Child Speech Therapy – Reading Readiness

By Kristi Keele, Speech Pathologist

Reading is essential to learning and it is never too early to help your child to begin to build reading readiness. Here are some suggestions on how you can get them started.

• Introduce them to a book! Explain and demonstrate how a book works, familiarizing them on how to hold it and how and when to turn the pages. Show them how to “use “a book and let them take control and interact with the story. If a child does not appear interested, consider special books such as touch and feel or books with flaps that open to reveal a surprise. It may help reading become like a a fun game and increase their interest in looking through books.
• Use storytelling to engage your child!  Talk about the pictures in the book as you point to them and use familiar subjects or pictures in the book to link back to their world.  Does your child love the zoo just like the child in the book?  This helps your child tell a real-life story that relates his experience back to the book.
• Pointing out the text in a book can help your child begin to increase their recognition of words. Draw your child’s attention to the print for everyday items such as the cereal box or signs in the community you might see on your walk through the neighborhood, such as a STOP sign.
• Rhyming sounds in a book can help your child develop a sense of how words and syllables sound.  Read nursery rhyme books with rhyming songs aloud with your child. Use movement with music, clapping your hands, stomping your feet or shaking maracas to the rhythm of the music.
• Introduce your child to the ABC’s! Sing the alphabet song to your child and begin to point out letters and the sounds they make, such as “A” with a picture of an apple. Puzzles, ABC fridge magnets and alphabet books with letters and pictures can be a great way to start introducing the ABC’s while building vocabulary at the same time.
• Read Together! Build story time into your daily routine. Snuggle with your child at bedtime and read their favorite book.
• Make it Fun! Use different voices for each character. Get siblings involved as you act out the story.

Practicing these reading readiness activities with your child can prepare them for future success in school.  Between the ages of 0 to 3 is a perfect time to begin to engage them and create an enthusiasm for reading that will support them in a lifetime of learning.

For more information about teli Early Intervention Services, call 412-420-2400.