By Nancy Olsen-Harbich, MA
At 3 to 5 years old, your child is getting ready to read. You can help your preschooler grow into a reader by reading aloud with, not to your child—encouraging your child to become actively involved, talking about the story as it unfolds, and using his or her imagination to guess the ending or to make up new stories.
Good reading skills can help your child do better in school, develop language and writing skills, and have an easier time tackling life’s little and big chores.
Here are some tips to help you nurture a budding reader:
- Be a good role model. Let your child see how you read to gain information that is useful or enjoyable in your own life. If your evening’s entertainment is sometimes reading a good book or magazine, your child can readily see reading as an alternative to TV.
- Talk and sing together. Listen with interest to accounts of what happened at school and to stories your child makes up. Your child’s need and joy in communicating thoughts to you helps build vocabulary and the ability to get ideas across.
- Visit the library often and select books with your child. Preschoolers usually like stories about children their own age, with playful animals, familiar objects, and simple plots. Rely on the expertise of the librarian to suggest books appropriate for your child’s age. Look for winners of children’s book awards. Resist the temptation to choose books about familiar cartoon characters. If your child has already seen the movie, sleeps on the sheets, and plays with the action figure, the book might just be overkill.
- Select a regular reading time. Bedtime is a natural quiet time, but not necessarily the best time for everyone. Choose a time that works best for you and your child.
- Read aloud slowly and with great expression. Be a real ham if you want to.
- Encourage children to participate by saying favorite lines, acting out parts of the story, or guessing what will happen next.
- Read signs, directions, and other printed words in your everyday life, such as signs, posters, and the names of stores. This will remind your child that reading is an important part of their lives—fun, but also very useful.
- Read on the go. Bring books for the car or when you and your child might have to wait on long lines.
Reading with your child offers an opportunity to share some cozy, cuddly moments together that you both will treasure. As an extra added bonus, as reading time increases, TV time usually decreases.
Nancy Olsen-Harbich is Program Director and a Human Development Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at 631-727-7850 ext. 332 or at no18@cornell.edu.