Reading, Recounting and Wow Words Sylva Fae
How to help improve your child’s reading and writing. I’ve always been an advocate of getting children reading from a young age. My earliest memories are of bedtime stories; first as an only child snuggled up with Mum, then later as big sister hanging over the top bunk to see the pictures. It was a magical time; those last special moments before I dozed off to sleep would feed my dreams with faraway lands and mystical beings, with fantastic adventures and a sense that anything was possible. I remember that feeling as I saw those black squiggles on paper. They were the magic, the secret door to enchanted worlds and I wanted nothing more than to learn how to read them.
a young age and have learnt to read and write quite effortlessly. All three have amazing imaginations, and like I did, they bring their story characters to life through their play. I know most of the credit lies with our fabulous primary teachers but I also know that giving them access to books and promoting a love of reading has played a huge part in their development.
Recently I went to parents evening at my daughters’ school. I came away a proud mum, but most of all because all three of the teachers spoke about how my girls excelled at literacy. They commented on the breadth of their vocabulary and understanding of the texts. One of the new teachers smiled and said, “We can always tell the children who’ve read at home from a young age.” Needless to say, I have given my children We chatted about the best ways to support reading at home to help my little a similar childhood filled with stories. ones progress from decoding readers, I have watched their progress with the who read the individual words but don’t pride of a mother and the interest of a teacher. Every parent sees their own child necessarily understand the whole text, to as a genius, and I am no different, but my fluent readers who gain meaning from whole sentences. Every child develops girls always surpassed their milestones at slightly different rates but as a rough with their speech and vocabulary, they guide, these are the milestones: were excited to learn their letters from - 14 -
