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Reading to your children every day has so many benefits! But it’s something many of us forget to do when our schedules get so busy. Here is list of just some of the benefits of reading:

1. When children have a home library, as few as 20 books of their own at home (think: one bookshelf full), they achieve three more years of schooling than children who don’t have any books at home.

2. If you read for 20 minutes a day with your child, you’ll read 1,800,000 words per year, which increases their vocabulary.

3. Children who had low levels of parent-child book reading across early childhood were two and a half times more likely to have poor vocabulary later on in life.

So remember to read daily!

Some strategies I love to use with my children and students when learning how to read new words include: 

  1. Eagle Eye: Look at the picture (for clues)
  2. Stretchy Snake: Stretch out the word (sound out each letter)
  3. Chunky Monkey: Chunk out the word (into syllables or sound parts)
  4. Meaning Bird: Ask if it makes sense (based on the pictures and with what the story is about)
  5. Skippy Frog: Skip the word (in the sentence and the right word may come to you)

The article, “The Secret to Teaching Students How to Decode” by Melissa of The Reading Roundup, gets into a lot of great detail and has cute visuals you can use to teach these strategies to your children.

We have had great success using these strategies and have seen measurable gains in all our students’ reading levels.

Make reading a priority in your day! It’s a great way to slow down and connect with your kids! 

Heather Harris-DeMelo

Teacher

Heather is an Alberta Certified Teacher with 5 years of experience teaching in public school boards. She offers Private Day Home and Education services through Tracing Talent. Contact her today to set up a meeting to discuss the care and education needs of your child!