READ TO SUCCEED | Child Day Care

Without a doubt, reading with children spells success for early literacy.  From several decades of research, we have learned a lot about how children learn to read and write.  This research tells us that to become skilled and confident readers over time, young children need lots of opportunities to learn about print and books, learn about the sounds of spoken language, learn about the letters of the alphabet, listen to books read aloud and build spoken language by talking and listening.

The curriculum at Crème de la Crème preschool provides all of the opportunities listed above through the activities planned each day, the enrichment classes your child participates in and the components of the curriculum such as big books, books on tape, alphabet cards, oral language cards, small and large group discussions and other books and flannel board stories that are read each day.

Through reading aloud, providing print materials, and promoting positive attitudes about reading and writing, you too can have a powerful impact on your child’s literacy and learning.  Here are some simple strategies for creating strong readers:

• Invite your child to read with you everyday.
• Point to words as you read.  This will help your child know that reading goes from left to right and that the word said is the word seen.
• Read your child’s favorite book over and over.
• Read stories with rhyming words and repeated lines.  Invite your child to join in on these parts.   
• Discuss new words in the story.
• Stop and ask about the pictures and about what is happening in the story.
• Read a variety of children’s books, including fairy tales, song books, poems, and information books.

Children that have an environment at home and at school where they are read to and where they interact with adults about books usually become good readers.    Reading aloud is important because it helps children acquire the information and skills they need to succeed in school and in life.

INFANT ACTIVITY

Baby Talk

Babies love hearing your voice.  When you answer your child’s sounds with sounds of your own, she learns that what she “says” has meaning and is important to you.  Do things that interest your baby.  Vary your tone of voice, make funny faces, sing lullabies, and recite simple nursery rhymes.   One day those coos and gurgles will give way to words.

TODDLER ACTIVITY

Chatting with Children

Talking with your child helps develop language skills and lets him know that what he says is important.  When feeding, bathing, and dressing him, ask him to name or find different objects or clothing.  Point out colors, sizes, and shapes.

PRESCHOOL ACTIVITY

As Simple as ABC

Sharing the alphabet with your child helps her begin to recognize the shapes of letters and to link them with the sounds of spoken language.  She will soon learn the difference between the individual letters like “b”, “d” and “p”.   You can place alphabet magnets on your refrigerator or on another smooth, safe metal surface (cookie sheets works well).  Ask your child to name the letters she plays with and to say the words she may be trying to spell.  At first your child may just use one or two letters for her spelling (for example, Emily, nicknamed Em, uses the letter M).

SCHOOL-AGE ACTIVITY

A Home for My Books

Starting a home library for your child shows him how important books are.  Having books of his own in a special place boosts the chance that he will want to read even more, or chooses reading over other activities.  You can use a bookcase, cardboard box, or clear a shelf on one of the family bookshelves.  Help your child arrange the books in some order – his favorite books, books about animals, holiday books, or if your child is older, help him arrange the books alphabetically.

BECOMING A READER

Every step a child takes toward learning to read leads to another.  Bit by bit, the child builds the knowledge that is necessary for being a reader.  Over their first 6 years, most children:

v     Talk and listen.

v     Listen to stories read aloud.

v     Pretend to read.

v     Learn how to handle books.

v     Learn about print and how it works.

v     Identify letters by name and shape.

v     Identify separate sounds in spoken language.

v     Write with scribbles and drawing.

v     Connect single letters with the sounds they make.

v     Connect what they already know to what they hear read.

v     Predict what comes next in stories and poems.

v     Connect combinations of letters with sounds.

v     Recognize simple words in print.

v     Sum up what a story is about.

v     Write individual letters of the alphabet.

v     Write words.

v     Write simple sentences.

v     Read simple books.

v     Write to communicate.

Children can take more than one of these steps at the same time.  This list of steps gives you a general idea of how your child will progress toward reading.

SUGGESTED BOOKS TO READ YOUR CHILD

AGES 0-2

Baby Faces

DK Publishing

Farm Animals

Lucy Cousins

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Bill Martin, Jr.

Busy Bath

Brenda Saxton

AGES 3-4

The Snowy Day

Ezra Jack Keats

1, 2, 3 to the Zoo

Eric Carle

Read and Rise

Sandra Pinkney

The Kissing Hand

Audrey Penn

AGES 4-5

Will I Have a Friend?

Miriam Cohen

The Magic Rabbit

Richard Jesse Watson

My Five Senses

Aliki

Pancakes for Breakfast

Tomie dePaola

Please feel free to visit Crème de la Crème Pre School at CremeDeLaCreme.com or call 800 374 5715 to set up a tour today!

Other Crème de la Crème pre schools, childcares and daycares can be found in:

Greenwood Village CO,

Buckhead Atlanta GA,

Nesbit Ferry Alpharetta GA,

Marietta East Cobb GA, 

Haynes Bridge Alpharetta GA,

Peachtree Corners Norcross GA,

Sugarloaf Duluth GA,

Warrenville IL,

Westmont IL, Glenview IL,

Romeoville IL,

South Barrington IL,

Lincoln Park Chicago IL,

Leawood KS,

Mt. Laurel NJ,

Bridgewater NJ,

Mason OH,

Allen TX,

Colleyville TX,

Coppell TX,

Frisco TX,

Plano TX,

Sterling VA and

Woodbridge VA.

Crème de la Crème 8400 East Prentice Ave. Suite 1320, Greenwood Village, CO 80111