Preschoolers and Early Reading Skills – 5 Easy Activities!

How Can You Help Your Pre-K Learn to Read? Easy!

There are many activities you and your child can do together to build pre-reading skills. These are skills your child will need to learn prior to learning to read in their school years.

Here are 5 easy activities to do together:

• Reading out loud to them - ask them questions about the story and what’s happening. Encourage their involvement in telling the story. This activity builds vocabulary and language skills. Your child is learning new words and more ways to communicate about the world around them. When reading, run your finger across the words as you say them, to help your child understand that you are reading the printed words in the book, not the pictures.


• Ask you child ‘where else do you see words?’ Cereal boxes, road or store signs, flyers, grocery lists, etc.


• Sing phonics songs such as the ABC song or BINGO (try changing the words to use your child’s name as the letters ~ ‘There is a boy who is so sweet and ___ is his name-o…’)


• Try sound games such as rhyming or ‘starts with.’ For example, find an object in the room, what does it start with, what sound, what other things do we see that start with the same sound? Or rhyme with the object.


• Make a rhyming basket with several small objects, or pictures, that rhyme. For example: Have 10 objects in pairs that rhyme (tree/bee; boat/coat, etc) have your child find the matches that rhyme.

The most important key is to focus on fun, togetherness and quality time!

If it becomes a chore for either of you this process with not be a positive one and can be detrimental to their eagerness learn and to reach reading milestones. You want your child to love to do these activities, not dread them. Take the pressure off of you both by just enjoying the activities and forgetting about the need to make your child ‘ready’ for school.

With your support and gentle, positive encouragement, they will be. J