How to read to early age

Hi there, I am Grenada! I teach Kindergarten in one of Christian school in Indonesia, and this is my forth year. Through the years I've been through, I realize that reading to early age (3-6 yo) is very important. That's why I want to share it here.

First of all, we need to know that reading is one of the main language skill we need in life. Reading to the children not only gives them new knowledge but also developed their logical thinking. Besides, we can build a deep relationship in time.

For early age, reading will be more fun if they do it with someone they like. So, should we only read to early age? My answer is no! We can read to everybody as long as they can enjoy and get meaning from the activity. Then, when should we read? There is no exact answer to the question because the habit each family build is not the same. For me, it will be great if we can do it before bed time, though many other families do it during the day or after work as their family time. However, we need to consider the physical stage of the children beforehand. If they are too sleepy or not feeling well, reading stories will be a nightmare.

Here are some tips and tricks I've learnt and tried in my class of to any children, it works, trust me!

• Choose the right book

Sometimes we only focus to the story inside without considering the difficulty level of the book. Stop and analyze the book first! We know how far our children can read, so we need to find the right book to help them develop their reading skill rather than send them to hard time. Count how many difficult words they do not understand, if you find 5 or more difficult words, that means NO, they are not ready for it yet. Directly choose another book.

• Find an attractive book

Big letters, lots of pictures, colorful, and easy to handle are the least points the book should has. It is easy to find such book like this nowadays.

• Use facial expression

Maybe we will feel a shame, but DO NOT. Children need to see the facial expression clearly in order to have good social skills. Through the expression they learnt, it will be easier to understand others. They will also learnt how to express their feeling better.

• Voice intonation

Some of us might think that we do not have good voice, but it doesn't matter. I myself do not have that golden voice, but still I try my best to use voice intonation. It gets children's attention and keep the focus. They start to recognize how punctuation sounds and how to say it in the right way. If you need to scream, just scream. If you need to whisper, do so.

• Include them in the story

How can we include the children while we are the one who read the story? Give them questions, ask them to copy your intonation, let them read one or two easy words. So many fun things you can do to persuade them.

Through all of those points, children can see the grand story inside their mind and get better understanding. And if you can spare time at least once a week to do this with your children, it will be great. The bond between you grows thicker, your children's logical thinking also gets better, and they learn new things from a memorable activity. I hope these notes can help you. Good luck!