BUILD UP a reading atmosphere at home. Have books, magazines, newspapers, etc. around the house. Let your child see you reading frequently. Tune in to thoughtful programs on the radio and television. Your child will tend to imitate his/her parents.- ENCOURAGE him/her to visit the public library. Take him/her to the library at first. Don’t tell him/her what books to select. If he/she is a poor reader, he/she may at first choose easy books. As he/she gains confidence, satisfaction and improves in reading he/she will choose more difficult books.
- BUY GAMES and PUZZLES for your child. These help your child learn shape and form and help him/her relate words to things. Anagrams, letter games scrabble and lotto will help him/her with his/her spelling and reading. Jigsaw puzzles help a child recognize shape, because the puzzle piece must be matched to fit a space.
- MAKE GAMES. You can make simple word games by cutting words from a magazine and asking your child to match there words to a picture. Make word cards for troublesome words (was, there, what, went, etc.) and play game with your child. How quickly can he/she learn the word and many word cards can be removed from the
pack because he/she really has learned them? What words should be added. - BUY BOOKS for your child. For birthdays and holidays, buy books when you can afford them. A child who owns a few good books is usually interested in reading. Try to get books at his/her reading grade levels so he/she can read these books with fun and pleasure. Buy children’s magazines too: “Children’s Digest” “Humpty Dumpty”.
- PRAISE your child. Remember, reading is a difficult task. Don’t forget to praise him/her when he/she succeeds. Don’t expect him/her to know the words when you tell it once or twice or even ten or twenty times. Some children need to see a word many more time than this.
- KEEP your child well and rested. A child who has stayed up late to watch television shows the effect next day in his/her schoolwork. Cooperate with the school nurse and doctor in correcting this vision or hearing or nutritional defects.
- GIVE your child responsibilities which he/she is capable of taking. This allows him/her to earn recognition and to get real satisfaction form accomplishments.