image credit: coloring up close, via flickr

We write a lot on this blog about the many benefits of reading aloud to kids, but what we haven’t talked about much before is just how important it is to encourage our children to become writers. Yet learning to recognize and write letters is a fundamental step in the language learning process. According to a fabulous article written by our friends at Reading is Fundamental for the Children’s Book Review, “The scribbles of very young children have meaning to them, and scribbling actually helps them to develop the language skills that lead to reading. Young children who are encouraged to draw and scribble stories will learn to write more easily, effectively, and confidently once they head off to school.”

Taking some time out to write with your children is another way of developing those early literacy skills which will be so useful when your kids begin to learn to read. It’s also a great way of teaching them about print communication in both their languages. What might seem like gibberish to you may just be your child’s first attempt at expressing the words he hears in print. Even the youngest of children can benefit from a few minutes a day with a sheet of paper and some crayons, so make sure these items are always available in your home. Here are a few creative ideas from RIF on how to get started:
*Everywhere you look. Help your children become aware of the writing that surrounds them. Read aloud stop signs, favorite restaurant signs, the S on Superman’s cape, and other interesting print you encounter in the course of your daily activities.

*Props for pretend play. Given a marker and a pad, little doctors can scribble their prescriptions and waiters can take orders. Opportunities for playtime writing are endless: restaurant menus, store signs and price tags, tickets for a show or a train ride, etc. Some children may ask for help in writing real words; others are satisfied with their own marks or drawings.

*Post office. Equip a play post office with paper, envelopes, and cards. Save stickers and stamps from junk mail for pretend postage stamps.  (One parent’s trash is another child’s treasure!) Reply promptly to mail that’s delivered to you.

*Taking dictation. Be your children’s secretary and take down word for word the stories they tell. These stories can be read back again and again. When you inquire about a drawing, write down your child’s response as a title or caption.

Incorporating reading and writing into playtime is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways of helping your child’s language development along, so make sure you encourage this sort of play in both your child’s languages on a daily basis.

image credit: reading session, via flickr

One of our first posts on this blog was entitled Reading Aloud to Kids: What’s the Big Deal Anyway, in which we outlined just a few of the many, many reasons why it’s so important for parents to make shared parent-child reading a priority. Today we thought we’d share just a few more ways in which a story time routine can help develop your child’s pre-reading and language skills, just in case you still aren’t convinced. Some of these skills are so obvious that it would be easy to overlook them, but mastering these skills is actually essential for learning to read.

*Books teach fine motor skills. Shared parent-child reading helps children learn the proper way to hold a book and turn the pages. Many children’s books are also specifically designed with flaps and tags to help your child further develop his fine motor skills.

*Reading aloud to children teaches them to read from left to right (or right to left if you’re reading to your child in Arabic or Hebrew) and top to bottom. This seems quite obvious to us experienced readers, but if you had never seen anything like a book before I’m sure you wouldn’t know where to begin either. I recently read a guest post from a reading specialist on a blog called Chronicles of a Babywise Mom about this very subject. Susanne had some great ideas about how to reinforce the fact that we read from one direction to another: “You can create a fun pointer to help make this activity more fun. You could use a magic wand or spoon, or any object your child might find fun. Finger puppets also work great for this activity. Keep it fun. Keep modeling good reading by pointing to the words.”

*Books reinforce the connection between language and written words on a page. Children as young as 8 months old begin making associations between objects and words, so around that age they should also begin to understand that the words you are reading correspond to the words on the pages of their story books. This skill is especially reinforced by reading the same books over and over again, allowing children to make the connection between the words you are saying and the printed words on a page.

*Reading teaches rhythm and rhyme. Many studies have shown that children who are exposed to rhythm and rhyme have an advantage when it comes to learning to read and spell. There’s a reason why Dr. Seuss’ books are such classics. In addition to the fabulous story lines and great illustrations, the rhythm and rhyme of these texts are especially stimulating for young children who are just beginning to develop language skills.

*Books help children discover the world around them. Most of us don’t live in the jungle, so a book about jungle animals is a great way of introducing this new concept to your kids. Fiction books can also be used to help develop a child’s imagination and story telling skills.

Of course these are just a few of the many, many benefits of reading to and with your children on a daily basis. Just 15 to 20 minutes a day of reading time is all it takes to develop these skills and, more importantly, a love of reading that will last a lifetime. Happy reading!

image credit: reading is fun, via flickr

We all know that reading to and with children is one of the best things we can do to help their language development along. But not all children are born bookworms, and some are going to need a little creative push from their parents to help them discover the joys of reading. If your child isn’t as crazy about reading as you’d like her to be, don’t despair! Here are a few creative ideas for helping you discover a reading strategy that works for your child:

Let your child help you choose the books you read together. Your taste in books is specific to your likes and dislikes, so why should your child be any different? You may think a book about princesses is adorable, but if your daughter is into soccer or pirates, why not choose books that deal with those subjects? By reading books based on topics that truly interest your child, you are encouraging her to explore her own interests while setting the stage for a love of reading at the same time!

