How To Teach Reading

A lot of parents want to know how to teach reading to their children. Most of us go our own ways about it. I mean, how hard can it really be to teach a child? After all, we have also been a child at some point of our lives, haven’t we?

So, we sit with our children and try our best to teach them the reading skills, hoping that it wouldn’t take long. But it doesn’t always work this way, does it?

There are methods and techniques to teach a skill to a person. The good thing about following a guideline is that it works. We can sit for hours and try our own ways but the success rate in following such a procedure is very low. Now, I’m not saying that it will never work, it can work and I’m kind of hoping that it does. But such an approach is very time consuming.

Therefore, following the methods that have been invented by the professionals in the industry is our best chance to achieve success in a shorter period of time. Here’s 10 tips on how to teach reading to your kids:

• Teach in a fun and loving environment: What does you child like? Does he or she like being outdoors? Create an environment where you child feels happy and comfortable. Such a thing can lift a child’s spirit and prepare him/her for learning. Although, some would say, well, wouldn’t that distract the child? No, it wouldn’t if you grab their attention.
• Make it short and sweet: Understand that your child is too young to concentrate on one particular thing for an hour. Kids are not like that (Well, unless you have a brainstorming genius in your house)! The maximum amount of time should be 15 minutes. After that time teaching can not be as effective with children.
• Proper rest and sleep: Did you know that our brain works on newly learned material while we are asleep? Your child needs proper rest and sleep. In order to accumulate all that is being taught during the day, it is very important that your child gets proper sleep during the night.
• Revise and Repeat: Alright, so you taught your child a few things just 2 days ago and now he/she doesn’t remember that. Do not panic or be frustrated! It is very common among children to forget newly learned material over the following days, unless, it is revised and reinforced through repetition. Improve your chances of making the knowledge secure in your child’s brain by following a daily schedule of revision.
• Use pictures: Take yourself for example, you have so many memories of your childhood and your past. How do you remember them? Do you have a scene or a picture attached to every memory that you carry inside your brain? Our brain stores most of the past events in a visual form. So, it is needless to say that only letters will not do the job. Add pictures along with teaching and it will be a lot easier for your child to grasp and remember what you taught.
• Every child is different: I see so many parents who become jealous of other kids. They get so impressed with them that they start to feel that their own child is not as good. Such a thing could build a massive inferiority complex in the child. We are all not made to be millionaires or university professors. Everyone has their own learning curve. Where there are children who are very good in grasping information there are also children who are not as good. Do not be discouraged by this, as we all know that not being able to do one thing is not the end of the world.
• Using the senses together: It has been proven that it is easier to get involved into things which involve more than one of our senses. An activity which involves hearing and seeing is far better than one which involves only one of them. Parents can make the process of teaching more engaging by using not only seeing and hearing but also doing.
• Do not discourage: In some cases, you will see that no matter what you do your child is not able to learn. If such a situation arises, do not discourage yourself or the child. Even though you know that your child is poor at learning but at no point you should tell this to your child. Instead, seek advice from a professional.
• Praise immediately and you must: Hey, you did an excellent job 2 weeks back. The answer: oh wow, did I? If you must praise your child then do it immediately. An immediate encouragement does wonders. It will not only build self-esteem in your child but also increase the level of confidence.
• Regularity is the key: Be regular with your teaching schedule. If your child is supposed to have a 15 minute teaching session with you at 5 o’clock then 5 o’clock it is. It can not be an hour earlier or an hour later. Such an approach will make the child realize that this is important. Also, it will teach the child a lesson for life that important things always need to be done first.

However tough it might sound in the beginning but the truth is you can easily teach your child to read if you only provide some patience. Teaching children is an art and it involves some key elements like patience, encouragement and intelligence.

In order to teach your child to read you need to keep few things and concepts in your mind. You will have to imply them in such a way that the information does not become too overwhelming to the child.

Have you ever wondered why children like to play almost all the time? Well, that’s because it is fun! Make reading fun and I bet you will see kids loving every aspect of it.

Now, I tell you if you grab a small thin book or a novel and sit by your child and start asking him or her to read it, the truth is, you have already taken the first step towards making your child absolutely, “dislike” reading. The first step is the most important step. What matters, is, how you introduce the world of “reading” to your child. Do you introduce it as a tedious job or do you introduce it as a loving fun way of passing time and gaining valuable information?

Children love recognizing pictures and they take it as a challenge. So, say you have a picture of an apple. How do you ask your child to say it? Not “apple” but “a…..pple”. You say the “a” sound first and then follow the rest of it after that. Now, what would this do? This would familiarize your child with the letter A. If your child gets stuck then you can make that same sound again and the kid will be able to finish the whole word for you. You can move on to next alphabets as you get along well and start to see some positive response from the child.

I would personally suggest that you wait before you hand in a book to your kid and ask him/her to read it. By “book” I mean where there is a lot of writing without pictures. Take one step at a time and try to make it fun for as long as you can while your child is still too young.

Submitted by Emily Patterson on behalf of Primrose Schools, private day care that provides children with a balanced learning curriculum and safe environment to learn, play and grow.  Primrose is currently raising awareness for Feeding America and their efforts to help Americans in need. To join in, visit their Facebook page where you can donate $1 by liking it or $2 by sharing.

Children who are raised in an environment of giving turn out to be well-adjusted, happy adults. Many parents want their children to become compassionate adults. But often, parents do not know exactly where to begin. One suggestion is parents introduce their children to volunteering.

