OCR Text |
Show C"OUR-YEAR-OLD Donald has - always loved listening to phonograph phono-graph music. One day recently he noticed the label on a record. "Wht dees that say?" he asked, pointing to the title letters. His mother told him that was the name of the record. With the light of discovery in his eyes, Don picked up each record in turn, announcing "And this is the name of this record," rec-ord," (he pointed a chubby finger at the title) "and this is the name of this one." Then he noticed the letters on the record album and wanted to know what they said. Now he's curious about the printing print-ing on cereal boxes, in magazines and bookj. His mother wonders if she ought to try to help him learn to read. He'll enter kindergarten this fall, and the teacher will, of course, take up the main job of teaching him to read. Most teachers welcome sound parenta help. In Donald's ease, it is advisable for his mother to begin reading work with him because now is the time he seems to want it. When a child expresses a desire to learn a skill, the time is ripe for teaching. The best time to teach reading differs with each child. Donald is showing readiness readi-ness earlier than most boys, who usually develop this interest in-terest later than do girls. Methods of teaching reading change through the years. The ABC method has yielded to the phonetic method and the "look and say" method in turn. If your child is already receiving formal reading instruction in school it will be well to discuss his reading with his teacher and follow her suggestions. With a younger child, if you have found happiness and satisfaction in helping him learn to walk &t4 talk you will be able to tune yourself your-self to his growth and in the same pleasant way help him to see meaning in words. You are pretty sure of success if it is fun for your youngster and you. After picture books, you can supply your child with books which have a sequence of pictures pic-tures telling a story. They help a child's eyes get used to moving mov-ing from left to right. When he begins to read tell him that we read in this direction. Sweep . your hand under the line from left to right. Simple story books, with pictures giving a clue to the words underneath will probably interest the child next. Large print, of course, is best for young eyes. And capital letters are the ones children learn first. Nouns will probably be remembered remem-bered best, while the words that seem simplest 1 to adults the, a, was, and, but, for, than are the ones which confuse children the most. Here's where your patience and good humor are needed. No matter how many times he miscalls mis-calls a simple word like "the," don't scold. Nor is there cause for alarm if he says "was" for "saw" etc. because many children see words backwards until they are eight or nine years old. As your child progresses to more advanced reading, don't take away his "baby books." Going back to them, finding how easily he can read their stories, will give a child his first ider of what reading is meant to be-a key that opens treasure filled storehouses, magically, magi-cally, easily, rewardmgly. |