Take a Book Walk

This approach to early reading is simply understanding what a book is. Kids need to learn how to hold a book, where the cover is, that the story goes left to right, etc. These are things that are so obvious, we might not even think to show our child.

I have walked into some homes with young children and noticed that there are no books anywhere within reach of the children. This makes me sad because I don't think these parents realize that making a mess with books is actually learning to read. What a funny thing to consider - a child pulling books off shelves is learning? Absolutely. This is a very "whole language" approach to teaching reading.

Strategy: Get books in your kids hands, early and often.


Kids should feel comfortable to approach a book shelf, pick out a book and look through the pages. Intuitively, your child will look through the pictures and begin to make up a story to go along with what they see.

Reading aloud to your child is important, but not the only important thing. At times, it's just as important to let your child tell you a story by looking at the pictures and figuring out what is going on. Try it out sometime - have your toddler pick a book, then sit together and allow her to "read" to you. Use prompting questions, like "what do you see here?" "I see something red, what do you see?" "where is the car?" These leading questions will encourage your child to use perceptive skills to decipher what is happening in this story.

Sometimes, I just let me son pull books off the shelf, surround himself with them, and look through them a few at a time. He holds the books in his hands, looks at the pictures, sees the print, deciphers colors, and in his mind puts a story line together.

Questions about this? Leave a comment/question below!