The Early Years

You are your child's first teacher. 

Your home is his or her first school.

Talk to your Child

Reading and writing are part of language.  Teach your child language by talking to him or her.  Children must be able to speak in whole sentences if they are to be competent in reading and writing. 

Children learn by copying.  Be a role model.  Speak clearly and pronounce words carefully.  Talk to your child about what you see when you are together.

Teach the names of the days of the week and the months of the year.  Explain how things work.  Find out yourself if you don't know (no parent can know everything).  Stimulate your child's mind and develop thinking with simple family games, word games, guessing games, riddles and rhyming words.

Watching too much television may prevent your child from developing the important ability to make pictures in his or her mind's eye while reading.  Television also does not give children the chance to speak and express themselves clearly and thoughtfully.

Reading to your child helps him or her to learn language.  Choose books your child enjoys.  When you read to him or her, talk about the pictures in the book.   Don't read books which frighten.  If your child wants you to read the same book over and over, that is all right.  Eventually he or she will move on to other books.

• You want your child to feel he or she can learn.

• Teach him or her simple things yourself.

• Teach only one thing at a time.

• Teach only what is easy for your child.

• Teach for only a few minutes.  Then stop teaching for awhile.

• If your child has difficulty, stop teaching and try again another time.

• When your child learns what you have taught, give him or her praise.

• Don't be concerned if your child forgets what you have "taught".  Teach it again and eventually your child will remember.