Toot's Mom is Tired

A Parenting + Mom Life Blog

  • Home
  • About Me
    • About Me
    • “Why Do You Call Your Daughter Toot?”
  • Popular Posts
    • Top Posts
    • Mom Life
    • Pregnancy
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • Preschoolers
    • Crafts & Activities
    • Earn & Save Money
  • Mom Resource Library
  • Contact Me
  • Our Favorite Things

How to Help Your Child Learn to Read at Home

October 25, 2020

62 shares
  • Share6
  • Tweet

Many children struggle with reading, especially when they’re at home and teachers are far away.

In fact, even before the recent pandemic, 65% of America’s fourth graders weren’t reading at a proficient level, according to The Literacy Project Foundation.

Reading is important because reading is fundamental to academic and career success. Books can also add more joy and meaning to life.

Fortunately, there are many things a parent can do at home to help build literacy skills.

How to Help Your Child Learn to Read at Home

{ Guest Post by Holly }

{This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.}

Help your child stay on track with their education and language development while they’re at home.

Consider these tips for teaching reading skills and creating an environment that will encourage a lifelong love for books.

Strategies for Helping Younger Kids to Read

Most experts believe that teaching phonics to young children is essential for fluency and reading comprehension.

Try these tips to provide your kids with a strong foundation for reading:

Talk together

Speaking and singing to your child boosts their brain power and vocabulary. You can start while they’re still a baby.

Narrate what you’re doing. They’ll learn to associate actions with new words.

Vary your own vocabulary. Using more words and defining them adds them to your child’s vocabulary.

Practice conversations by pretend playing.

Emphasize letters and sounds

Play games that teach alphabet letters and sounds.

Keep in mind that your child’s attention span is limited, so keep your lessons brief and repeat the same material often.

Related:  Feed the Ducks Sensory Bin for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Label things

Kids love stickers, so put them on objects around the house like furniture and toys.

Practice looking at the names of things and saying them together.

Write your child’s name in large letters and tape it to their bedroom door. They’ll learn to recognize it every day when they enter or leave their room.

Draw pictures

Drawing involves some of the same brain activity as reading.

Give your child crayons and paper to help them express their thoughts about things you discuss and read together.

Start writing

Many children can write their name or their first initial by the time they’re 3 years old.

You can also ask them to dictate a letter to you and go over it to see which letters they recognize.

Ask them to write the first letter of a word by sound. Phonics and beginning sounds are the beginning of learning to read.

Take advantage of your library

Check out the children’s events and materials at your local library.

Enjoy what’s available online if you’re waiting for them to reopen.

Try online educational resources like ABCMouse. It’s set up to teach kids how to read at an age appropriate level.

Read out loud

Make story time part of your daily schedule.

Ask your child questions about the characters and plot to stimulate their thinking.

Strategies for Helping Older Children to Read

Some studies have found that kids read for fun less and less as they grow older.

How can you help your tweens and teens to appreciate literature when they’re attached to their smartphones?

Related:  What Moms Need to Know about Plant Based Diets for Kids

Consider these ideas:

Offer choices

Let your child pick what kind of material they want to read. Graphic novels may trigger their interest in the original classic works.

Try audiobooks. Audible is a great solution to keeping attention.

Scribd is also a good choice if you like to listen to more than one audiobook a month.

Build a nook

Provide a comfortable and attractive place to read.

Put a bookshelf full of interesting titles under a window seat.

Create a home library in one corner of your living room or finished basement.

Watch movies

When it’s your turn to choose the movie, pick a film that’s based on a book.

It also helps to maintain sensible limits on screen time to encourage reading and other offline activities.

Be a role model

Your kids are more likely to read if they see you enjoying books and magazines.

Make reading for pleasure part of each day and talk about what you learned.

Seek professional help

If you’re concerned about your child’s reading proficiency, talk with their teacher and doctor.

They may need help with a learning disability, or they may benefit from additional resources such as tutoring or more intensive instruction.

You can enrich your child’s life by fostering a love for books

Start early with teaching language skills and helping your child to see themselves as a reader.

As a parent, you can help them to learn and grow even when they’re stuck at home.

Thank you to Holly for this guest post!

Read More about Preschoolers

You also might like:

  • 5 kind things kids can do for your community
  • How to Read More as a Busy Mom
  • free printables for building fine motor skills
  • 45 Paper Plate Craft Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers
  • 25+ Toiler Paper Roll Craft Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers
  • 21 Gross Motor Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
62 shares
  • Share6
  • Tweet

Preschoolers · Leave a Comment

Trending Posts to Read Next

Realistic Toddler Meal Ideas

9 Prizes for Baby Shower Games

Why is My Baby Gasping or Sobbing in her Sleep?

50 Toddler Approved Recipes for the Whole Family

10 Educational STEM Toys for Toddlers

 


« 5 Kind Things Kids Can Do for Your Community + Free Printables
Sometimes Christmas Sucks and That’s Okay »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Toot's Mom is Tired

Hi! I’m Niki.

I’m a mom of a kid called Toot. Yes, I’m always tired!

So I’m sharing all of my tips, hacks, and recommendations for other tired moms to make parenting and mom life a little easier.

Find out more about me >>

  • About Me
  • Mom Resource Library
  • Popular Articles
  • Mom Life
  • Pregnancy
  • Babies
  • Toddlers
  • Crafts & Activities
  • Shop

Privacy Policy

Disclosure

Contact Me

Search

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Toot's Mom is Tired · Hello You Designs