Research shows clearly that preschoolers whose parents have read aloud to them frequently show better language growth, better awareness of phonics and better early reading skills. These advantages enable these children to become successful readers.
Reading is an accrued skill. The more your child reads, the better they get at it and so the more they enjoy it and the more likely they are to read. By reading aloud to your child you provide the incentive for your child to want to start reading on their own.
Each day your child will bring home a reading book to share with you. Please read this book aloud to your child, tracking the text from left to right with your finger and discussing what has been read. Who is their favourite character? What was the best part of the story? Etc.
After a few weeks your child will bring home a graded reading book for them to begin to read to you. As we teach them new ‘sounds’ we will also teach them how to blend these together to read. There will be some words which cannot be ‘sounded out’ and just need to be learnt by sight and there will be times where your child will need more support with their reading.
It is really important that your child reads daily. The best environment to read in is a quiet, calm environment with no back ground noise (such as televisions or radios). Begin by reading the title of the book, pointing to each sound at a time and then blending these together. If your child needs help, you could say the sounds and get them to repeat these, saying them faster and faster, until they blend together to form the word e.g c-a-t, c-a-t, c-a-t, cat.
If your child is tired, you could take turns reading a page each or they could read a sound or two that they can recognise. Take time to talk about the pictures and what they have read. It is important to make the experience enjoyable and fun.