9 Reading Tips for Kindergarteners
The key to getting a Kindergartener excited about reading is to make it fun! Kindergarteners are more comfortable with their ability to express themselves verbally than they were as toddlers, but they can often struggle with confidence when it comes to recognizing letters, sounds and word patterns. The tips below can help your child become a happy, self-confident reader, and can lead to a love of reading that will last a lifetime!
Chat with your child – Talk with your child about their day at school, and get them to include as much detail as possible. Ask questions that encourage them to explain something they did, someone they met, or a game they played at recess.
Say silly tongue twisters – Sing songs, speak in rhyme, read rhyming books and say silly tongue twisters whenever you can. These can help kids become sensitive to the sounds in words and help them recognize patterns.
Read it, experience it – Connect the book that your child is reading with events that happen in their life. For example, if you are reading a book together about animals, relate it to your last trip to the zoo. Talk about how the story and the experience were different or similar.
Use your child’s name - Point out the link between letters and sounds that are included in your child’s name. Say something like “Jane, the word jump begins with the same sound as your name. Jane and jump. And, they both start with the same letter, J!”
Play with puppets together –Create characters together and play language games. Your puppet might say “My name is Mark. I like words that rhyme with my name. Does park rhyme with Mark? Does ball rhyme with Mark?”
Trace letters, make sounds – Have your child trace a letter with their finger while you make the sound of the letter. To make this more fun, do this in sand, on a plate of sugar or flour, or with finger paint. Then trade!
Sound it out – Practice blending individual sounds into words. Ask your child “can you guess what this word is? m – a – p.” Hold each sound for longer than usual.
Read it again, and again – Go ahead and read your child’s favorite book for the 100th time. Make things fresh by pausing and asking new questions about what is going on in the book.
Daily Diary – Work together using pencil and paper to write down one or two sentences about something special they felt, saw, or did that day. Encourage your child to use the letters, sounds and words they are learning in school.
Some of these tips may be more effective or engaging to your child than others, so try a new tip each day or each week to find out what really gets them excited about reading and writing. These ideas may seem like simple games or activities, however they can truly make a difference in your child’s literacy skills and lead to greater success in school. Read together, play together and learn together – every day!