When do kids start learning?

Have you ever thought when does your child start learning to read? Have you ever discussed with your spouse when is the best time to teach our child to read?
Your child starts learning since the time it is born. Reading is one way of communication and you communicate with your child daily. You talk to them; you sing to them, you recite religious verses and good habits to them, you are constantly teaching them the words, their meanings, the sounds.

The key to becoming a good reader is an early and varied exposure to language.
Learning to read for children begins from their ears and not eyes. The foundation for their success in reading is by talking to them, reading books to them and playing auditory games. The more books they read, the bigger their vocabulary becomes.

Tricks to keep up their interest in learning

A book is more than just a story; it’s a magical journey that takes the mind through the creative land of the writer. In addition, reading a book can stimulate the mind in more ways than watching a television program or playing a video game ever could. Yet, with the increase in cable network television, movies, video games and computer games, children are spending less and less time reading and more time getting lost in technology’s slush pile. Watching television has a significant effect on the interaction of family, reading, and schoolwork. Here are some ways help you get your child on the reading wagon.

Motivate him by exposing him to various forms of reading material on several topics such as fables, fairy tales, drawing, crafts and cartoons. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words! The image registers in their mind immediately. Get them books with pictures so that they feel interested in browsing the book and knowing more about the topic.

Allow your children to see you enjoying a book, newspaper or other reading material. Lead by example. Just simply give a short synopsis, even books you read as a child or in the past can make children want to read, “Oh I read this great book about…”

Share bedtime stories with your children nightly. Read as many fairy tales and creative stories as possible. Share stories trying voice modulations, giving a personal touch to them. Let them imagine or ask them to change the story-endings. This will make the story an intimate adventure for you and your child.
Make few visits to the library with your children. And you shall be pleased to see them running to you with a whole bunch of books they want to take home!

Don’t be irritated with the number of questions they ask! It shows the hunger to know more, explore more as their creative side of the mind gets active.
You should be calm and patient with the pace which your child learns. Encourage reading; don’t push it so hard that they entirely lose the interest in reading.

Engaging children with various learning styles

Learning styles are different ways in which children and adults learn best. We not only come from differing localities, abilities, cultures, and home experiences, but we inherently have different learning modalities. We possess varying combinations of these styles. Your own learning style also affects your interaction with children.

The four main modalities are:
•Visual-learn by watching and looking at pictures
•Auditory-learn by being told verbal instructions
•Kinesthetic-learn by being involved and active
•Tactile-learn by doing and handling materials

Most of us expect children to sit quietly and listen to stories. Many children are capable of doing this, but for others it can be a challenge. Say, while reading out stories plan ways in which you can engage the kinesthetic and tactile learners by way of some kind of acting, movement or touch. For instance, ask them how do you dance or walk and then act them out. Visual and auditory learners are engaged during the book reading and discussion.

Checklist for parents to know

1. Read regularly with your child, atleast 4-5 days a week.
2. Let your child browse through the book before attempting to read.
3. Have confidence in your child’s abilities and show them.
4. Gift them books on topics that interest them like boys enjoy knowing more about cars, bikes while girls may prefer more on dolls, etc.
5. Give them an opportunity to read in front of friendly people like Grandma, neighbour, uncle, aunt, etc. It will boost their confidence.
6. Don’t rush with them. Give them enough time to read or write.
7. Give your child opportunities to read and write. Such as letting your child write his/her name at the bottom of a letter or a card, shopping lists, etc.
8. Start with easy books to encourage your child and then move on to the tougher ones.
9. Don’t compare your child’s progress with other children too often. It might create inferiority complex and they may lose the interest in reading completely.