Reading
Reading with Your Child at Home
Reading at home is one of the most powerful ways you can support your child’s learning and development. It builds vocabulary, strengthens comprehension, and nurtures a lifelong love of books.
Here are some simple ways to make reading together enjoyable and effective:
📚 Make Reading Part of Your Daily Routine
Set aside a regular time each day to read together. Bedtime is a popular choice, but any quiet moment works well.
🗣 Talk About the Book
Ask questions before, during, and after reading. For example:
- “What do you think will happen next?”
- “Why do you think the character did that?”
- “What was your favourite part?”
This helps develop your child’s understanding and critical thinking.
🔤 Support Decoding and Fluency
When your child encounters an unfamiliar word, encourage them to:
- Look at the whole word and break it into smaller parts or syllables.
- Sound out each part slowly, blending the sounds together (e.g. “c-a-t” becomes “cat”)
If your child struggles with a sentence, gently guide them to re-read the whole sentence once the tricky word has been decoded. This helps build fluency and ensures they understand what they’ve read.
Re-reading favourite books or familiar texts is also a great way to improve fluency. It allows children to practise reading smoothly, with expression and confidence.
🔍 Explore a Variety of Texts
Encourage your child to read different types of books - stories, poems, non-fiction, comics, and even recipes or instructions. This broadens their experience and shows that reading is useful and fun.
❤️ Be Positive and Encouraging
Celebrate progress, no matter how small. A positive attitude towards reading makes a big difference.