Reading Games For Kids

The ability to read is one of the most vital ways to explore, interpret and be a part of the world around us. It is also one of the most pleasant and rewarding activities in its own right because it encourages one's imagination and creative abilities to develop and flourish. So, as parents, we should recognize the importance of ensuring our kids not only acquire the skill to read, but actively enjoy the process.

ds reading games

Many parents assume kids will learn to read once they are in school. But parents are the very first teachers. Enjoying words together every day, in addition to reading stories before bedtime are excellent ways to encourage a subconscious interest in phenomes. A phenome is a sound and there are some 41 in the English language which, when put together, make words. For example, there are two phenomes in the word 'go' (g-o), three phenomes in 'check' (ch-e-ck) and four in 'stop (s-t-o-p). Phenomes are the first building blocks on the way to proficient and fluent reading and, for about a decade, phonemic awareness has been the way in which students have been taught to read.

READING GAMES

As parents, how can we assist our kids to subconsciously develop word skills, especially when we have most likely forgotten how we learned to read, all those years ago? One way is to take the first letter of the child's name and to find everyday objects which begin with the same letter or sound. For example, my daughter's name is Sarah, and well before she started school, she knew that shoes and socks begin with the letter 'S'. She could also recognize that each of the words has a different sound and was able to give me other words which begin with 'sh' such as 'shop'. It was not long before we began to make up funny tongue twisters using the letter 'S'. 'Sarah slipped sipping sticky strawberry syrup' made us giggle as we thought about the mess. It was an easy progression to begin to enjoy simple rhymes using word sounds.

When your child starts school, there are plenty of ways in which you can continue to play a part in reading and writing activities. I used to ask Sarah to write my grocery lists before we went shopping together and always encouraged her to send 'thank you' notes following birthday presents. I also bought her a dictionary, which probably sounds somewhat old-fashioned, but worked really well. Together, we would look up new words which Sarah had come across during the day. Her vocabulary inevitably improved and she could understand the need for consistency in spelling.

By the time Sarah was in second grade she loved reading alone and, often when we were eating, would tell the family about the exploits of characters in a book she was currently enjoying. By the third grade she employed a wide vocabulary in everyday conversation and was able to comprehend and construct relatively complex arguments.

Sarah has, of course, been adept at using computers from an early age. There are a number of websites which specialize in interactive literacy games with built-in rewards which are great for kids who want to work independently. Overall, by using simple techniques when she was young and then building on study carried out at school, I feel confident that my daughter will always enjoy reading.

Reading Games For Kids

Hannah McCarthy is Marketing Executive for Education City, a leading supplier of eLearning software in the US. Used in over 3,000 American schools, Education City's Language Arts module comprises over 300 smartboard lessons, which include a wide variety of reading, phonics, vocabulary activities, games.

READING GAMES