When should I start reading with my child and how do I go about it?

The best time for your child to start learning to read and write is when he or she is very young. This is when your child is best able to begin developing positive attitudes towards reading and writing as well as some fundamental reading and writing skills.

As your child begins to read and write, discuss your child’s ideas with him or her – rather than just talking about the techniques of reading and writing. Such discussion helps your child to understand what it really means to be able to read and write.

Learning to read and write does not happen all at once. It involves a number of stages that eventually lead to fluency and independence. The diagram that follows provides an overview of these stages in reading and writing.

Stages in Reading and Writing

1. Before he or she actually begins to read and write, the child:

learns about words by playing with blocks that have letters on them, looking at picture books, playing with magnetic letters, and so on learns about words from songs, rhymes, traffic signs, and logos on packages of food

learns how print works – for example, where a story starts and finishes and which way the print proceeds likes to look at books and to be read to begins to understand that his or her own thoughts can be put into print using pictures, symbols, and letters

begins to behave like a reader – for example, holds a book and pretends to read begins to behave like a writer – for example, holds a pencil and pretends to write

uses both pictures and memory to tell and retell a story

2. When he or she is first learning to read and write, the child:

becomes aware that people often tell stories or relate information using written materials shows interest in suggestions for reading begins to match written words to spoken words and to see relationships between sounds and letters

begins to experiment with reading, and is willing to try to say words out loud when reading finds the pictures helpful in understanding the words, and sees that the words convey a message consistent with the pictures

begins to experiment with writing – for example, uses pictures, writes sym- bols that resemble letters, writes groups of random letters, writes words using some real letters and puts spaces between the words understands that illustrations and writing are different

3. As he or she learns to read and write some simple materials, the child:

shows more confidence in using a variety of methods, such as visual cues, to identify words in reading materials is able to adapt his or her reading to different types of reading materials

recognizes many words, knows how to make sense of the words, and is willing to try reading new things writes simple sentences, using real letters, proper space between words, and some punctuation – for example, periods and question marks

enjoys writing and shows interest in writing in different ways – for example, writes grocery lists, short messages, greeting cards, and labels begins to plan, revise, and edit simple pieces of writing

4. As a fluent reader and writer, the child:

uses a variety of methods to identify words and their meaning while reading connects ideas and experiences in books to his or her own knowledge and experience

is able to predict events in a story and to read a variety of materials sees reading and writing as good things to do, and reads and writes on his or her own initiative and for specific purposes begins to use a variety of strategies to spell words correctly uses a variety of types of sentences when writing (for example, statements and questions), and begins to organize sentences into paragraphs uses a range of strategies for planning, revising, editing, and publishing his or her own written materials

You are your child’s first and most important teacher. When you help your child learn to read, write, and think critically, you are opening the door to the rich world of learning.

For your child, learning to read can begin with listening to you reading stories and newspaper articles aloud. Before long, your child will show interest in reading stories and other materials on his or her own. It is very important to talk about the ideas in a book or magazine, to ask questions that encourage your child to think, and to let your child talk to you about his or her responses to what has been read.

Your child can learn how to read and write more easily with your help. With regular practice, he or she will develop fluency in both reading and writing. At the same time, your child will also learn to think critically about the stories or informational materials that he or she reads.

Families can incorporate literacy activities anywhere – developing literacy is not just what children do while at school. It is important that you look for opportunities for your child to learn wherever you are and whenever you can. Literacy is part of every day in some way, no matter what you are doing or where you are. Literacy skills are used in all kinds of situations – for example, when reading food labels, when talking with other children on the soccer field, when discussing a movie with the family, or when writing lists to be posted on the refrigerator.

It’s important for you to encourage your child and to show that you have confidence in him or her. Avoid comparing your child’s performance with that of other children. Remember that learning to read and write does not take place all at once. Also, learning to read and write is not always easy, and children need to know that everyone learns at different rates. Children learn to read and write over time with lots of practice and with support from parents and teachers.

Tip 1 | Talk With Your Child --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Talking to your child and encouraging him or her to talk to you are extremely important. Listening and speaking are a child’s introduction to language and literacy. Activities such as talking and singing will teach your child the sounds and structures of language, making it easier for him or her to learn to read and write.

Here are some things you can do to help your child build an appreciation for words and language:

Tell family stories about yourself, your child’s grandparents, and other relatives. Encourage your child to tell you about his or her day – about activities, sports, and games. Ask lots of questions so that your child knows you are interested in what

he or she is thinking about. Talk with your child as much as possible about things you are doing and thinking. Encourage your child to tell you what he or she thinks or feels. Don’t interrupt! Let your child find the words he or she wants to use. Sing songs, such as the alphabet song, and recite nursery rhymes, encouraging your child to join in. Play rhyming and riddle games.

