Cedar Park, TX

I shared some ideas on reading readiness for infants.  Here are some ideas for 1 year and up:
First Steps (12-18 months)
1. Read longer stories to your child and allow him or her to interact with the book – pointing, turning pages or even turning the book upside-down.
2.  Name objects as your child points.
3. Sing and give characters of books funny voices.

Offer opportunities for discrimination.
* Talk about the stop light (e.g., red circles mean ‘stop,’ green circles mean ‘go’).
* Play with objects that are similar and point out the differences (e.g., cow versus horse, blankets with subtle pattern differences).
* Make noises! Imitate cars, animals and eating sounds during play.
* Speak to your child in a normal tone to demonstrate accurate sound recognition.
* Enunciate words of interest like M-M-Mommy.
* As syllables start to represent words, such as “juice” and “more,” expand upon them (e.g., “apple juice,” “Would you like more apple juice?”).

Toddler & Get Set (18-36 months)
1.  Read everything – signs, labels, toys and your child’s name.
2.  Take cues from your child – interested, not interested, read or just look at the pictures, read more or stop before the end of the story?
3. Sing and give characters of books funny voices.
4. Find and point out shapes and symbols in your home or community.
5. Recite rhymes and alliterations; pause to allow your child to fill in the last word or phrase.
6. Play games such as Candyland® where symbols lead to action (e.g., two orange squares on the card means to move two orange spaces).

Preschool (36 months +)
1. Read words and point to each one as you read it, moving your finger from left to right, top to bottom.
2.  While grocery shopping, ask your child to find an item that starts with a certain letter or find a particular cereal. Have these items on your grocery list for comparison.
3. While in the park, ask your child to bring you nature items one at a time. Write the word for each item and then write a story with these words.
4. Show your child speech in the written form. Ask your child what he or she would like to buy at the grocery store and add it to your grocery list together, write notes to Dad or make “to do” lists.

Pre-Kindergarten (48 months +)
1. Read with your child. Take turns reading pages, modeling intonation and punctuation cues.
2.  Make up silly rhymes and alliterations.
3. Play “Going on a Hike.” Start by picking a letter and saying. “I’m going on a hike and in my back pack I have a …” Take turns repeating the sentence, naming the previously listed words and adding new word that starts with the chosen letter each time.
4. Help your child cut large letters from old magazines. Talk about words that begin with each of these letters.
5. Ask your child to get something in the pantry that he or she would not recognize by sight; provide the beginning letter sound of the item and ask him or her to search for it by reading the letters.
6.  While driving, ask your child to help you find a particular street sign.

Remember, make reading – as well as any educational experiences with  your child – fun and enjoyable.  This will build a positive experience that promotes a lifelong love of learning!