Top 10 Tips to Teach Your Preschooler to Read

Every mom wants their child to be a excellent reader. What we don't always realize is that our kids can start very early learning to read. By the time they enter kindergarten, they can have a firm grasp on the alphabet and already know simple words to read. For many years, it was thought that kindergarten was the "big year" where children learned to read. Now, children are learning earlier and earlier the basics of phonics, reading, and really the basics of what they need when they enter the big bad world of school

Phonics are Vital

There are many books that can help teach your child the phonics basics. As your child learns basic words, learning phonics rules is vital to learning how to read. Starfall.com is a wonderful website that can be a big asset in teaching your child to read. On this site, they will learn simple words, ABC's and helps teach your child that it is fun to learn to read. The computer can also be exciting for your child which will help them want to learn to read even more.

Teach Letter Sounds

One of the easiest ways to teach toddlers and pre-schoolers to read, is by singing. No, you do not have to have a beautiful voice but as I'm sure you've learned, toddlers love to sing. By taking simple tunes, you can incorporate letters and letter sounds. With each of my children, I found this was a wonderful way to teach letter sounds and simple words. In fact, I taught my kids how to spell their names by singing the letters in their name to a simple song.I used the same tune for both kids, making it a special family tune. Make up your own tune or take the tune of your favorite song, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that you can sing this tune in the car, on the road, in the kitchen -- where ever you are. Go to Talking Child to find simple games and songs.

Teach Lower Letters

Kids love to write , color,a nd have fun with crayons with they are young. An easy way to teach lower case letters is have them color their favorite picture and make the letter while coloring. An easy way is to show them how to write the letter. After they have practiced a few times, let them create a picture with the letter as a focal point. Kids will love it and these pictures are great to put on the refrigerator to show off what they are learning.

If you would like some great ABC Printables, you will love the free printables at this website. Not only can they draw pictures, they can also write simple letters. Sometimes it is the smallest things that can really help your child begin to understand letters, sounds, phonics, and ultimately -- reading.

Repetition is Necessary

Every child can learn to read with time. The joy of having a toddler or preschooler is that they have all the time in the world. An easy way to teach your children is one step at a time. Five minutes in the morning, five in the afternoon, and five before bedtime will make a huge difference. Not only are they repeating sounds often, pretty soon those sounds will be firmly in their head. Kids are smart and understanding this basic concept will do wonders. Whether you teach them a song to phonics sounds or teach them how to spell simple words to a tune. Repetition matters.

Encouragement Helps

Learning to read can be a frustrating process for the child and parent. One step in this process that can bring a smile to your child's face every time is encouragement. Every child wants to feel that they are doing good. Even if it takes time and is a long process, the more you encourage your child, the more upbeat they will be. Never be afraid to give them little surprises for doing a good job.

ABCTeach.com is a wonderful place to find free printables to print off for your child. These are easy ways to make your child feel like they are doing a good job. They will come to learn if they learn a letter sound or phonic rule, they will get a free printable AKA a coloring page. It doesn't matter what the little surprise is as much as rewarding them.

Create Car Games with Simple Words

One thing we have always done with our children is use time in the car to keep the kids busy. One simple game is create a card with simple words on it. Give these cards to the kids when they get buckled up. The game is to find as many of the words as possible. Create simple words that you know they will find on various signs around town. This is not only a fun game, but the entire family will quickly get involved. The person who finds the most amount of words wins. They claim the title until the next time in the car.

Read at Every Opportunity

There are so many books available now to help youngsters learn how to read. Not only are they easy to read but they are short as well. We all know kids have a short attention span so we want them to be able to finish the book and still be proud of themselves. If the book is longer, you could always split the book up for a few days. The key is to make sure they feel good about themselves and what they are learning.

Write at Every Opportunity

There is no better way to learn than to write. Write their alphabet, the special sounds, the vowels -- basically, have them write everything as much as possible. Believe me, the more they write, the quicker they will pick up on writing and reading. Have them write a new word every day and post it somewhere where they will see it. At one time, I had poster cards all over my kitchen of words my kids were learning. It works!

Special Sounds Matter

One of the hardest things to learn are special sounds. The key is learning the special sounds. Once they have memorized each special sound, learning to spell becomes much easier. Rules can make the reading process difficult or easy. We want this reading process easy to teach those special sounds.

Certificates Are a Bonus

Every child wants to know they have achieved something. With our kids, we make goals for each of them. As each goal was met, we had a special certificate that we gave them. It made them feel special AND it was a wonderful way to log their progress. You can make these certificates by yourself with construction paper and a few markers. The important thing is to have their name, date, grade, and the accomplishment.