Parenting Australia

Child care can support your child’s reading development

Reading is more than ABC – how child care educators can help develop your child's reading skills

What is reading?

When asked to consider 'what is reading', many people are likely to first think about sitting down to read a book or newspaper. However, reading is also about being able to make sense of the many visual signs, symbols and printed materials that we encounter in our everyday day lives, such as maps, logos, traffic signs, street names, instruction manuals and text messages.

Why is learning to read important?

Doing everyday tasks such as grocery shopping, preparing a meal, paying a bill or catching public transport often relies on our ability to read effectively. In addition to helping us to manage our everyday lives, reading also brings pleasure to children and adults alike. Being able to read can open up a rich world of learning, imagining, thinking and understanding.

Children (and adults) also often use reading for relaxation time to do something quiet when they are feeling tired, overwrought or they need to 'escape' for a little while. Reading and telling stories together are also special times for children and adults to build and strengthen their relationships and to have one to one interactions.

All children benefit from opportunities to develop and practice their reading skills. The educators in your child care service will assist your child's reading development through a range of experiences and activities that are tailored to your child's age interests.

Is my baby too young to learn about reading?

'Reading is not something that children learn to do at school. Reading begins at birth. Reading and writing develop alongside speaking and listening, as spoken language helps children to understand written language' (Arthur, 2003).

Babies are born ready to learn about their world through all of their senses – hearing, seeing touching, tasting, and smelling. As such, from a very young age babies begin to learn early reading skills when educators take time to share simple books, stories, songs, rhymes and conversations with them. During the daily program at child care, the educators will spend one to one time with your baby looking books with them. Babies tend to prefer books with clear, simple illustrations and themes, such as books with pictures of real and/or familiar objects that are named or labelled. There are many books available that have been developed specifically to meet babies' requirements, such as small board books, books using photographs of real objects and textured books ('feely' books).

The educators will become familiar with the books that your baby particularly enjoys and share these with your child regularly. You can also speak with educators about your baby's preferences and you may be able to bring in some favourite books from home.

These early reading experiences will help to reinforce to your baby that reading is a fun, interesting and sociable activity. Developing a positive attitude toward books and reading can set your baby on the right path for developing competent reading and literacy skills in the future.

How will my toddler's reading skills be supported?

As your child moves into the toddler age group they are likely to demonstrate an increasing interest in, and curiosity about, the world around them. Story books, printed words, logos and symbols often begin to take on more meaning for children in this age group and toddlers begin to understand that these are used to communicate information to others. Toddlers enjoy being read to, and they often like to join in with reading familiar and predictable stories. The educators in your child care service can reinforce your child's natural interest in books and their developing reading skills by:

• Making sure that they have access to quality story books that are in good condition – including stories that are familiar and predictable

• Reading stories with individual and groups of children throughout the day, and ensuring that these are positive, friendly experiences

• Providing quiet, comfortable areas for children to read and look at books

• Modelling and involving children in reading and writing in everyday situations. For example, pointing out and reading signs and labels in the environment, writing notes and lists, reading instructions or recipes

• Being responsive to children when they are reading or making up the story while looking at a book

• Having conversations with children about the stories that they and/or the educators read.

Should the educators at child care be teaching my child to read?

Preschool aged children, particularly those that have had exposure to reading and print from an early age, have usually developed quite a good understanding of reading and its purpose. Often they have begun to acquire the more 'technical' skills required for reading, such as holding the book the correct way up, turning the pages in the right order and following the text from left to right. Preschoolers can also often recognise a few sight words and they can use these, combined with memory and predicting using a book's pictures, to read a story (Arthur, 2003).

In child care, support for your child's reading development should be based on your child's interests, and the value of play and choice for your child should be recognised. While educators can use everyday reading experiences to talk about letters and to point out features of print to your child such as punctuation marks and capital and lower case letters, having formal reading or writing 'lessons' is not appropriate in early childhood settings.

It is important that educators encourage preschoolers to see themselves as readers and to be accepting of children's approximations in their reading. It can be very discouraging for a child to be continually corrected when they are reading using memory and picture cues. At this stage it is important that they feel comfortable and confident with reading -– getting all the words right is not as important as practicing these early reading strategies.

Educators can encourage your preschooler's early reading skills by providing them with books and other printed materials that relate to their interests. As with all age groups, the educators at your service should take plenty of time to read with your child in one to one and small group situations, and these experiences should be positive and enjoyable. Children in this age group will also benefit from having access to a wide range of printed media such as signs, posters, magazines, brochures and computer text such as suitable games or internet sites.

Conclusion

Many children have a natural interest in books and reading from an early age. Educators and parents alike can foster and encourage this interest by making sure that books and other printed media are available throughout the child's environment. Children will learn to see reading as positive and rewarding when they see others using reading for purpose in their everyday lives. As for all areas of children's development, the most important thing that educators can do to support your child's reading skills is to provide them with opportunities to engage in reading experiences that are enjoyable and that meet their current interests.

References:

• Arthur, L. (2003). Early Childhood Australia Learning at Home Series: Learning to read. Watson, ACT: Early Childhood Australia Inc.

• Birckmayer, J., Kennedy, A,. & Stonehouse, A. (2008). From lullabies to literature. Stories in the lives of infants and toddlers. United States: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

• Child and Youth Health. (2009). Reading stories. Retrieved 12 May, 2010, from http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/stories_-_cyh.html?highlight=reading

• Child and Youth Health. (2009). Reading with babies. Retrieved 12 May, 2010, from http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/reading_with_babies_-_cyh.html?highlight=reading

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