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Home › Articles › Development › Ready to Read

Ready to Read

Sparking Your Child's Interest in Books

By Melissa Granberry

Pages:  1  2  3  4  5  

(Philomel, 1994) by Eric Carle

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Henry Holt, 1992) by Bill Martin Jr.

    Games Children Play

    What's a child's favorite thing to do? Play! So how can we use playtime for learning? Sally Goldberg, author of Make Your Own Preschool Games (Perseus, 2002) suggests making your own games. Here are a few ideas from her book to help your child learn reading concepts:

    Letter Cards
    To teach the alphabet, take 13 index cards. Place stick-on capital letters on each side of the card. Hole-punch the top corner and thread a 12-inch yarn loop through the hole. Now you're ready to play.

    Take the cards and make a game of finding objects that begin with the letter. Place the D on a doorknob, the B on a book, etc. Try hiding them around the house for your child to find. Trace your finger around the letter the way you would write it and let your child do the same. Enjoy!

    Hop, Jump, and Clap
    To teach your child to read action words, start with three words: hop, jump and clap. Write each word on an index card. Place the cards upside down and take turns picking a card and acting out a word. When your child masters these three, add another. Each time you play, start with the ones already made. Some suggestions: walk, run, sleep, talk.

    Try different versions of this game by making cards with animal names or occupations, such as firefighter or doctor.


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