Helping Your Child to
Read – Hey, this is for grandmothers, aunts, and close friends, too!
Football season is upon us!
The roar of the crowd. Tailgating
until your belt’s too tight. Downing
beer until neither you nor your buddies can even drive a tricycle.
Hey, I’m as big a fan of college football as anyone I know,
with the exception of my nephew whom Nick Saban calls for advice. Forgive me a
very slight exaggeration.
But, my biggest passion is not football, but reading. Reading ‘bout football? you ask. Reading ‘bout anything! Sometimes I have a
couple of books going at once. Fiction and non-fiction. I’ve been told I can even keep reading while my
wife tries to get my attention. Turns out she can handle stovetop fires herself. Possibly, in time she’ll get
over it. I have faith in her.
Matter of fact, I call reading the most important skill, bar
none, surpassing even foreplay and lying with a straight face. Yes, in the title to this article, I wrote,
“Your Child,” but maybe it’s your grandchild or a neighbor’s child, or helping
out in a classroom. No limits to gently
coaxing children to read and enjoy reading!
Dear heart, not only is it the start of football season, but
also classroom season! From the youngest
ages not yet ready for school, and up until they become rebellious middle
schoolers, you can help them learn to read and appreciate reading by reading to
them.
But, so as to not strain your patience and dreadful lack of attention,
let’s specifically address children from infancy through third grade. Why third
grade? Stats show that children who don’t read well by the end of third grade are either going to have to fight their way through the challenges of high school,
or learn to play football.
Now, it’s only fair to add a few notes before asking you to
swallow the words from this oracle of inebriation and seasoned
reader. Pick one. I can’t do both at the same time.
My mother was a second grade teacher with a master's degree and taught in a style that was well before her time. My wife has taught every grade through middle
school and upwards to GED. She’s also
been a reading specialist and has a master’s in reading. So, does that make me an educator or reading expert? Please don’t ask. I am simply a humble dad who asked my mother
and wife a lot of questions and read to both my sons up through the sixth
grade. Both of them are excellent
readers, says their dad with pride.
Besides, experts complicate everything.
Just ask a watchmaker what time it is.
So follow this humble dad's simple and stress-free suggestions for
helping your child to read.
1. Keep It Fun
Quiet, tranquil, comfortable for the both of you. Sit close enough for everyone to see the
pages. Make it a quiet and calming expression of love. I have great memories of warm, pajama clad babes cuddled close, with a book in my hand.
2. Follow your Child’s Interests
Some children like to read about picnics and some about
trucks. I have sons of both
varieties. Path of least resistance! Read what interests them. Children’s
minds are open to exploring the universe.
Let them explore. Harry Truman,
our 33rd President said it best.
“The only way to influence your children is to find out what they want
to do and encourage them to do it.” My
wife had a child in 3rd grade, a poor reader until she found out he
was hungry for airplanes and space. She
shoved those books his way and he suddenly developed a passion for
reading! Even made presentations to the
whole class.
3. Read Consistently
Start with very simply written picture books for the
pre-readers. Your child will let you know when it’s time to move up a level and
that may come sooner than you think.
My brother was a soccer coach and at one coaching symposium
he came back with this jewel: “As a
coach, don’t you decide how much your players can learn.” Note: To me, teacher and coach are synonymous. Same with player and student.
Read with your child everyday, building up to 30 minutes a
day by 3rd Grade. Your child
will adore that perfectly calm time with you, when the two or three or more of you share stories
from a book. Easy to check Google for suggestions about age appropriate books. Also, I’ll bet your local librarian would love
to help.
4. Discuss
What You Read
Time to open up your child’s imagination and sense of
discovery. Best way to develop your child’s vocabulary and fan the flames of
natural curiosity is to discuss what you read. Encourage questions. Lead the
way and express your own questions: I
wonder why…..? Who do you think was the
bravest? Which dress did you like
best? (Pointing) I like the red dress. Do you like the green
one?
5. Children Like Repetition
After you’ve read a few books, let your child pick out favorites. Don’t be surprised if she picks out the same
book fourteen times in a row. Go with it. Repetition is how children learn to
read. Ask him to tell you the
story. Remembering and expressing the
story in his own words is the first step toward reading and understanding what
he is reading. You may want your beginning reader or pre-reader to tell his
grandmother or someone else about the book.
6. NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS (which I realize is a negative comment)
Negativity will turn off learning faster than whispering, “WHAT
WAS THAT STRANGE NOISE IN YOUR CLOSET?”
Comments such as “You’re just telling the story, you’re not reading it!”
will soon make your child anxious. Stand
by for a lot of “I don’t feel like it.”
7. FIRST and FOREMOST KEEP IT FUN and FOLLOW YOUR CHILD’S LEAD!
Reading each day should be a wonderful time for both you and
your child and a very special way to build fabulous memories for both of you!
Made it through the whole article? You get a gold star and a second and maybe
even a third wine.
Now for some famous and not so famous quotes:
“If you cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again,
there is no use in reading it at all.”
- Oscar Wilde
“The more things you read, the more things you will know. The
more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go
into the other room and read a book.” – Groucho Marx
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King, On
Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“Don’t just teach your children to read….teach them to
question everything they read. Teach
them to question everything.” - George
Carlin
“A child who reads, will be an adult who thinks.” – unknown
“A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.” – Chinese
proverb
“Reading is the boat that will sail you to the far shores of
knowledge.” – I know, but I ain’t sayin’
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