readandwrite

HELPING YOUR CHILD TO READ AND WRITE

Learning to read and write starts long before children enter school.
Being able to clearly hear and speak helps us to recognise the sounds words make when we are reading and spelling. Being a good listener ourselves is also important. Speaking and Listening are like manners - they are 'caught' rather than 'taught'. Children copy our habits.

One of the most useful things you can
do is to show your children that you
read and write.
Read the paper, magazines, shopping
catalogues, finding recipes, locating
phone numbers, checking the Tattslotto
numbers, writing down phone messages,
making shopping lists, writing on cards
and invitations, making simple maps for
friends to find your house are some
examples of activities that many parents
do regularly that show children reading
and writing in everyday life.

Simple games and activities are also
great tools to prepare for reading and
writing.

Read to and with your children
every day.

All children love to be read to, no matter what age
Make this a special time, such as at bed time. Through stories you share your pleasure in books and help your children become familiar with the language of books. As you read, hold the books so that children see it too. Encourage them to join in the parts they know by heart, thus building confidence in their abilities as readers. Reading can be lots of fun.
When your child brings home their first books, share their excitement with them. At first they will 'read' by remembering the sentence patterns or looking at the pictures. This is a natural stage in learning to read.

The most important thing is to encourage them to make sense of what they read. If they get stuck on a word ask them to have a guess. What do you think would make sense? Encourage their attempts instead of drawing attention to their mistakes.

Make reading time a pleasure - not a chore.