Read to your child & then let them read to you!

 Every expert under the sun will recommend reading to your child at bedtime. The stories they can listen to are calming, it is a bonding experience and you can share knowledge. They will be exposed to language that doesn't usually come up in daily conversation and how often do you speak in rhyming couplets during the day? 

Reading to your child does not have to cost the earth. There are so many places you can get books from. Most local supermarkets have a charity book stall, charity shops, book shops and online. But you can always use your local library for free. 

Teaching English as a language to read is infuriating and confusing as there are so many oddities within it. Break becomes Breakfast. Why did the EA change with each word? Thought, Though, Through, Cough. 4 letters, 4 different sounds! Never mind the difference with north / south divide. Bath or Bath? I'll leave that up to you. 

Once your child has the ability, begins school or you teach at home, then please do keep reading to them but it is also time to allow your child to read to you. 

Our school teaches phonics first e.g. Ah, Buh, Cuh etc rather than the alphabet A, B, C. This allows children to sound out the letters they are reading and then they can blend the sounds together in order to read full words. It is really tempting to read full words for your child rather than allowing them to read for themselves. Looking at the letters and decoding them for themselves will build pathways in the brain that will not only allow them to read more confidently on their own but it can also assist with writing. Letter formation is far easier for the hands once the brain knows what it should look like. 

There are children at our school who do not read at home and it is clear to see who as they struggle with their lessons, find it really hard to write a simple sentence, cannot spell words correctly and it is to their detriment. Whether you agree with the school system or not, as they grow through the school they will be asked to do testing. They will not have you there to read the test questions so they will struggle to understand the tasks given, will not be able to work out what to write or how to write it. 

Reading opens up children to stories that they could never have imagined before. The beauty of The Wild Robot, the sillyness of the 13th Storey Treehouse, the wonder of Harry Potter and the seriousness within the Usborne Factual Collection. Books can approach subjects that might be awkward to talk about and give parents an outlet to be able to talk through hard times. 

So please, open up your children to the world of reading and the power of stories, but do make sure they can read as well so that they can not only do well in school, but so that they can experience their own joy of reading. 

Until next time

xx