Tip 2 | Make Reading and Writing Fun ------------------------------------------------------

Reading aloud to your child is the best way to get him or her interested in reading. Not only is it fun for the whole family, but it will also help your child to learn what reading is about. Encourage your child to write also. Here are some things you can do to help make reading and writing fun for your child:

Read all kinds of materials – stories, poems, informational books, magazines, newspaper articles, and comics. Read stories aloud with drama and excitement! Use different voices for dif- ferent characters in a story. Use your child’s name instead of a character’s name. Make puppets and use them to act out the story.

Re-read your child’s favourite stories as many times as your child wants to hear them, and choose books and authors that your child enjoys.

Read stories that have repetitive parts, and encourage your child to join in. Point to the words as you read them. This will help your child make the con- nection between the spoken words and the words on the page. Discuss the themes of a story, and ask questions about the characters. Ask questions that make your child think about what might happen next or what he or she might do in the same situation.

Discuss the main ideas in an informational piece, such as a newspaper article. Encourage relatives and friends to give your child books or other reading materials as gifts. Take your child to the local library. Look at CD-ROMs, videos, magazines, and the Internet, as well as books. Get a library card, which is free, so that he or she can borrow books.

Subscribe to a magazine for your child. He or she will love receiving mail! Write notes to your child on paper or by e-mail.

Encourage your child to write lists and to write cards or send e-mail messages to friends and relatives. Always remember to have fun. The more you enjoy yourself, the more your child will enjoy the experience.

Tip 3 | Read Every Day ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Children respond well to routine, and reading is something that you and your child can look forward to every day. By taking the time to read and to talk with your child, you are showing that this is important and fun to do.

Try to read with your child as often as possible. It is the most important thing you can do to help him or her learn at school. It will also allow you to spend high-quality time together and to develop a strong and healthy relationship that is built on sharing of ideas. Here are some ideas:

Start reading with your child when he or she is very young. Set aside a special time each day when you can give your full attention to reading with your child. Choose a comfortable spot to read, where you can be close to your child. Create a “reading area” there together. Choose many different books. If your child’s first language is not English, choose books both in English and in your child’s first language. A strong basis in a child’s first language makes it easier for him or her to learn a sec- ond or third language – in this case,

Vary the length of reading time depending on your child’s age, interests, and grade. For young children, several short sessions (of 10 minutes each) may be better than one long session (of 30 minutes). Read slowly so that your child can make a mental picture of what is hap- pening in the story.

Praise your child for talking about his or her ideas and asking questions. When you and your child are away from home, take along some books, maga- zines, and books-on-tape for your child to read and listen to. Even after your child has learned how to read, keep reading to him or her. By reading stories that will interest your child but are above his or her read- ing level, you can stretch your child’s understanding and keep alive the magic of sharing books together.

Tip 4 | Talk About Books--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Talking about the books you read is just as important as reading them! Talking with your child about a story or other book helps your child understand it and connect it to his or her own experience of life. It also helps enrich your child’s vocabulary with new words and phrases. Encourage your child to read infor- mational materials, such as children’s science magazines or websites. Talk about the materials with your child and ask plenty of questions.

Here are some ways to help your child learn the skills needed for comprehen- sion, reasoning, and critical thinking:

Ask your child what he or she would like to read about. Read and talk about your own favourite books from childhood.

Look at the cover and the title of a storybook with your child, and ask your child what he or she thinks might happen in the story. Encourage your child to ask questions and to make comments on the pictures and the story before, during, and after reading it.

Encourage your child to think critically about all books. Does he or she agree or disagree with the author? Why? Is the information accurate or not? Think out loud about a book as you read, and encourage your child to do the same. For example, ask “Does this make sense? Why or why not?”

Give your child time to think about the book, and then talk about it with him or her again a few days later.

Tip 5 | Listen to Your Child Read --------------------------------------------------------------------

As your child learns to read, it is very important to listen to him or her read aloud. Reading to you will give your child a chance to improve his or her read- ing skills with practice. By doing this, he or she will build confidence.

As you listen to your child, remember that your reactions are very important. Above all, listen without interrupting. Be enthusiastic and praise your child as often as you can. If possible, be specific with your praise so that your child will know what he or she is doing well. Finally, don’t forget to encourage your child to read on his or her own. Here are some tips:

Show your child that you are enjoying the book by showing interest and asking questions. Be patient. Allow your child time to figure out tricky words. Show your child how he or she can learn from mistakes.

