I’m sure by now your little ones have been given some homework which involves your little book worms reading to you! I’ve pulled together some handy tips and tricks for helping them (and you!) make the most of these sessions.
Make it a special time!
Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit together. About 10 minutes is ideal, but if your child loses interest after 5 do something else!
Make reading fun!
Mix things up a bit by reading a variety of books including non school books and take it in turns to read. If your child thinks you enjoy reading they will too!
Have a chat!
Really important for non readers. Look at the pictures in a book and get them to make up the story from what they see! Then read it to them afterwards to see what really happened. This helps children to enjoy books even when they can’t read the words and it also gets their imaginations working!
Let them have a go!
If your child gets stuck on a word encourage them to ‘sound it out’ (using letter sounds not names). Give them up to 10 seconds to do this as they need time to think and build the word.
Keep the flow!
If your child is finding a book particularly tricky, read some of the words for them to keep the flow. That way they’ll still be able to enjoy the story.
Practise letter sounds and words!
Along with reading a book it’s really important to help your child learn their letters and tricky words. For early readers allow about 3 minutes of your reading session each day to run through letter/ words with them using flashcards. Remember to teach them letter sounds rather than names
Keep Positive!
Learning to read is really tricky so encourage your child so they don’t lose heart. If your child is very reluctant then try to encourage their love of reading by visiting the library or by reading comics with them instead of their school books.
Have you got any useful tips for helping your little ones read? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! 🙂