Use books as a springboard for playing with kids. Susan Stephenson at The Book Chook recently wrote a fabulous article on developing imagination through literature based play. She suggests for parents and children to “read a story together and then suggest making a game about it. If it’s your game, you get to grab the best roles like Pirate Chief or Ugly Witch. Be sure to involve the kids by asking questions, or suggesting parts for the play…Once the kids are coming up with ideas, gently withdraw until all you have to do is throw in the occasional nasty chuckle, or guard the treasure with your feet up, reading.” Making reading into a game is a great way to interact with your children and help develop their imagination.

Take advantage of your local library. I know that many of you who are reading this may not have set foot in a public library for years, so you may be surprised when you hear about all of the great children’s activities your library has to offer. Most libraries have specially decorated children’s sections, and many provide storytellers and craft sessions for kids. Besides being a great source for free fun activities for kids, you can also check out a wide variety of books to take home with you until your next visit. Many libraries now have bilingual children’s sections and even bilingual story hours, so why not give your local library a chance?

Seek out alternative sources for reading materials. While we are huge fans of the traditional children’s picture book format, not all reading material comes in a book-shaped package. Look for fun flashcards, word games and early literacy kits and have fun playing these games with your kids. (In October we’ll be publishing a kit called Easy Alphabet!/¡Abecedario fácil! which is perfect for this sort of literacy based play). There are also many on-line early literacy sites (click here and here for a few bilingual options) which help develop early literacy skills and get kids familiar with new technologies at the same time. Don’t be afraid to mix things up a bit and show your kids that reading is a part of many different aspects of day to day life.

With a little patience, creativity and trial and error, even the most reluctant reader can be turned into a book lover!

How on earth we could have missed these free literacy sites in our last post is beyond me, but when Carol Rasco (you can follow her on Twitter @RascofromRIF) from Reading Is Fundamental sent us a few links the other day we were blown away by all of the great free resources in Spanish and English on her site. The first thing that both surprised and delighted me was the fact that the President and CEO of RIF actually took the time to send us a note to let us know about the work they’re doing to promote early literacy in English and Spanish. After reading more about RIF’s rich history, it’s so great to see such a personal involvement from key staff members who care enough to get the word out about their resources.

The Leading to Reading site (Semillitas de aprendizaje in Spanish) offers age appropriate on-line games, stories and other activities for children aged 0-5 years old. The bilingual Let’s Read as a Family/Leamos en familia site also has bilingual picture pair activities, coloring books and even some multicultural recipes for families to enjoy. There’s even some fun stuff for grown-ups too, including video instructions on how to make your own touch and feel book. The concept is fairly basic, but it’s a great idea and works perfectly with bilingual text. Here’s the gist:

Instructions:

1. Collect your materials.
2. Cut out different items for your book using the textured materials you’ve collected.
3. Glue the items to the three-hole punched paper.
4. Label each page. For example, if you’ve created a page with a pink corduroy square, write “Pink Square” on the page.
5. Make a title page.
6. Thread the yarn or ribbon through the holes in the pages to create a book.
7. Read the book to your child.

Of course, these sites and many others have been added to the growing list of recommended on-line activities, which can be found on the Bilingual Readers resources page, in the Just for Kids! section. Have fun!

We were so excited to find two great websites full of free activities for helping parents develop children’s reading levels. Both sites are available in English and Spanish (one is available in French and German too!), and both are 100% free.

image credit: Alphabet Soup (via flickr)

The first webpage, Compact for Reading, is an initiative of the US Department of Education. Under the slogan “Connecting schools and homes to help children read,” the site goes on to offer four different level at home reading kits for kindergarten, first, second and third grade levels. According to the site, the School-Home Links Reading Kits are a collection of research-based activities designed to help families reinforce the reading and language arts skills that their children are learning at school.”

Sounds like a great idea to me, and I love the fact that the program also involves a pact between parents and schools working together to get kids reading in English and Spanish. Parent-child shared reading is one of the key factors in achieving early literacy, so any initiative which supports this goal is in high demand. Of course, the kits are geared toward US elementary school curriculum, but the activities are applicable for kids learning to read in English and Spanish all over the world.

The second free website, ReadToday.net (via Reading Tub), is run by the non-profit Literacy Center Education Network and contains emergent literacy activities in English, Spanish, French and German. This site is full of printable worksheets for practicing letters, numbers, colors, shapes and basic words. ReadToday.net addresses the specific needs of bilingual families by asking the important question, “What if every parent had the tools to teach their own children to read in a comfortable and supportive home environment? Not only would this give children a head start in life, it would enable every child to master basic skills in a first language before being dropped into a second language learning environment.”

What if every bilingual child did have the advantage of shared parent-child reading in both their languages at home before starting school? At Bilingual Readers our goal is to provide parents with the necessary materials to make this happen. Starting in October, we’ll be offering bilingual Spanish/English books, games and other activities for parents and their children aged 0-6 to enjoy together. In the meantime, stay tuned for more relevant articles and keep on reading!