STEPS 8 AND 9 - RECOGNIZE PRINT EVERYWHERE- DISCOVER YOUR CHILD&#
STEP 8 – RECOGNIZE PRINT EVERYWHERE
Have fun and encourage your child to look for print everywhere you go. Read print with your child. Play games like “I SPY” to get your child to be aware of print in their environment.
Logos
Street signs
Labels on food, clothing, toy descriptions, etc.
The K in Kmart
Fast food restaurants
Grocery store
Bus stop signs
The mall
Menus
Highway signs
Doctor’s office
This about the places you go and intentionally look for print.
STEP 9 - DISCOVER YOUR CHILD’S INTERESTS
Take some time and think about why your child might not like to read.
Your child has not yet found the right book(s).
Maybe you don’t like to read and your child is picking up cues from you. Children model our behavior. We can set the example.
Perhaps he or she just doesn’t like make believe stories. Some people, often boys and men, prefer books about real things that catch their interest.
Solutions to consider
Reading should be for pleasure - Books are like oranges - we eat them because they’re delicious, forgetting that they are also good for us! Let children read the books they enjoy, not the ones you think will improve them. (See Step 2)
Help your child associate reading with feeling good - Establish a daily reading ritual and make it a relaxing experience, not a chore to be completed. If reading is always associated with frustration, failure and stress, it will always be disliked.
Think about topics your child might enjoy – Observe your child and find mon-fiction books about their favorite sports, cars, construction, biographies about famous people, hobbies, etc. (See Step 5)
Try audiobooks - Stories were originally told aloud, not written, and hearing a story is still as valuable as reading it. Also, audiobooks also allow children to hear stories that might be too long or advanced for them to read themselves (but make sure the content is suitable). (See Step 5)
Most importantly, BE PATIENT- Reading is not something you can or should force. Loving books is a lifelong pleasure and your child will benefit from your understanding and will learn to enjoy it in their own time.
I’ll be on vacation for the holidays next week. When I return, we’ll look at Step 10 – WORK WITH THE SCHOOL.
Be filled with love, laughter, and literacy!