Birth to Six > Preschoolers
Preschoolers
Your preschooler is almost ready to read! You can help your child prepare by continuing to read aloud from favorite books and by introducing new books. Encourage your preschooler to notice print in the world around her - the letters on traffic signs or on cereal boxes. Give her daily opportunities to experiment with early writing. Your child will learn valuable information about print and how it works - that it uses symbols called letters, that these letters have names and specific sounds, that letters are written from left to right. You don't have to worry about teaching letters in a formal way - just give your preschooler plenty of fun activities and praise early attempts at reading and writing.
Reading with preschoolers
Also for preschoolers:
Let your child be involved in choosing books and let her practice retelling the story in her own words.
Talk about the pictures, characters and events in the story as you are reading.
Encourage your child to use his imagination or to make predictions about what will happen in a story.
Casually point out some of the letters in the book. "There is a 'j.' Your name starts with a 'j,' too." At times, run your finger below the text as you read aloud.
Choose some books with repetition and rhyme and read aloud with pauses to allow your child time to fill in the words.
What preschoolers like in books
- Books that tell stories
- Books that make them laugh
- Books with simple text they can memorize
- Books about kids that are like them - also books that introduce children who are different from them
- Books about going to school and books about making friends
- Books that have playful or rhyming language
- Alphabet books, counting books and vocabulary books
- Books about the real world - trucks, dinosaurs, insects