by Denise Calaman

Created on: January 24, 2009   Last Updated: June 01, 2009

Literacy opens up an entire new world of imagination, creativity and learning to a new reader of any age. Children are learning to read earlier than ever before. Today preschoolers are reading two full grades ahead of their parents. By learning to read at such a young age it accelerates a child's learning in other areas and boosts their confidence in a way that gives them the courage to reach for higher goals.

Babies begin the process of learning to read by mimicking sounds and developing a vocabulary. By hearing their parents or siblings talk and watching their lips move as they form different words babies develop a strong vocabulary at a very young age. Signing, or teaching your baby American Sign Language will also boost his speaking vocabulary, which in turn, produces early literacy skills.

As toddlers, children continue the learning to read process by learning to rhyme and by singing songs. At this age it is all about repetition and familiarity. Many parents introduce the ABC song at this time. The ABC song will sound very familiar to your toddler because it has the same rhythm as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and since most toddlers are familiar with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" they find it incredibly easy to learn the ABC song.

By the time a child is preschool age he has learned his alphabet and he should have a beginning knowledge of the individual sound that each letter makes. This will help him to eventually sound out words as he is reading.

Preschool children are also introduced to sight words. In the English language sight words number around 200. The majority of sight words are one syllable words that are particularly hard for new readers to learn because they don't follow basic decoding rules. Sight words are learned strictly by memorization and many preschoolers find learning sight words frustrating until they catch on.

Once a preschooler has mastered sight words, understands rhyming patterns and can sound out words, he has the ability to begin to read simple sentences. He will begin to piece simple sentences together piece by piece. At this time, teachers encourage parents to practice reading with books that are familiar to their preschoolers. Children who learn to read books that are familiar to them are able to piece sentences together faster than if they would try reading books that they never heard read to them before. Early readers thrive off of the familiar patterns of stories.

Parents

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