Can I Teach Them Too Young

Every year, I have concerned first grade parents coming to me about their child’s reading performance. “They just are not as far along as their brother/sister was at this age”, “how do they compare to the other children”, “they don’t like reading at home and we aren’t sure what to do.” Parents will ask how they can help their child in reading; and it’s no wonder they are so concerned in this area as it is an essential part of their education and future well-being.

Here are some suggestions that teachers can give to those concerned parents and hopefully empower them to do more at home.

1. Can I Teach Them Too Young?

No, you can’t! The sooner you introduce your child to literature the better. Parents need to be reading to their children and introducing them to language and storytelling at a young age. This will boost

Talk To Your Children

The average child’s vocabulary when he starts school is roughly 5000 words. This means that between the ages of one and five, children learn approximately 3.5 words every day! In order for this to happen, children need lots of exposure to language. It’s not just how much children hear, but also what they hear that matters. Use words that are unfamiliar to your child, this will grow their vocabulary bank and prepare them better for reading down the road.

3. Encourage Them to Write

Literacy is not just reading it includes writing too. Having books and magazines available for your child is a good idea, but it’s also helpful to have pencils, crayons, markers, and paper. Encourage your child to write the letters of the alphabet, numbers, notes or letters to somebody. Perhaps you could write a message to your child and they could try writing back to you.

4. Read To Your Child

Ya, ya, ya, we’ve heard that before. Yes, but it’s true! Kids who are read to have better school readiness skills, develop a love for school because they are confident there, they learn to love books and it creates bonding time between the parent and the