Choosing To Develop Through Education

Kindergarten Reading: What Can You Do At Home To Help?

14 September 2017

Soham Berry

Learning how to read doesn't happen overnight. Chances are that your kindergarten student has been building reading and pre-reading skills for a few years by now. Reading is a sequential process, meaning that the child needs to master new skills first and then add to them. With that in mind, finding opportunities both at school and at home to practice reading and develop new skills is absolutely essential.

What can you do to help your kindergartner learn to love reading, while building new abilities? A major part of learning how to read for the child is enjoying what they're doing. Take a look at these at-home strategies and activities that can help kindergarten students to enjoy reading.

Let the Child Choose

Which books will your child read? You went to the library and picked out a stack of your own childhood favorites or the books that you think your kindergartener should read. Maybe your child will enjoy them. Or maybe they won't.

When it comes to what you child reads, their interest level is key. Instead of choosing for your kindergarten-aged kiddo, let them pick. Take a trip to the library together. Ask your child what kinds of books they want to read. Do they have a favorite animal, sport or activity? Look for non-fiction books on these subjects. Maybe they have a favorite character from a book series, TV show or movie. Keep the character love going and opt for books that feature this person, animal or creature.

Pay Attention

Life gets busy. That's not your fault. It happens to every parent. But when you're tethered to your cellphone or are mentally answering work emails in your head, you aren't giving your kindergartner the attention they need. And they know it.

When you sit down to read together, give your child your undivided attention. Put the phone downs, forget about work and totally tune into the book that the two of you are paging through.

Get Artsy

Make reading even more fun with an accompanying art activity. Whether your child draws a picture, makes a diorama or sculpts a character out of clay, using art as part of the book-reading experience helps your child to connect with the subject matter and get creative too. Along with making book-themed art, looking at art can help to improve your child's reading skills. Remember, art is a symbolic language. Viewing art and deciphering it can help your child to build skills that they'll use while reading.

Does your kindergarten student need to develop reading skills? From picking their own book to paying attention and using arts and crafts as part of the process, you'll find plenty of ways to help your child to become a reader. For more information, contact companies like Triple R Child Care.

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