Help Your Child Learn To Read Through Play

Need some fun activities to help your little one learn to read? Here are a few of our suggestions on how to incorporate reading preparation into your child's playtime.

Your child is an author

Young children have wonderfully vivid imaginations and love to talk!  Use this to their advantage during playtime! Have them write their own book by having them tell you a story while you write it down. Afterwards, your child can illustrate the story, and you can read it back to them.

There are other ways to read…

Reading daily with your child is a wonderful way to introduce new words and ideas but reading in what's called a "dialogic" way is even better. Dialogic reading is when you ask your child to participate in the story by asking them what they think will happen next before you turn the page.

Previewing is a great way to start.  Have your child gather clues from the book’s title and cover illustration to try to figure out what the story is about before you read.  Don’t stint on your questions!  Maybe ask if the book could have ended differently when you finish, and see what interested them most about the characters and story.

Draw Letters Outside

Kids love to play outside, so incorporate letters into their games!  Draw letters in the dirt, sand, snow with a stick and have them copy them.  You could always use chalk on the sidewalk if you have some handy!