A Parenting Resource for Indy’s Christian Families

HELPFUL TIPS

8. Reading For A Purpose. There needs to be a reason for reading that is child-centered.  Reading directions for model cars, airplanes, boats, doll houses, etc., recipes, how-to books, or repair manuals needs to go beyond just reading.  The child must interpret what is read and then experience the results.

9. Develop Speaking Skills.  Speaking in complete sentences to express ideas in a logical order is important too.  Helping your child organize spoken ideas also helps him learn to read and write.  Most children learn to tell others their ideas before they can read.

CAUTION

10. Don’t Go To Extremes.  Reading, like speaking, is a tool that should be comfortable to use.  It is a method used to transmit information and to transport yourself mentally, using words as images, to other times and places.  Make reading fun.  Read jokes.  Read comedy.  Read fiction and non-fiction.  Read a variety of materials.

IMPROVING UNDERSTANDING

4. Reading for Understanding.  Children may be able to read the words, but often do not understand what the words mean.  Helping them understand the world about them by talking to them about the things they see and use will improve their understanding of words.  This may mean using difficult vocabulary and explaining what the words mean.

5. Improve Reading Understanding.  Watching television and talking over the plot or talking about advertising, billboards, and signs as you are driving down the street are ways of improving your child’s reading comprehension.  She will have a better understanding of what is heard, seen, and sensed.

HELPFUL TIPS

6. Make Reading Useful.  Give your child tasks to do that are within his reading ability.  Examples: reading the road map on trips, ordering from a menu, reading the directions for assembling a model, or reading advertising.

7. Reading To Children.  Reading is not meaningful until the child wants to read.  The child will want to read when she sees other family members acquiring useful information through reading.  Reading to a child stimulates seeking more resources for reading.

Please return tomorrow for the last installment.

CHOOSING A BOOK

1. Too Easy. Ask your child to select a book and read. If two or three pages can be read without mistakes, ask the child to find a more difficult book to read.

2. Too Hard. If the child makes three mistakes per page, it may be too difficult and frustrating. Find an easier book for your child to read. HOWEVER, if the story and ideas seem very interesting to him, don’t worry about the number of words not understood or recognized.

3. Just Right. Ask your child to read silently for several pages, then ask, “Please explain what you have just read,” with the book closed. If your child can give you a brief idea of what the story is about, then she is reading and understanding the materials. If the child cannot understand or recall the story, then you know she has poor reading comprehension.

Please return Tuesday for the next installment.

Below you will find a list of possible questions to help you with conversations about your child’s reading. They are not intended to be used all at once or every time you read with your child. Use them at your discretion and where they are appropriate. Happy Reading!!

Questions to ask before you read

• Can you look at the pictures and predict what you think will happen in this book?
• What makes you think that?
• What characters do you think might be in our story?
• Do you think there will be a problem in this story?  Why or why not?
• Does the topic/story relate to you or your family?  How?

Questions to ask during the reading

• What do you think will happen next?
• What can you tell me about the story so far?
• Can you predict how the story will end?
• Why do you think the character did _______?
• What would you have done if you were the character?
• How would you have felt if you were the character? (use different characters)
• As I read ________, it made me picture _______ in my head.  What pictures do you see in your head?
• As you read, what are you wondering about?
• Can you put what you’ve just read in your own words?

Questions to ask after reading

• Can you remember the title?
• In your opinion, was it a good title for this book?  Why or why not?
• Were your predictions about the story correct?
• If there was a problem, how did it get solved?
• What happened because of the problem?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book?
• What is the most important point the author is trying to make in his writing?
• What was your favorite part of the story?
• If you could change one thing in the story, what would it be?
• Can you retell the story in order?
• If you were ____________, how would you have felt?
• What is the most interesting situation in the story?
• Is there a character in the story like you?  How are you alike?
• Why did you like this book?

The week of March 1 is the annual Read Across America celebration. Many families feel a vast amount of pressure to prepare their young children for school. The market reflects our fear that our children will not be able to compete at- or above-level, with products like Your Baby Can Read and Baby Einstein grossing big dollars from concerned and well-intentioned parents.

But what about the tremendous value inherent in sharing good quality children’s books every day? Our hectic schedules and extra-curricular overload of activities and organizations often prevent us from stopping in our tracks, grabbing a good book and reading with our child sitting in our lap or by our side.

Reading with your child enables measurable leaps in their cognitive and language development. It develops a love for reading, an enthusiasm for learning and it hones the pre-reading skills they will need in their scholastic and personal life. The neurological connections young children develop during shared reading do much to prepare them for later academic performance and skill mastery. And the social-emotional foundation you’re already building with your child is vastly strengthened and supported by shared time with you enjoying a good book together.

I know that sounds too simple. In our fear, we expect to find out that we need DVD trainings, special worksheets and community experts to “hardwire” our children. We hope, in a bit of desperation, that sitting the toddler in front of a video or providing our preschooler with a “point and click” computer game will offer us a quick fix and deliver us (on time and under budget) a child who is reading fluently, doing long division and on the fast track to the Nobel prize.

Unfortunately, it is a longer track to the Nobel and the way is paved with good books and shared experiences. No DVD video can do what you accomplish when you visit your local public library and select some fun and varied books with your child to share over the coming week. You convey to them how truly important, and fun, reading is when you share a commitment to read to them for about 15-20 minutes every single day.

