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hunts are also great investigation games. There are literally thousands of ways you could set these up. My personal favorite is the letter of the day. Choose a letter in the morning, then let the children point it out throughout the day in the classroom, the lunch room, and the playground. The younger children will only point out the letter, but older children will start to find things that start or end with the letter. This can lead into them asking what other words start or end with that letter. This is the perfect opportunity to introduce a field journal. Dedicate one page to each letter of the alphabet, and as children find words that start or end with the letter, they can write or draw a picture of the word.

Lastly, how can you encourage a preschooler to read?

This goes far beyond alphabet memorization, phonemic awareness, and sight words. Encouraging a child to read is done best by making the experience look fun. When you read to your children; use emotion, allow your voice to change for characters, and add suspense before turning the page. This engages the children in the story, and before you know it they will begin to develop a desire to do it on their own.

One last thing on the topic. Quite often, children will develop their own made up words and language. Adults will often correct the children by telling them their letters are upside down, backwards, or in the wrong order. I've seen parents and teachers do this several times, and I have to say that it hurts the process more than it helps it. Before long, the child thinks he's dumb or she will never get this reading stuff. Instead of encouraging the child, the adult has placed fear and failure in the child's mind. Instead of correcting the child, ask him to read his story to you or draw a picture that helps tell the story. Then, at a later time, help him re-write his story in "our common language" so everyone can enjoy it.

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