Lead by Example:

Children who are given the opportunity to volunteer find they inspire joy in others. Moreover, children who volunteer during the holidays have a tremendous impact on those they serve. Volunteering during the holiday season reaps invaluable rewards and builds self-esteem.

Parents who volunteer themselves best accomplish the task of teaching their own children to volunteer. Children feel more at ease and learn faster by following a parent’s example.

Four Steps to Success:

1) Clarify your goals and expectations. Examine exactly why you want your child to volunteer. Ensure you are getting your child involved for the right reasons and not solely to reflect on you within your peer group. Choose a cause that inspires you and your child. Don’t select a charity simply because of convenience.

2) Explain to your children why volunteering is important. Do not include any reason that is centered on third-party perception. Instead, focus on why volunteering–especially during the holidays–is a way to give back to the community. Holiday volunteerism has a substantial impact on those in need and its rewards are immeasurable.

3) Select volunteer activities and opportunities that are age-appropriate. While volunteering for any cause during the holidays builds great character, it must be within your child’s grasp of the world around him. Volunteering at your child’s school, church and neighborhood are ideal because of the familiarity. Children as young as three years of age can only appreciate so much, choose wisely so not to “cheat” your child of the meaning.

4) Choose a child-friendly organization. Many volunteer opportunities become available during the holidays. But not all are universally kid-friendly. Some holiday volunteer activities are simply not for children. They are either above a child’s understanding or inappropriate. Don’t be afraid to ask the organization if children are welcome to volunteer during the holidays. In addition, ask the charity if there are child-specific opportunities that will provide “concrete” examples of what it means to give your time during the holidays.

Allowing your children to volunteer during the holidays is a great way to raise a compassionate child. But don’t let the stress of the holidays overwhelm and/or undermine your goals. Remember to be patient with your children as they volunteer. Let them make mistakes to learn.

A child that becomes accustomed and comfortable volunteering during the holidays will grow to appreciate all that he learns during each experience. It will not only make him a more compassionate child, but hopefully last to adulthood and make him or her a better parent as well.

To guarantee your child has the best opportunity to learn from volunteering, continue to do so throughout the year. There are ample opportunities for the whole family to take part in charity projects throughout the course of the year. Repetition is an easy way for children to learn, therefore repeat volunteering will benefit your child the most.

It turns out that teaching kids to read is a very time consuming process. Are you a parent who is looking for some unique methods to teach reading skills to your child? Do you know that you could use learning games on the internet to help your child gain various reading skills?

A lot of young children find learning a tedious job and that is because when we use the word “learning”, it seems like a lot of work. Therefore, if we could find a way that could take the “work” factor out of it and make it more enjoyable exercise I’m sure kids will enjoy it more.

Learning games act as a brilliant teaching tool that can easily develop a child’s brain power. Such games also involve solving puzzles which not only help your child to learn but also develop his/her mind power and problem solving skills. Even for parents this method is more fun because they can involve themselves into it. I mean, who doesn’t like solving puzzles?

Studies have shown that almost all kinds of children love playing around with the computer. So while they are learning to read they are not only doing that but also gaining computer skills which will benefit them throughout their life. I hardly see schools these days that do not have computers in their curriculum.

I indeed suggest that you take this step towards your child’s learning very quickly. You never have to force your child to get into something that he/she doesn’t want to. But I can assure you that almost every kid will enjoy such a learning process. At young age, learning how to read properly is the only skill that a child needs and when they posses that skill they just make the whole process of further schooling a whole lot easier.

If you teach your child the smart way the fact is you will end up making your child a smart person and we all know that this way you are making him/her ready for the age of technology at a very young age.

One of the most essential part of growing up for a child is to learn how to read. It should be given top most priority by parents because as to how good their child can read will provide long term benefits to the child.

Although, I would say that most of the parents today are well known to the fact that teaching their child to read properly is a very important thing. Still though, I meet parents everyday who find it extremely difficult to teach their children effectively.

So, I was wondering if there was an easier way that I can find that would help all such parents who are finding it hard to make their children good readers of tomorrow. After doing some research through various valuable resources I was able to find things that work and things that don’t.

Here’s some of my findings:

1. Start early: This is very important that you start early and put your child’s interest toward the world of literacy. It doesn’t necessarily have to be books all the time. Try to make this a habit that whenever you are taking your child outside for shopping or any other activity you read the signs and various labels to them. Do you know that they know nothing? Not even that we read left to right and top to bottom. We do not realize these things but these are the things that need to be taught at the very beginning.

2. Read to them: If you really want to make your child an excellent reader then you have to become a good reader yourself too. Reading to your child is considered as the most crucial part in making him/her a good reader. Make them fall in love with reading. Appreciate them when they do a good job at it. The child should have fun in reading because the more fun it is the more often he/she would like to do it. This will not only increase the reading skills of your child but also improve their vocabulary.

3. Give them the needed tools: Some parents do not understand the fact that it is very important to make sure that their child knows how to read before the schooling begins. I see children who do not have the appropriate reading material compared to their age. Therefore, give them the best books available for their age. If you give them the tools they need to become literate and make them fall in love with it then I’m sure they will not disappoint you.

As per my understanding if you take care of such things and try to incorporate these steps I can definitely say that you will be able to teach your child how to read in a very short period of time.