her big brother, she could begin now learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet and the sound that each letter makes. Let your older boy practise with her, mouthing the sounds of each letter clearly.
You could get a set of magnetic letters for the refrigerator door or a set of foam ones that stick onto the side of the bath, so that the two children can have lots of fun “playing letters” together.
Here is an example of why having two children is such a great asset. Getting your older child to start teaching the letters of the alphabet to his younger sister will boost his confidence enormously, and it will also help the little one make real advances on the road to becoming a reader herself.

Although young children spend a long time learning various letters well before they can read words, there are one or two privileged words that they encounter often, like TAXI or PAMPERS, that they learn to read as wholes without deciphering the individual letters. There is one special word that most children do learn to read and to write quite early in development, and that is the letters that constitute their own first name.
So, do have both of your children practice putting their own names with magnetic letters on the refrigerator door or with foam letters on the sides of the bath. The little one won’t be able to write yet, of course, but if your older child is already able to write letters, have him write her name for her in big letters. She’ll get lots of joy from being able to recognize her own name, but she will also feel immense admiration for her big brother at being able to write, and this may even convince her to try to emulate him.
Your older child can also be encouraged to tell his little sister stories, pointing out to her the images that match the words as he goes along. Interestingly, it is also a very good influence on the children for them to see you and your partner reading, too.

Research has shown that children who witness their parents reading a lot, who love looking at the pictures in books and who spend a lot of time pretending to read before they actually can, are those who end up subsequently with the best reading scores.
So, don’t ever make fun of your children if they are pretending to read but have the book upside down! It is still excellent role play practice for the future.

Of course, never force your older child to teach his sister, nor try to force her to learn. Always wait until you see real signs of interest and make sure that the experience is always fun for them. One of your aims as a mother should be to have your children progressively learn to love learning. In any new task that either of the children takes on, self-confidence in their ability to learn will go a long way towards helping them succeed in that task.
So, if your little one really enjoys all the practice with her brother and with you, she will come prepared and feeling confident about her own abilities when she later encounters learning to read at school.

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Brothers And Sisters

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Development

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