How to raise an avid reader!

In this article, you’ll find answers to questions like:

1. How do nursery rhymes help?
2. How to teach words?
3. When to start engaging?

Did you know there’s a lot you can do — even during pregnancy — to help your child succeed in school?

The first step includes taking care of yourself so you have the best chance of giving birth to a healthy baby. Once your baby is born, you can begin raising a reader by cuddling, singing, talking and listening.

1. HOW DO NURSERY RHYMES HELP?

Repeating beloved nursery rhymes helps children become better readers, even if they don't read yet.

“Research has shown that children who are familiar with eight to 10 nursery rhymes by age 4 are better readers by age 8 than peers who weren’t exposed to nursery rhymes,” says Kristin Calder, chief executive officer of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. “A child needs spoken words in their vocabulary bank before they can learn to read those words, and for young children, hearing and repeating those words when they rhyme is a fun way to build a vocabulary.”

2. HOW TO TEACH WORDS?

“I suggest parents make daily life a game of words,” Calder says. “So when you’re in the car, have your child look out the window for shapes and colors, or point out the colors of fruits and vegetables during a grocery trip.”

If you take a walk to the park and point out plants and animals along the way, when the child encounters those experiences later in a book, they can identify those experiences as they relate to real life, says Jeanne Siccone, director of Children’s Literacy at the coalition.

3. WHEN TO START ENGAGING?

“Parents can start reading and talking to their child in the womb,” Calder says. “And then continue speaking to the child as soon as he’s born.”

This is how the brain forms speech. For example, your toddler may not be able to say the words “nose” or “shoes,” but if you ask her to touch her nose or to get her shoes, she probably can. “A person, young or old, must be exposed to a language for five years before they are fluent,” Calder says.

By age 4, the conversation can turn into a two-way street. At this stage, it’s beneficial to ask open-ended questions and hear what your child has to say.

“This develops their critical thinking skills,” Siccone says. After you read them a book, ask them what they liked about it, she suggests. These conversations teach them critical thinking skills that can be applied to math and other areas of learning.

SOURCES:

• Kristin Calder, chief executive officer, Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County
• Jeanne Siccone, director of Children’s Literacy, Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County