- Make sure that you praise your child when he does read. Give words of encouragement such as: “I really like how you did not give up when you were sounding out the word cat.” Or: “I noticed how you read car for cat, but you went back and corrected yourself. By doing that, you were really paying attention. Nice job.” You can always find something positive to say even if it is, “I really like how you raised your voice at the end of that question.”
- Let your child choose the book that he wants to read. It sounds simple, but letting a child choose his reading selection can make a difference for a reluctant reader.
- Why can’t my child read? You may have forgotten, but learning to read is a difficult task—understanding the relationship between letters and sounds, as well as word recognition, is hard stuff. Children learn to read at different paces. If you think that your child is not progressing at an appropriate pace, discuss your concerns with his teacher. She may be able to identify where the problem areas are and suggest strategies for home practice. Problems for a beginning reader can arise in letter-sound relationships, blending sounds, rhyming, and memorizing sight words, just to name a few.
- Here are some of my favorite books for beginning readers:
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak.
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Hopefully, singing the Bedtime Reading Blues will be replaced with the Bedtime Reading Boogie. To quote one of my favorite authors, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”—Dr. Seuss
