I once saw a link for an online video which supposedly showed an eighteen-month-old toddler reading books on camera. I didn’t watch the video because, honestly, my first thought was that it must a scam. When I thought about it a little bit more, my thoughts focused on the times when my own child was so proud of the fact that he could “read” his favorite Eric Carle story when he was just a toddler himself. Even though I know he was not actually reading the words, I was proud of the fact that he had memorized the words and could tell the story to someone else.
Although this memorization and retelling isn’t, obviously, reading in the sense that we, as adults, would typically think of reading, the skills used to carry out this type of task are the same skills used by beginning readers as they carefully sound out the words on the pages. Toddlers may not yet make the connection between letters and sounds, but they are able to find the cover of a book, turn the pages, and make connections between the pictures and the story that unfolds on each page.
Encourage your toddler to “read” to you. Let her try to retell a favorite story that she has heard many times. Do not interrupt and praise her attempts even if her rendition is one which the original author may not have had in mind. And remember, even though she may not be a savant reading in an online video, she is building necessary pre-reading skills which will, one day, allow her to read when she is ready.
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Written by Laura on March 8, 2010
Right now, it’s whining. My two boys, especially my older four-year-old, whine about everything. They whine if they don’t get their way. They whine if they want something. They whine…well…for reasons I don’t think I’ll ever understand. I don’t know if my toddler is getting it from my preschooler or the other way around. It may be that my preschooler
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Written by Laura on March 2, 2010
Word families are groups of words that have the same ending sound. They are typically three or four letter words such as hug, bug, jug, mug, etc. You can help your child gain confidence in reading using simple word families because he will quickly realize he can read a lot of words when he knows the ending sound. Here is a quick activity you can do with your child to create word family flip boo
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Written by Laura on February 28, 2010
Young children often get a bit mixed up when it comes to senses. I can recall my younger son walking around saying, “I see something,” and then sniffing with his nose when there was a strong odor in the air. He knew he was experiencing something with one of his senses, but was a bit confused as to the correct vocabulary.
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Written by Laura on February 26, 2010
Making the transition from books that simply label objects on a page to books that tell a story can sometimes be a difficult transition for both the child and the parent. Young children tend to have very short attention spans and interest is often lost quickly. Making connections to real-world experiences can help, however, to keep your child’s attention because he will be thoroughly engag
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Written by BRWI Staff on February 24, 2010
I wouldn’t be too surprised to find that most adults could recall growing a bean sprout in a cup or old milk carton when they were in elementary school. Children possess such a wondrous curiosity for the world around them, which is why growing a simple bean plant is so fascinating and so memorable. And, although your own child will likely repeat the activity sometime during her school care
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Written by Laura on February 23, 2010
In Pennsylvania, where my family and I reside, this time of the year can be difficult to make it through. Snow has typically kept us inside for the better part of four months. Boredom has set in and nerves are shot. So I thought that a trip to the library for some books would help get us out of the house and then provide some entertainment once we returned.
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Written by Laura on February 18, 2010
After a bit of practice clapping or tapping out syllables, most children are able to figure out how many syllables are in any word you give to them using this strategy. However, there comes a point when they must look at a word and determine how many syllables are in it. Preschoolers, of course, are not expected to read words at this point so pictures can be used to help them develop this skill.
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Written by BRWI Staff on February 15, 2010
If you are anything like me, you have had your fair share of days as a parent wondering if your child is purposefully not listening to a word you say. Sometimes, of course, they are soengrossed in what they are doing that they really do not hear you. At other times, however, they may simply be confused by your instructions. It takes practice for your child to understand how to follow directions
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Written by Laura on February 13, 2010
Once your child is able to identify the sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet, and he can identify the letters as they are used as the beginning sound in words, move on to a more difficult, yet similar concept of identifying the letter sounds in other parts of words. For example, the letter ‘d’ starts the word “dog”, it is in the middle of the word “pudd
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Written by BRWI Staff on February 6, 2010
Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence to teach your preschooler the joy of reading and writing.
Sponsored by Bridges Reading & Writing Institute -- teaching the JOY of reading and writing to students in preschool through 12th grade.
