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Reading is a crucial life skill and one that can provide a source of entertainment. Your child will start learning how to read as soon as they start nursery or reception, but parents should also help at home. In doing so, you should be able to give your child a head start in terms of their learning. Here’s some advice from a nursery in Hampshire.
Understand Phonemes
A phoneme is a unit of sound that forms a word. When teaching your child to read, it’s important to start with the sounds that a letter (or group of letters) make. With that said, it’s a good idea to sound out words one letter at a time, starting with short words like dog and cat.
Use Visual & Auditory Cues
When teaching your child new words, it might help them to use visual cues such as posters, so that they can associate the word with a particular image. This might help make it feel more memorable for them. Nursery rhymes are also great for helping children learn new words and allow them to become familiar with the sounds they make.
Read Regularly
Read to your child regularly and when you come across new words, be sure to explain to your child what they mean. Encourage them to repeat the words back to you and ask them a day or two later if they remember the new words. This doesn’t necessarily have to be just books; you could read out your shopping list or other materials.
Play Word Games
There are lots of word games that can help your child with their vocabulary. This will help with their comprehension in an enjoyable way. As well as board games, like Scrabble, there are also lots of apps and online resources you could look into.
