Parents Play Key Role as Reading Teachers:
Reading books to preschool children excites their imagination and helps them begin to understand how the world works. It also helps them understand how books work - for example, the basic concept of reading left to right.
When our children enter school, we usually turn over the bulk of reading education to professional teachers; but parents, grandparents, and other caregivers still play key roles - and not just in supplementing or reinforcing classroom lessons.
Here are some important activities that parents can do at home:
- Read your child’s favorite story again and again. Repeated readings can help children build language skills.
- Help your child see connections between what happens in a book and what happens in his or her life at home. If your child reads a book about animals, talk about family pets or trips you have taken to the zoo.
- Give your child books as birthday or holiday gifts. This shows that you think books are important and that reading is a fun leisure-time activity. You may even turn a book into one of your child’s lifelong keepsakes if you write a birthday greeting inside the front cover.
- Write notes to your child and put them in his or her lunchbox. You also can put notes in a pocket, under a pillow, or on your child’s plate at dinner.
- Look for other ways to keep your child interested in reading. You could look for books on the same topics or by the same authors as your child’s favorites. You also might want to get your child interested in a series such as “The Boxcar Children” or “Harry Potter."
- Continue reading to your children as they get older - even when they get into middle school. Older children may not admit it, but they also enjoy books and stories being read aloud to them.
Speech Therapy Services:
Mrs. Heather Russell is a private speech therapist who has been in the field for over 20 years. Mrs. Russell has worked in Clayton County and has been in private practice in Fayette County for the past 14 years. Mrs. Russell works with numerous pre-school programs in the area as well as several private schools. If you would like to have your child screened or if you need information regarding the cost, please let me know.