1. PRESCHOOL READING
NEWSLETTER
SKILLS
Prepared by Sayeda Sultana
Third Semester Student of Early Childhood Education Program, Centennial College September 2013
The ability to read is an essential skill for learning. If a
child loves reading, he or she will become more skilled
at it. This real life skill will give her an advantage: he or
she will gain not only knowledge but also pleasure
from the literature he or she reads. On the other hand,
a child who struggles to read in the process of
conventional forms of learning will always be frustrated
when required to read. This could lead to various
problems which, in turn, may affect the child’s selfesteem and behaviour patterns.
As your child develops his or her reading skills, you will
be able to share books with more complex story lines.
Picture books will still be favourites, but he or she will
also enjoy appropriate chapter books that you read
aloud.
Now the question is: where and when should parents
begin to teach their children how to learn reading and
develop their children’s preschool reading skills?
As soon as your child is old enough to sit on your lap
and read a book with you, you should begin to develop
his or her preschool reading skills and get him or her
hooked on books. At this age, your child is learning all
sorts of things at an amazing rate and so you can use
this time exploring books to create a good first
impression, which will never be erased!
Even before she can speak, your little one can learn
that reading is a time to cuddle up on your lap and
spend precious moments together with you having fun
and exploring the images in the books you share.
According to Jay Heale, “You are not reading a book to
a child; you are sharing a book with a child.”
As you and your child share more and more books and
as your child grows up, he or she will start learning that
you read a book from front to back, that you read the
black and white thingies that are printed on the pages,
that you read from top to bottom and from left to right,
that the printing is words and that the words convey
pictures and meaning. Your child will also learn that
stories have characters, actions, a plot, a beginning,
middle and end.
Books illustrated with pictures of dozens of characters
and objects encourage the children to talk about the
characters and objects. Gradually they will start telling
stories relating the characters and objects. They will
also learn how to make up words.
Since your child’s concentration span will be
increasing, she may also enjoy listening to stories on
tape, especially when travelling in the car. By now,
your child may begin to recognize letters and numbers
and you may be tempted to begin actively teaching her
preschool reading skills.
Source:
www.shirleys-preschool-activities.com/support-files/the-whole-child-feb08.pdf
https://www.google.ca/search?q=images+preschoolers+reading+books