Pick a time for reading when there will not be any interruptions. Make sure that your child selects books that aren’t too difficult. Don’t worry

if your child chooses books that are a little easier than the ones he or she reads at school. On the other hand, if your child chooses a book that is slightly above his or her grade level, praise your child for choosing it and be prepared to help where necessary. Your child will see that it is good to chal- lenge oneself.

Encourage your child to “listen” to his or her own reading. Listening will help him or her to hear mistakes and try to fix them. When your child is just beginning to read, you may want to “share” the read- ing. You can take turns, or try reading together.

After reading, talk about the story to make sure that your child understood it.

Is it normal for my son to have an imaginary friend?

It is now recognised that imaginary friends are often part of normal

development.  Young children with imaginary friends are often described as

sociable, imaginative children who love stories and pretend play. They enjoy 

playing with friends and at times when friends are not available, they call on

their imaginary friends for entertainment.

Children also call on their imaginary friends when they feel upset about something

that has happened or about what some one has said to them.

One report indicated that nearly half of Greek children have had imaginary friends

So firstly don't worry, your child is not only normal, he is also very creative. His burgeoning imagination fuels this wonderful fictitious creation, someone who accompanies him as he explores the world. Its one-way children learn to make distinctions between good and bad. For example, your child may blame his “friend” for any misdeeds, saying "George" made him spill the milk or pull his books off the shelves. Take his explanation at face value and help him clean up, but gently remind him of the rules of the house. Try not to make a big deal about it when he mentions his buddy. That means neither contradicting him (“Oh, come on, stop pretending!”) nor grilling him about it, nor expanding on it by pretending to meet or talk to his invisible pal. There's no reason to make him feel funny about talking to someone who doesn't exist, but if you go all out and incorporate his friend into your world, then you'll likely have his pal hanging around for a long time.

In the meantime, let him enjoy the company of his friend; he'll soon grow out of this common childhood phase.

Do update with the teacher at school, to make sure this behavior is not interfering with his schoolwork.  Your son could also be using his interactions with invisible friends to test his teacher’s reactions to behaviour that might be disapproved of, so again keep in touch with the teacher thus helping him learn to regulate his behaviour.  Keep in mind imaginary friends also enabled children to cope with new life events like moving house or going on holiday. Has something changed at home?

Above all, it just shows how imaginative children are, which is something we should be pleased about.

How can I help my first grader improve her spelling

We all know how tedious, and most of the time, boring it can be writing out, spelling words over and over again. They can be helpful, but in my opinion for a first grader it is oftentimes very hard for your daughter to pay attention while they are doing it. Studies have shown that children learn much faster, and retain the information much easier, when they are engaged in what they are doing.

Tips to help you help better your daughters spelling:

·       Be proactive in you’re daughters spelling by keeping track of problem words and focus on them.  This one simple method will boost your daughters learning of spelling by 90%! To do this right you need to be proactive in how your child learns spelling. Keep two different lists. One with the words she struggle with and one with those she knows. The problem words should be studied, but there are different ways to learn them. Use these words in conversations, in notes to each other, in a word scavenger hunt, or by simply having “pop” tests on them for snacks! Make learning fun!

·       Give your daughter a massive boost of both self-confidence and mastery of spelling with lots of reassurance.  Motivation is perhaps most important, children are far more likely to improve their spelling when the experience is fun, engaging, and interesting.  You can see your child improving and they can see it too. The result is a deep sense of satisfaction for everyone involved.  Your daughter will see her improvement, and feel motivated, confident, and happy. And as a parent you will feel proud!

           

·      Studies show that the more information a child is given on a word, and the more they process it’s meaning, the better they will remember it.  So taking this into account you should encourage deep processing by providing a wealth of information about words, such as encyclopedic content, rhymes, visualisation, words searches, hangman, word puzzles, there are many online interactive junior crosswords and flash cards.

·       Operant Conditioning.  This means that the child learns much faster when they are rewarded for the desired result.  Reward your daughter for her progress.  You can do this in a number of ways and she will gain a long-term sense of achievement.

·     Watch and listen to your daughter when she reads and writes. Does she know the names of many letters of the alphabet? Does she comment and ask about sounds in words that she see in books and elsewhere? If so, she may be ready for your reinforcing comments.

·     Encourage your daughter to try her own spellings. If your daughter knows the names of most of the letters of the alphabet, and you have heard her talk about sounds in words, then you should occasionally refuse to tell her how to spell a word. Say, "I think you can spell that word yourself.

·     Write with your child.  Be a good example for your daughter. When you are writing, your daughter will want to join in. Then you have opportunities to do the observing and give the support.

At her age learning to read there are some stages that are useful to know and will better prepare you in helping your little one.

