Simple Tips to Raise Early Readers

I have always loved reading from young. My mum would bring us to the library almost every Saturday without fail. Being surrounded with shelves after shelves of books, leafing through their pages and sniffing them (I’m sure you have done it before!) were some of the best memories of my childhood. In the same way, I desire to instill a love of reading in my boys and help them to become early readers!

Therefore, I was really excited to be invited to attend the Parents Forum of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC). AFCC is in its 7th run this year and it is a festival that celebrates children’s books and content, with a focus on Asian themes. Specifically, the Parents Forum seeks to equip parents with the know how to nurture young readers.

i attended the Parent’s talk not knowing what to expect, but I was blessed by what the speakers shared. First off, there was Hans Hans Hartung, a retired teacher and journalist from Germany, who shared his wide collection of pop-up books which were fascinating even for us adults! Practically everyone was oohing and ahhing over the moving parts and three-dimensional characters of the books!

He showed us how these “movable” books can act as toys to get kids hooked on books and stories. One of the books had zips on a pair of shorts, buttons on a shirt and Velcro on the straps of a shoe for children to manipulate with whilst developing their fine motor skills. It’s not difficult to DIY such a book with felt and glue. With a few strategic cuts and folds, pop-ups can be created too. No time? Just get some books with interactive elements from the bookstore, like Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell and Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill.

So, if you are wondering, how we can raise Early readers, here are some 7 quick tips to help kids read early:

Tip 1: Make it FUN!

Allan Menagh, General Manager of Kumon, spoke on how dads are as important as mums in raising book worms, and they can do more! Sitting on the couch reading the newspaper doesn’t count!

As a top executive of an organisation that helps children achieve academic excellence, he says that reading is not a skill that should be left to schools to teach. Instead, parents must start their children early as their most formative years are before primary school. As a father of two young boys, his tips are definitely achievable!

Tip 2: Read that 1st story to your child, as soon as possible!

He shared how he usually reads to his boys before bed time and it’s just 3 books in 10 minutes flat! His 3 books every night are 1 that is familiar, 1 that is a favourite and 1 that is new.

Tip 3: Make reading part of the daily routine

Tip 4: Switch it up and introduce new books regularly

And unless you have deep pockets to keep buying new books, bring your children to the library for an endless supply of free books at your disposal. A library card is one of the best gifts you can give your children (for free!)

Tip 5: Visit the library together

Dr Li Li, Research Associate, Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, NTU, shared her research findings on bilingualism. She noted a strong correlation between the home literacy environment and children’s language development and emphasised the importance of reading to children frequently prior to starting school.

A fresh insight she provided was parents can use the language their children are stronger in to help them acquire the corresponding term in the second language. For example, when reading a dual language book with full text translation in both English and Mandarin, read the story in the language the child is more familiar in to first understand it. Then, discuss the story, repeat sentences and point out the corresponding expression in the second language to help the child acquire new vocabulary.