Just What the Doctor Ordered . . .

Read aloud to your very young children--from birth.

Today, the American Academy of Pediatric announced that its policy will be to have doctors, during regular check-ups, recommend to parents that they begin reading aloud to their infants. Research has shown that children who are read to, talked to, and sung to, develop larger vocabularies and enjoy more success in school than children who do not have the same kind of exposure. The pediatricians' group thinks that early reading may just help head off remediation down the road.

So curl up with a good book that has lively rhythms and rhymes. Read aloud to your infant, knowing that you are doing great things for your baby's development. And enjoy the time together! 

Use Your Words!

Vocabulary knowledge is key to being a reader. Help your preschooler learn to love words.

Label things as you go through your day. "Oh, look at that enormous skyscraper!" Talk about what things are called. Use great (and multi-syllabic) adjective to describes what you are seeing together.  Encourage your child to do the same. Don't feel stuck on using kid words--be extravagantly expressive!

Besides naming things, use words to describe feelings. "Oh man, I am feeling a little weary right now. Let's rest for a bit and then continue." Or "I am sad today. I am missing Jenny a lot." Demonstrating that words can communicate feelings is so important for your child so he can learn how to express what he is experiencing.

Words are so powerful--in reading and in communicating. Help your preschooler learn to use and enjoy them!

Word Love

Help build your preschooler's vocabulary by emphasizing the names for things. Labeling the objects around him will encourage him to be facile with words. For example, if you pass a dump truck, name it and then talk about the function of the truck and how it may have gotten its name. 

Get playful. Make up a riddle to encourage interest in and enthusiasm for words. For example, “What do we call that round yummy circle that tastes good with milk? Right! A cookie.” Then have your child make his own riddle for you to guess.

Get silly. Throw in some rhymes. If you pass a cow, call out “Now, cow!” or “Wow, cow!” or even “Bow-wow, cow!” Words are fun to play with, so get in the game!

Name It!

One way to build your preschooler's vocabulary is to emphasize the names for things. For example, if you pass a fire engine, talk about its function and how it may have gotten its name.

Be playful. Make up a riddle to encourage interest in and enthusiasm for words. For example, “What do we call that round yummy circle that tastes good with milk? Right! A cookie.” Then have your child make up his own riddle for you to guess.

Words = Fun!

My Word!

Help build your preschooler's vocabulary by emphasizing the names for things. For example, if you pass a dump truck, talk about the function of the truck and how it may have gotten its name. Be playful. Make up a riddle to encourage interest in and enthusiasm for words. For example, “What do we call that round yummy circle that tastes good with milk? Right! A cookie.” Then have your child make her own riddle for you to guess.

Label It

Invest in some index cards and neatly print out the names for things around your home--clock, table, door, stove, and so on. Tape the cards to the objects, and read them aloud to your preschooler. Soon he will be reading them to you and to anyone who will listen. Start with just a few and gradually add more. You preschooler will be proud of all the words he can read.