Encourage your child to become involved in reading. Getting your child interested in reading early will be your first goal. This process can start even before the child is born. It is a proven fact that the baby in the womb can hear and be comforted by sounds in its environment. To get your child started off on the right foot you need to have a plan. Here are some questions to ask yourself.

For Babies (Six Weeks to One Year)

1. Do you provide a comfortable place for our story time? Will your child happy to be here? 
2.  Are you showing them the pictures in the book? Do you change the tone of your voice as you read to show emotion and excitement? 
3.  Are you paying attention to how my child responds? 
4.  What do they seem like or dislike? 
5.  Are they getting tired and ready to stop?

For Toddlers (One to Three Years) All of the questions above, and then:

1. Does my child enjoy the book we are reading?
2. Do you encourage them to “pretend read”, by joining in where they have memorized a word or phrase?
3. When you ask questions, do you give your child enough time to think and answer?
4. Do you tie ideas in the book to things familiar to your child? Do you notice if they do this on their own?
5. Do you let your child know how much you like their ideas and encourage them to tell you more about them?
6. Do you point out letters, such as the first letter of their name?

Remember: Children learn one-step at a time this process will take patience and time. Children will vary a great deal in the rate they make progress and in what may hold their interest. It is up to you to find the right combination of these to make it enjoyable.

For Preschoolers (Three and Four years of age) All of the questions above, and then:

1. Do you find ways to help my child begin to identify letters?
2. Do you have them make the letter-sound match?

For Kindergartners (Five Years of age) All of the questions above, then:

1. Do I find ways to help my child begin to identify some printed words?
2. Do I let my child retell favorite stories to show she knows how the story goes and what is in it?

For Beginning First-Graders (Six Years) All of the questions above, and then:

1. Give your child the chance to read a story to you using the text, picture clues, their memory or any combination of these. Help them make sense of the story.

by Peggy Gisler, Ed.S. and Marge Eberts, Ed.S.

Nothing is more important to academic achievement than being a good reader. Parents know their children best and can provide the one-on-one time and attention that will lead them to success in reading. Here is a list of ways to help your children become more effective readers.

1. Set aside a regular time to read to your children every day.
Studies show that regularly reading out loud to children will produce significant gains in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and the decoding of words. Whether your children are preschoolers or preteens, it will increase their desire to read independently.

2. Surround your children with reading material.
Children with a large array of reading materials in their homes score higher on standardized tests. Tempt your kids to read by having a large supply of appealing books and magazines at their reading level. Put the reading materials in cars, bathrooms, bedrooms, family rooms, and even by the TV.

3. Have a family reading time.
Establish a daily 15 to 30 minute time when everyone in the family reads together silently. Seeing you read will inspire your children to read. Just 15 minutes of daily practice is sufficient to increase their reading fluency.

4. Encourage a wide variety of reading activities.
Make reading an integral part of your children’s lives. Have them read menus, roadside signs, game directions, weather reports, movie time listings, and other practical everyday information. Also, make sure they always have something to read in their spare time when they could be waiting for appointments or riding in a car.

5. Develop the library habit.
Entice your children to read more by taking them to the library every few weeks to get new reading materials. The library also offers reading programs for children of all ages that may appeal to your children and further increase their interest in reading.

6. Be knowledgeable about your children’s progress.
Find out what reading skills they are expected to have at each grade level. The school’s curriculum will give you this information. Track their progress in acquiring basic reading skills on report cards and standardized tests.

7. Look for reading problems.
Teachers do not always detect children’s reading problems until they’ve become serious. Find out if your children can sound out words, know sight words, use context to identify unknown words, and clearly understand what they read.

8. Get help promptly for reading problems.
Reading problems do not magically disappear with time. The earlier children receive help, the more likely they will become good readers. Make sure your children receive necessary help from teachers, tutors, or learning centers as soon as you discover a problem.

9. Use a variety of aids to help your children.
To help your children improve their reading, use textbooks, computer programs, books-on-tape, and other materials available in stores. Games are especially good choices because they let children have fun as they work on their skills.

10. Show enthusiasm for your children’s reading.
Your reaction has a great influence on how hard they will try to become good readers. Be sure to give them genuine praise for their efforts.