My previous post was for parents with children who know how to read.  The following will benefit those moms with younger children.  I remember Aloysius became interested in books even if he didn't know how to read yet as early as 4 months old. That's when we started the mommy and child-reading-routine.


With younger children, you need to give them hard board books so that even if they chew on them, or they throw them or spill milk on them, they will still be readable.  These books have great pictures and colors in them that children get glued at looking at them.  This is the perfect opportunity to introduce reading to them.


Here are the tips:
1.  Look and point at the picture.
2.  Get your mouth ready to read.  The child will be looking at the picture and at your mouth while you are reading.
3.  Tell your child how does the word begin. Emphasize on the sound i.e. O - the mouth should form the O too.
4. Read the word all the way through.
5. Start again.  Skip the word you want the child to learn.
6. Ask the child, does it make sense? He would now recognize the word you missed.
7. Be consistent on the pronunciation of the word. if you say it differently, the child will notice it, if not, ask him "Does the word sound right?"
8. Go back and re-read the whole sentence.  You can ask him to point the picture and the word.
9. Give your child lots of chances to read the story again and again.  This is the key to successful reading.  It is called fluency.


The more your child reads, the more confident and successful he or she will become.