Independent Reading Part One
Any parent knows they’ve done a good job once they’re no longer needed. The whole point of parenting is to raise healthy independent young adults from those tiny babies first placed into your care. This goes for every aspect of their lives. From feeding and dressing themselves to leaving home to begin their own families. No matter where your kids are along this scale they’ll eventually need to learn to read independently. There’s plenty you can do towards encouraging them to be able to achieve this as much as you want them to.
The most important thing you can do is make books a part of their lives as early as possible. Use hard paged picture books and play point and name games with familiar pictures. Do this as often as you can. Give these books to your kids to look at on their own just before nap times, or when you want to make a phone call. Try to make this experience a positive one. Perhaps you could read one story and then leave them to look at the pictures alone. This needn’t be a quiet activity. You’ll find they’ll mimic your tone of voice and manner and enjoy reading alone as much as when you read to them.
Make a point of giving them one or two activities they can participate in by themselves each day. Encouraging small acts of independence prepares them for later life. When playing puzzles and other games with small children try not to help them solve the problem too soon. As they try to figure it out they are learning valuable skills which will help them decipher letters and words when they are learning to read. Allowing them to sort brightly coloured clothes pegs from one container to another is also a valid pre-reading activity. Other independent activities include stacking objects, drawing, listening to music, dancing and shaping or cutting plastic dough. Each activity helps them to find expression and enjoyment and adds to their experience of life. These all add to their general life skills which enables them to be better at the task of learning to read.
Read aloud to your kids. They will make a connection between patterns of speech and the stories you read aloud. If you like, teach them key words to recognise on the pages of their favourite stories. Try Dr Suess books for this. My kids loved them as much as I did. The rhythm and rhyme is satisfying as well as fun. Placing your finger on the page underneath the written words emphasizes the part words play in a tale. When you see them mimicking this action, be glad. They are taking in the whole process of reading. As they grow older and their attention span grows try to leave them hanging for the rest of the story. Perhaps one page or one chapter a night. Soon they’ll be hungry enough for what happens next to attempt or desire reading unassisted.
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