One of the most exciting developmental milestones in a child’s life is when they begin to read.  When a child successfully sounds out their first words, the grown-ups in their life can celebrate with them because they have opened up a whole new world of exploration. Learning to read does not happen overnight.  In fact, the process begins as soon as you start to read to your child as an infant. It is no secret that the most important thing you can do to help your child become a reader is to read to them.  Read often.  Read everything.  Read fiction and non-fiction.  Read shopping lists and street signs. Let them see you reading. Children who are read to will be eager to read themselves.

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” — Emilie Buchwald

Learning to read is a process and although it begins when your child is very young, all the pieces may not finally come together for them until around first grade.  No two children are the same.  Reading comes easily for some children, but not as easily for others. If you push too much with your preschooler, they may feel discouraged and become apprehensive about reading.  The preschool years are the time for them to develop the skills and confidence they will need when they are finally ready to read.

There are some things you can do during your child’s preschool years that will help lay the foundation for reading.  Besides regularly reading to them, you can also teach them the letters of the alphabet.  There is no shortage of activities available for children of all ages that incorporate the letters of the alphabet.  Even young toddlers will start to recognize letters they see often in the world around them.

Letters are basically symbols with sounds, so it is important that as your child learns to recognize the letters they also learn the corresponding sounds. One way that All Stars Montessori teaches this concept is through the Letter of the Week.  Each week, one letter of the alphabet will be highlighted, and the children will be taught to recognize the letter and its corresponding sound.  (i.e. “B”, “buh”) Each week there is a Letter Bag Day, and children are encouraged to bring and share items they find at home that begin with that letter.  Once children learn to associate the letter with the sound it makes, they are one step closer to reading.

The next step for an emergent reader that has a good understanding of the letters and their sounds is to introduce them to “word blends” such as “-at” or “-an”.  When they start to build words by combining these sounds, they are essentially cracking a code. That is why the earliest stage of reading is referred to as “decoding”.  Decoding is the critical first step in reading.

Although it may be tempting to impel your preschooler to read early, allowing them to progress at their own pace will enable them to feel confidence over the process.  Celebrate the skills they master along the way.  Encourage them and show them that you believe they can do it.  Continue to read to them.  Provide them as many opportunities as you can to practice all their language skills and give it time – the reading will come!