Learn to Read
the Wholesome Way
Keen-to-Read Books
SOME BASIC LEARNING-TO-READ INFORMATION
1. Enjoy your reading time together.
a. This is most important so your child develops a love of reading. What we love doing, we want to do more of. The ability to read, at least reasonably well, is a skill required for further learning.
b. But what is even more important, if you enjoy your reading time together, you will be developing beautiful memories that will last a lifetime–memories that are filled with warmth and love and help forge a priceless closeness between you and your child.
2. Read frequently to your child.
Reading to your child is important as it helps develop language skills, vocabulary, and a knowledge of the world, which is crucial to furthering comprehension, so make reading-time a habit.
By reading to your child, your child also sees how books work. Show your child the cover, the title, the author’s name. Let your child see how you turn the pages from front to back and where you start reading.
A lovely time to read to your child is at bedtime, but anytime is the right time. Take a book with you when you go out with your child, so you can make use of the opportunities you get to share more magical moments together.
3. Point to the words as you read.
a. This shows your child where you start reading from and that you read from left to right and from top to bottom.
b. This helps your child gain an understanding of the word as a unit. An understanding of the relationship between the written and spoken word is essential to learning to read properly.
4. Talk about the pictures and the text.
This gives your child practice at expressing his thoughts and feelings. It helps develop his ability to interpret pictures, develops comprehension skills, and therefore, puts the focus on reading for meaning.
5. Read the same favourite book frequently to your child and point to the words as you read.
He will get to know the words and he will begin to mimic you. This is a tried-and-true method that gets results when you choose books that contain features which help your child see the word as a unit and help your child remember the words. He will then begin to read parts or all of the book correctly by himself when the time is right for him. For a small percentage of children, this can happen before or in their 2nd year. For other children, this may happen in their 3rd or 4th year. By using this method, you know your child will begin reading at the age that is just right for him. No pushing is required. Children are naturally eager to learn. They are naturally programmed to learn at a phenomenal rate. Their minds, at this young age, are like sponges.
Ted’s Tales are ideal books to read with your children as they contain ideal features that enhance this successful, stress-free method. However, read other stories as well to further enhance your child’s language skills and his understanding of the world.
6. Teach your child the alphabet.
Draw your child’s attention to the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make, especially initial letter sounds to begin with. The whole-language way of learning to read develops readers that focus on reading for meaning. It stimulates discussion, inspires thought, and develops language skills. However, it can fail in giving children an understanding of the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. Therefore, draw your child’s attention to letter sounds as well so his or her hearing skills develop and improve. Some children pick up letter sounds naturally, but others don’t. Therefore, play games such as identifying words that begin the same way. Make your own alphabet books. Compare the differences and similarities of words. Rhyming words such as me, we, he, she and see, all help develop an understanding of letters. Our range of learning-to-read books also furnish many opportunities to talk about and improve your child’s understanding of this important aspect of learning to read in a meaningful and not isolated context.
In My Word at, Ted bumps the paint table and knocks over the paint.
I said,
“I am sorry.
I had jumped up to say,
that at and am both
begin the same way.”
Young children’s minds soak up information like a sponge, and yet most children do not begin learning to read until they go to school. Pre-school children are thirsty for knowledge. They want to learn. They learn to talk before they go to school, a subject more complex than learning to read. We have incorporated features into our books to make it easier for your child to pick up reading just as naturally.
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