Tips for Teaching a Baby to Read

A baby's ability to learn and comprehend can be expanded in the early days, months and years in their life. There are children who are placed in orphanages and who receive limited touch or interaction. It is proved that the development of these children is greatly impacted through touch, sound, and interaction. I teach reading to one through five year olds in a small class setting. Here are some key tools that I have developed that will benefit you and your baby in this adventure of learning.

Teach your baby the early steps to reading.

You can begin as young as four months. You can start even younger if you would like. Start singing the A,B,C song to your infant. Begin introducing the sounds to letters. Sounding out the letters phonetically will act as speech training for your infant. They will begin to make the sounds back to you. A says aaa. B says bbb. Shape your mouth in the proper shape for each sound as you release the sound. You will begin to see your baby shape their mouth in the same shape as they try to form the same sound. If you did not learn to read through phonics then visit your local library and ask the children's department for some Cd's you and baby can learn together. Many children need speech training however training your baby early in phonics will help them to develop strong and healthy speech.

Hand involvement is key to learning.

Play games that use your hands and teach baby to use his/her hands. This will strengthen their hand and eye coordination and will help them in the future with skills such as penmanship, cutting, and will even help them with sports coordination. There are many wonderful products and games available on line and in teacher's stores that will help you play hand games with your baby. A puppet is one such activity. You play with the puppet and then teach them to interact with the puppet placed over their hand. Clapping games connected with counting to ten and then counting by tens will also be fun and beneficial.

Visuals are key to learning.

Baby videos showing babies playing and singing with learning visuals such as A,B, Cs or counting are highly beneficial. TV can be a stimulant to learning when used correctly. Also, flash cards with words and pictures will help train your baby to read. You can teach your baby the word cup by showing the baby a flash card with with the word cup and then letting them hold a cup. You can do the same with about five words at a time and continually add more until their vocabulary and reading is broader and broader.

Encourage your baby. Rejoice over each sound that they make. Smile at them alot. Spend time playing with them, talking to them, working next to them where they can observe you. The more time they spend with you the more prosperous they will be in their development. All that you invest in your infant will impact their ability to learn. invest in their intellect. You will be pleased in the near future to see them glide through schooling with ease.