Stages of Spelling

1. Pre-phonemic Spelling. Children scribble, form letters, and string letters together but with no awareness that letters represent phonemes or speech sounds. Children can, however, create meaningful messages through their exploration. Prephonemic spelling is typical of preschoolers and beginning kindergartners.

2. Early Phonemic Spelling. There is a limited attempt to represent phonemes with letters (i.e., using one or two letters for a word—"m" for "my" or "nt" for "night"). This stage is typical of many kindergartners and beginning first-grade children.

3. Phonetic Spelling. The child represents most phonemes, understands the concept of a word, but may not quite be reading fluently yet. Many ending kindergartners and beginning first- graders are at this stage.

4. Transitional spelling. In this stage, children are internalising information about spelling patterns. The words they write look like words. For example, the child may write "skool" for "school" and "happe" for "happy." Rules are not always employed correctly. With continued reading and writing practice, children integrate more spelling rules and patterns. This stage usually includes first through third-grade children.

5. Standard spelling. At this stage, children spell most words correctly. This stage usually occurs by the middle to the end of third grade or in fourth grade. Children are ready to learn to spell homonyms, contractions, and irregular spellings and to internalise the rules that govern spelling.

Stage 1 - Visual Memory and Spelling Memory

While visual memory, more specifically, "orthographic" memory - is vital for learning to spell, it doesn't work alone. Spelling memory - memory for letter sequences, is enhanced by a child's awareness of phonemes, or speech sounds. At more advanced levels, spelling memory draws on a child's knowledge of word structure, words' meaningful parts, a word's relationship to other words, and so on. Word knowledge builds systematically on other word knowledge. It's that cycle of success that teachers love to see developed: Learning begets learning.

Stage 2 - Pre-communicative Writing Stage

Most young children who are exposed to print in their homes spontaneously begin to experiment with writing. Although they may know the names of some letters, recognise letter forms, and realise that letters represent speech sounds, they may not understand what a word is or realise that print represents words and that spaces represent boundaries between them. Reading at this stage is "logographic," meaning that a child guesses at whole words based on their visual features.

Stage 3 - Semiphonetic Stage

After children have experimented with imitative writing and developed an awareness of alphabet letter names, a shift occurs. They begin to realise that letters represent speech sounds, and selectively and predictably use abbreviated spellings.

For example, a child may use a few letters, usually consonants, to represent words, syllables, initial letters, or pieces of words. Often these consonants correspond to an alphabet letter name. At this stage, children may use their knowledge of letter names and partial phonetic cues to read, but their ability to identify and segment word sounds is still limited.

Stage 4 - Phonetic Spelling Stage

As children gain more knowledge of print and develop an awareness of speech sounds, sound-letter correspondences, and letter names, they often employ a "one letter spells one sound" strategy. This typically occurs in kindergarten and early first grade. At this point, children "spell" by matching sounds to letters and consistently representing all of a word's sounds. To do this they rely on how words feel in their mouths.

Widely known as "invented spelling" or "temporary spelling," this process means that children use phonetic spellings and letter names to represent long or short vowels and consonants. This stage is typical of five- and six-year-olds that are signaling their readiness to learn conventional spelling patterns. 

As children gain exposure to print, practice writing, and become even more aware of the sounds in words, they begin to recognise and recall larger orthographic patterns, or "chunks", and use them to spell other words. For example, a typical first grader's spellings of common words might change over a period of several months.

What do children need to know to move beyond temporary spellings? A lot! To progress, children must master letter combinations, spelling patterns, and ending rules. They must also master the phonic elements of consonants, vowels, consonant blends, and consonant digraphs -- and much more. When they move from early to transitional stages, they're on the way to learning the patterns and rules that make for good spelling.

Stage 4 - Transitional Spelling Stage

After children gain more experience with print, receive systematic instruction, and improve their reading ability, they begin to understand that most sounds are represented by letter combinations. They see that syllables are spelled in predictable ways and meaningful parts of words.

Stage 5 - Integration Stage

As students move from phonetic (sound) to syllabic (syllable) and morphemic (meaning) spelling, which typically occurs after the fourth grade, instruction should yield several things: Students should begin to consistently spell meaningful parts such as roots, prefixes, and suffixes. They should know that homophones, learned in meaningful phrases, demonstrate an important principle of Greek spelling - that the meaning of a word can determine how it is spelled.

Stage 6 - Middle Grades Stages

Students continue to develop their concepts of orthography and their ability to associate spelling patterns with speech patterns. As they learn more words and store more examples of common spelling patterns in their memory. They learn new words because they are associated in memory with words that share their patterns. This is why it's important to emphasise sound and spelling patterns: Although students must memorise many specific words, the more they are aware of the familiar letter sequences and repeated patterns in the writing system, the easier they can recall them.