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Another way to get your child ready for school success in develop skills for reading is reading every day.
Let your child pick the books she wants to read. Your child loves to hear favorite books read over and over. Let her fill in the words she knows as you read along. Stop and talk about what is happening in the story. Ask open-ended questions like “why” and “how” to get your child thinking more about the story.
Do more with words. Show your child that there is so much more to read than just books - cereal boxes, road signs, food labels. Let your child see you write the names of her favorite foods on a grocery list and then pick out those food items together at the store. And point out letters of the alphabet.
Let your child pretend to write. Writing is an important part of the reading process. Drawing pictures and scribbling are the first steps in learning to write. Let your child “write” a story to go with one of her drawings and then have her read it to you. Let her see her name and let her try to write it. Don’t worry if it's just scribbles. Writing will come later.
Always let reading time be fun! Never take away reading time as punishment. You don’t want your child to feel threatened by reading. Not only should reading time be fun, but it should also be a time when your child feels safe, secure and loved.
The TIPS Strategy
T
Tune-in: Connect with the child and the book.
Engage in a loving, joyful, engaging and playful interaction:
- Get on the child's level.
- Establish eye contact.
- Connect through touch and hugging/cuddling.
I
Introduce the book.
Call attention to the cover and say the title.
Use the cover to tell what the book is about.
P
Promote Language: Read the book!
PAT the vocabulary (Point, Act out, Tell the meaning of words)
Use think-alouds to talk about what is happening and what the characters are thinking and feeling.
S
Summarize the book.
Flip back to some of the previous illustrations and pair with vocabulary.
Encourage your toddler to point to pictures that show meaning of words in the book.
Ask simple questions about events, characters' actions, or feelings.
Acknowledge answers or give answers for infants and young toddlers.
Let’s see TIPS in action in this video.
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