Recently I had the opportunity to interview LeapFrog’s literacy expert Dr. Carolyn Jaynes regarding what we can do as parents to help our kids learn to read and become better readers. It all comes down to sharing our own excitement about reading and then making it fun and exciting for our kids. Here are some tips to get you started.
- Hunt for words wherever you are. Play “find the letter” games with your children in the car, at the park, wherever your day takes you. In New York City, it’s easy to find signs with all of the letters, so we take turns going through the alphabet. On the road we use license plates.
- Pick out books that interest your kids. This sounds obvious, but we all have biases regarding the topics we think our kids be interested in or what we’re interested in ourselves. While Power Rangers and Scooby Doo books may not be great literature, they inspire my son to become a better reader. We leave the “good stuff” for when we read to him.
- Bring books to life using “voices.” When you read aloud, “voice” the characters and add drama to the narration. In a pinch use a reading tool like the LeapFrog Tag or log on to a pre-reading website. Both resources will read books aloud.
- Ask questions. Ask them what the events in the story remind them of in their own lives and how the characters are feeling. Or have your child to come up with an alternate ending to the story. Check out Learning if Fundamental for more ideas.
- Join Literacy Expert Carolyn Jaynes from LeapFrog for a Twitter party tomorrow, Wednesday, March 31 @ 10 AM PDT. You're invited to the LeapFrog Literacy Luncheon on Twitter! Join host and literacy expert Carolyn Jaynes, PhD, in a cyber-discussion about promoting literacy skill development in young children. Follow this link for participation rules.