Once you’ve made the decision to read to your child every day, you may be wondering what books to choose and what kinds of purposeful things you can do to teach pre-reading skills as you go. For a start, there are literally hundreds of good books for each developmental age and stage. The most helpful advice is to visit your local library and speak with the children’s librarian about your child, their age and interests. Let the librarian guide you to great selections that are age appropriate.

As for good tips on sharing the books, most importantly, always share books you have enjoy. If you’re not enthused, they may not be, either. Try to read with voice inflections, emphasis on important words and passion. Point left to right at the words across the page as you read the story to help children learn reading orientation. Spend a lot of time with your child, just looking at the pictures. Ask them, when age appropriate, what they think is happening in the story, what they think might happen next and how the characters might feel. Also, talk about the setting of the story and the action of the plot. This helps introduce them to story elements.

Above all else, enjoy this time with your child. Soccer, boy- and girl-scouts and all other extracurricular activities are fun and important to social and emotional development. But nothing is more important than the relationship you build with and education you provide to your child by sharing books and reading together.

In this first installment of age appropriate reading lists by age, we will share 10 books for ages 2, 3, and 4.  Check back often for more recommendations!

Milks and Cookies - Asch, Frank
What Spot? - Bronsall, Crosby
Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Brett, Jan
Choo Choo - Burton, Virginia Lee
Two Dog Biscuits - Clearly, Beverly
Empty Pot - Demi
Are You My Mother? - Eastman, P.D.
The Best Nest - Eastman, P.D.
Flap Your Wings - Eastman, P.D.
Go, Dog, Go! - Eastman, P.D.

In this first installment of age appropriate reading lists by age, we will share 10 books for ages 2, 3, and 4.  Check back often for more recommendations!

Milk and Cookes - Asch, Frank
Boats - Baron, Byron
Planes - Baron, Byron
Bow Wow!  Meow! A First Book of Sounds - Bellah, Melanie
Barney’s Big Balloon - Bernthal, Mark
The Runaway Bunny - Brown, Margaret Wise
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me - Carle, Eric
Freight Train - Crew, Donald
Jamberry - Degen, Bruce
Go, Dog, Go! - Eastman, P.D.

In this first installment of age appropriate reading lists by age, we will share 10 books for ages 2, 3, and 4.  Check back often for more recommendations!

Quick! Quack! Quick - Arnold, Marsha
Country Crossing - Aylesworth, Jim
Animals Should Definitely Not wear Clothing - Barrett, Judi
The Berenstain’s B Book - Berenstain, Stan & Jan
Old Hat New Hat - Berenstain, Stan & Jan
The Velveteen Rabbit - Bianco, Margery Williams
Gingerbread Baby - Brett, Jan
The Mitten - Brett, Jan
Wings on Things - Brown, Marc
Goodnight Moon - Brown, Margaret Wise

1. You don’t have to wait for your baby to get to a certain age to begin reading to him.  Start now!
2. Continue reading aloud to your child until he is at least 10 years old.  Children continue to benefit from listening to others read long after they themselves have learned to read.
3. For young children, books with rhythm, and repetition are excellent.
4. Be consistent about reading aloud to your child.  Do it daily and, if possible, about the same time.  Reading right before bedtime often works well.
5. If you have several small children, you can read to them together.  Picture books work well for this situation.
6. Don’t be surprised if your children want to hear a favorite book again and again.  That’s fine.  As they get to really know the story well, have them fill in words for you.
7. Make sure you select books that are at the child’s interest level.
8. Some children love reading about the same characters.  If that’s what your child likes, choose several books in a series.
9. Vary the subject matter of what you read as well as the type.  In addition to fiction, you might also read poetry, magazine articles, and non-fiction.
10. As your child gets older and gains in reading ability, occasionally pick a book right at his reading level and take turns reading to one another.

Tips:

When reading a chapter of a book each night, always review what happened in the previous night’s chapter before starting a new chapter.

When you begin reading aloud to a baby, you will only be able to keep your baby’s attention to a few minutes.  This is to be expected.

As children mature, so do their attention spans.

1. It builds a lifelong interest in reading.  Getting children actively involved in the process of reading, and having them interact with adults, is key to a lifelong interest in reading.
2. Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
3. Reading to children helps them with language and speech development.
4. It expands children’s vocabulary and teaches children how to pronounce new words.
5. Reading to toddlers prepares them for school, during which they will need to listen to what is being said to them (similar to what they do while someone reads to them).
6. Reading to older children helps them understand grammar and correct sentence structure.
7. Children and parents can use reading time as a bonding time.  It’s an excellent opportunity for one-on-one communication, and it gives children the attention they crave.
8. Having someone read to them builds children’s attention span and helps them hone their listening skills.
9. Curiosity, creativity, and imagination are all developed while someone reads to a child.
10. Reading to children helps them learn how to express themselves clearly and confidently.
11. Children learn appropriate behavior when they’re read to and are exposed to new situations, making them more prepared when they encounter these situations in real life.
12. When someone reads to them, children are able to experience the rhythm and melody of lanauge, even before they can understand the spoken or printed word.