Have you ever met a very young child who can read or even write? Have you wondered what technique was used for such a young child? Can you remember when you started reading and writing? Is it their IQ or someone took time to teach them?
Gone are the days in which we believe children should be left to educators. In this article I will introduce you to phonics so that you can help your children in their journey to literacy. Phonics is a skill used by most educators to teach children to read and write by decoding letters by their sounds. A child should be able to listen, hear, identify and decode phonemes. There are about 44 phonemes which can be decoded in 120 ways.
Why Teach Your Child To Read And Write At An Early Age
Teaching your child to read and write is one aspect of life that is rewarding. Children that learn to read at an early age are exposed to a vast amount of knowledge. (Have a look at Priyanka’s 15 Tips On How To Raise A Reader)
When children are young they grasp information easily since their brain is still building up. For example it’s easier for them to learn a new language than when they are older. How satisfying will it be if you can save the life of a child because they can read? Imagine you mistakenly put up a dangerous object and because your child can read, the object was written do not eat and they did not attempt to eat it. There is a Proverb that says train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
How Can I Teach Phonics?
The most important thing to note is the language the child uses, phonics are used in the English language. It’s very important to have at least one language that your child can master speaking, writing and reading. If English is the one used by your child and you are interested in seeing them read and write, try phonics. Like I have said in the beginning children have to recognize letters by sounds.
What Do I Need To Teach My Child?
You will need to learn letters by their sounds and objects that represent the letters. Flash cards are also important to use. For example just draw an apple and write letter “a”. Be patient with your child, make learning fun. Even during your daily activities together notice an object relating to sound “a” and say it to your child.
How Long Will It Take For My Child To Read And Write?
It will depend on consistency and the eagerness on both the child and the teacher. Some children learn faster, some are slower. Don’t give up. Children’s brains absorb information quickly.
How Practical Are Phonics? This Is My Experience
Phonics are very practical. I introduced my son to phonics at around 1.7 years by the time he was 1.9 months he could only recognize letters phonetically. He could only do “a” going “ah”. He also managed to learn alphabets by symbols on his own. This confused him and we let him be. At 2.5 years he could sing his A, B, C, fast forward he is 2.7 years now he can recognize a lot of letters phonetically. We haven’t yet started combination of letters for him to start reading. There have also been some inconsistency in reading to him. (You can read more about why I decided to keep my child at home until primary here.)
We would like him to master all the letters phonetically then we can start combination. By combination I mean him managing to say “a” and “n” and he will read “an”.
I believe you can have fun helping teach your child to read and write. Oxford Owl is a great source of information. Have you managed to help your child with phonics? Please leave a comment and share your experience.
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2 Comments
Great post! My child was an early reader. He was reading without anyone else when he completed prekindergarten.
He went through about fourteen days in kindergarten before the school educated us that since he was reading so easily, they needed to propel him to initially grade.
How could we do this? As others have stated, I read to my kid as often as possible. Books are constantly present in our home.
My significant other and I both love reading and composing, so we read to him continually, including books that outlined the letters of the letter set, so he took in his letters and how they functioned.
But most importantly I definitely think that every parent needs to check out “TeachYourChild2ReadQuickly.com” if you’re serious about giving your children a head start in life.
Good luck!
Jenna
Mother of 2
KY
Nice read.. i feel empowered ?