Choosing the Right Preschool

Reading is such an essential part of life. A love for learning and reading can start at a young age. As a parent, you can encourage your child to love reading by the things that you do in your home everyday. Here are a couple things that you can do with your child to help them enjoy reading with you and to have a desire to be an independent reader as well.

1. Make Reading A Special Time

Reading shouldn't be considered a chore for your young child. Making ultimatums like "you have to read for 20 minutes before you can watch a TV show" may put a negative spin on reading. It will start to feel more of a chore than a privilege. Instead, take some time to snuggle, ask the child when they would like to do it, let the child choose the books they want to read and so forth. If you make it a special time between you and the child, they will start to see reading as a cherished part of their day and not a chore that they have to get over with so they can get on with the fun things.

2. Let The Child Set The Pace

Another important thing is to let the child set their own pace when reading. While you are reading a book, the child may want to stop and ask questions, or they may want to point to pictures and you say what each item is. They may even want to move faster through the book so that you have to paraphrase each page. Even though this may be frustrating to you, it helps the child to explore the book and to enjoy it more. It is also great for language and comprehension is the child can ask questions or can hear the name of each item on the page. For this reason, don't rush through the book at your own pace, let the child set the tone.

3. Allow The Child To Choose The Topics

As a parent you may have certain books that you want to read to expose the child to different topics. However, at this young age it is important to let the child choose things that interest them. They may choose the same book over and over again. This kind of repetition is good for early reading and should be encouraged.

By doing these simple things, you can help your child foster a love for reading. If your child is getting close to preschool age, visit Sammamish Montessori School.