Read Aloud
Teaching a child is difficult, especially if he is not interested in the topic. Often, children are easily distracted. Thus, you need to make them interested first.
To keep them engaged, you’ll need to start while they’re young. Even days after birth, you may read books for them and make sure that you read them aloud. You might not be able to tell if they understand what you’re reading but doing so will instill their love for books at a young age. On top of that, it is a special bonding moment for both of you.
Once they develop an interest in reading at a young age, they’ll be more curious and will want to read more. Thus, it’s easier for you to teach them new words as they grow.
Identify Letters
According to a study, children learn how to read when they become familiar with letters. Thus, try to incorporate letters in a natural setting. For instance, you can design their room with letters that spell their name or give them alphabet learning toys.
Eventually, it will pique their curiosity, which will open doors for you to teach them the alphabet or how to spell their name. You’ll need to naturally capture their attention first. This way, they won’t feel pressured to learn how to read and won’t simply memorize what you’re trying to teach. Doing so will help your child enjoy their time being a kid while learning.
Take Them To Early Classes
Most teachers will advise you to help your child learn to read even before they start going to school. This is the perfect activity to get your child into in the months leading up to their first days in class. It will give them the edge to perform even better in class. Most importantly, it will give them the right boost of confidence.
There are many classes - called head start classes that you can take your child to. You can check out this reading head start review, for a glimpse of how such classes work. It’s one of the best investments you can make for your child during his earlier years. It’s also one of the better options if you are having a tough time teaching them on your own.
Teach with Nursery Rhymes
For us adults, hearing nursery rhymes on repeat can be annoying. They’re outdated and sometimes, they don’t make sense. But believe it or not, nursery rhymes are one of the powerful tools to teach a child to read.
Nursery rhymes and their rhythm help children hear the syllables and sounders better. This helps them learn how to read better. It increases their vocabulary too, which helps them understand how language works.
Step Up To Storybooks
Once your child has mastered reading some of the nursery rhymes you’ve prepared for them, the next best step would be to help them advance into the next level via storybooks. Any one of those Hans Andersen classics would help your child become more interested in reading. Moreover, it will give them the energy and drive to learn.
You see, teaching a child is more about helping them learn by feeding them knowledge the best way possible. It should be something that they are fond of or something that they won’t be bored doing. When they were young, you probably read some of those storybooks to them. Help them understand that it’s time for them to read the storybooks as well. Of course, you’ll still have to read them bedtime stories.
Start with stories they are already familiar with so they know how to read the story. Then, proceed to stories that are entirely new to them so that they begin reading on their own.
Ask Questions
There’s no point in reading if a child can’t understand what he is reading. Thus, as you read him a book or as he reads, try to make your child interact with the book by asking him questions. You can ask questions before reading the book and make him predict what’s the story about.
As you read the story, you ask him a few questions about what’s happening in the story. At the end of the story, ask what he remembered or what he learned.
You can also do this even if your child is still a baby. You can ask him questions and show him a picture. For instance, you can ask if he sees the moon in the picture while pointing at it. This will surely make him interact with the book more. On top of that, doing so will help his vocabulary grow.
Reward Them
It’s always good to reward your children with treats and special little gifts every once in a while. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to spoil them with sweets every time they do something good. If you want to keep them motivated, try to give them some of their favorite cake or other treats if they do well on a particular lesson.
Just make sure that they don’t get too comfortable with being rewarded. They could end up seeing success as a means to get what they want which is a bad thing to teach children.
Reading is one of the most essential skills that your child needs to learn at a young age. This skill will allow them to learn more things in the coming years. If you want to give your child a headstart on his learning journey, then it is a must that you guide them through the basics and advanced lessons in reading.
