In this post I am sharing some of my tips on how we prepared Vir to read. Social distancing has been helpful in giving a lot of one on one time to our son as he has been home since March 2020. I used this time to work with him on reading, writing and building other skills as you must have seen on my Instagram Page The Snazzy Mom

Please note I am not an expert or a teacher and have used my personal approach to prepare Vir and build his interest in reading. Vir is currently 4 years old and in PreK 4, he is currently reading Kindergarten level books. Reading at bedtime has been a daily activity in our home and that has helped us encourage our son to start reading. I recommend including reading daily in your routine.

Also recently I was contacted by Motherly to share my take How we’re defining success this school year. You can read all my mantras here!

Once Vir mastered identifying the letters visually, and memorizing the sound associated with the letter we started with below steps. You can help memorizing letters by incorporating in play, by clay, drawing or through letter magnets and toys.

1.Phonics is Important

Phonemic awareness (understanding sounds in spoken words) and an understanding of phonics (knowing that letters in print correspond to sounds) are the most basic first steps to becoming a reader. We practiced it daily by reading books out loud and using Reading Eggs app. This app has been extremely helpful in making phonics a fun process and after a while I didn’t even need to supervise my son as he enjoyed doing it himself.

(Reading Eggs uses self‑paced lessons that match each individual child’s ability. Children are regularly rewarded for completing activities and reaching new levels, which keeps them motivated to stay on track. Parents can also view instant progress reports to see how a child’s skills are improving.Free trial.

Additionally, we used songs and nursery rhymes to build phonemic awareness. the rhyme and rhythm help kids to hear the sounds and syllables in words, which helps them learn to read.

2. Making word cards

Cut out simple cards and write a word containing three sounds on each one (e.g. dog, sat, pig, top, sun, pot, fin). Invite your child to choose a card, then read the word together and hold up three fingers.  We focused on the sound each letter makes, more so than letter names. In my Instagram posts I have shared how I used Post Its to DIY these words cards and color code it. You can also use the post its for learning lowercase and uppercase letters.  And play a word scavenger hunt at home.

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Learn and Play is one of the best approaches that has worked for us in these past few months at home. Since Vir turned 4 in May, he started to show interest in reading books out loud. With Post-it® Super Sticky Notes from @postit I am able to make this DIY sight words game and it has been a success to practice and play! Love how simple it is to create this activity and review it later too.💕 . Once your child knows their letters and sounds, you can slowly introduce sight words. These are words that your child should know just by looking at them, without sounding them out. Start with simple two letter words like in, on, at, etc. and work your way up. Head to your local Walmart or click the link in my bio to purchase! #thinkloud . Ad #boymom #preschooler #learnthroughplay #letthembelittle #homeschoollife

A post shared by Arushi Garg🌸 (@thesnazzymom) on Aug 27, 2020 at 5:51pm PDT

3 Create Print Rich Environment at home

Seeing printed words (on posters, charts, books, labels, white boards etc.) enables children to see and apply connections between sounds and letter symbols. When you’re out and about, point out letters on posters, billboards and signs. Focus on the first letter in words. Ask your child “What sound is that letter?” “What other word starts with that sound?” “What word rhymes with that word?”

We love Highlights preschool workbooks because it’s designed and written just for their age group. Highlights is an exciting, colorful, fun-filled magazine developed by the early childhood experts at Highlights. Vir loves practicing his writing in the workbook and reading and solving puzzles in the magazine.

Additionally, we also put cartoons for Vir on Netlix with captions on so he can hear and read the words as well. I have seen him point at many new words he now recognizes.

4 Start Introducing Sight Words and Play games

Sight words are typically shorter words that come up very frequently in text and sometimes they don’t follow predictable spelling rules. Some examples are: look, yes, the, do. It’s better to know them by sight rather than trying to sound them out. Sight word practice can include flash cards as suggested with post its, hunting for the words in books, and using computer games or apps like Reading eggs.

We also started with Bob Books and now Vir is reading the Advanced Readers Set 2 book. Bob books helped a lot in learning sight words and build the confidence in reading. I really like how each set focuses on a few key reading concepts. Throughout the set, each book uses repetition to build mastery of that concept before moving on to another set of concepts in the next set.

5 Play CVC word games

Say a CVC word (consonant-vowel-consonant), for example ‘cat’, and ask your child to spell it using the magnets or write on a magnetic board. I help Vir, say each vowel sound aloud (/ayh/, /eh/, /ih/, /awe/, /uh/) while pointing at its letter, and then ask him which one makes a sound similar to the middle sound. We practice this daily too on the magnetic board and I often use this site for free printable and CVC word list. Pinterest has a lot of free downloads too. You can download 1 here.

6 Read together daily and ask questions about the book

A lot of people don’t realize just how many skills can be picked up through the simple act of reading to a child. Not only are you showing them how to sound out words, you’re also building key comprehension skills, growing their vocabulary, and letting them hear what a fluent reader sounds like. Most of all, regular reading helps your child to develop a love reading, which is the best way to set them up for reading success.

Strengthen your child’s comprehension skills by asking questions while reading. For younger children, encourage them to engage with the pictures (e.g. “Do you see the boat? What color is the cat?”). For older children, ask questions about what you’ve just read, like “Why do you think the little bird was afraid?” “When did Sophie realize she had special powers?”

7 Reading online apps & books

Reading books aloud from your collection at home or online works best. You can use FREE digital libraries or tools available online like. We have all these below e magazines saved on Vir’s ipad and often switch to online reading to make it more fun and interactive.

Time , Nat geo kids library , Story online , Scholastic learn at home Lego Life Magazine

For  more information on other online digital tools for kids of all ages check this resource.

8. Get magazines in mail or make going to library a monthly affair.

Arranging for kids to receive free or monthly subscriptions of fun and educational items by mail is a great way to bring smiles to their faces and bring joy to reading. There are many sources of free items you can order, and your kids will have fun anticipating and receiving free stuff by mail! Here is FREE PETA helping animal guide I ordered recently for Vir.

If your child is between ages 5 and 9, they can receive a free two-year subscription to LEGO Jr. in the mail. The magazine is sent six times throughout the year and includes LEGO news, interviews, and fun projects to build.

We have Highlights magazine annual subscription for Vir and he loves receiving it in mail. He has his own mini car library full of Highlights magazines. Currently annual subscription is for $29.94

Due to COVID we have not had access to the library for months but few weeks back the library opened in our city and so we might go to it sometime soon.

9 Be Patient and make it fun!

We all know every child learns at his or her own pace, so I remind myself the single most important thing I can do is to make it enjoyable. By reading regularly, mixing things up with the activities you choose, and letting your child pick out their own books occasionally, you’ll instill an early love of reading and give them the best chance at reading success in no time.

We also have a list of podcasts on Spotify that Vir listens too and asks questions about new words he is learning . Here is a link to the FREE podcasts you too can follow. I highly recommend this activity.

Also resources like School in a Box by Tittle Tot are engaging kids at home with their unique, fun, and exciting, programs designed for kids age 3-8 years. It is a combination of online classes and do-at-home activities. Tittle Tot has 50+ themes, 30,000+ worksheets, 5,000+ DIY activities, and STEM projects. From Science, Math, Arts, Space , Halloween and many more. You can check them out. We recently started with Artist Box.

I will love to learn some of your favorite resources that helped your kids read.

Happy reading with your little ones!

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