One More Time ..

Your child may favor one book and want it read night after night. This may be boring for parents, but keep in mind that a favorite story may speak to your child's interests or emotional needs. Be patient.  Continue to expose your child to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories.

Talking About Stories:

It's often a good idea to talk about a story you are reading, but do not feel compelled to talk about every story. Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. Sometimes children need time to think about stories they have read.

Which Books?

·        Ask friends, neighbors, and teachers to share the names of their favorite books.

·        Visit your public library and ask the librarian for help.

·        Look for award-winning books.

·        Check publications for their recommended books.

·        Repetition & rhyme books are excellent for kindergarten children as they are predictable.

Home is where the heart is . .  

It's no secret that activities at home are an important supplement to the classroom, but there's more to it than that. There are things that parents can give to children at home that classrooms cannot give.

Children who are read to grow to love books. Over the years, these children will have good memories to treasure. They remember stories that made them laugh and stories that made them cry. They remember sharing these times with someone they love, and they anticipate with joy the time when they will be able to read for themselves.

By reading aloud together, by being examples, and by doing other activities, parents are in a unique position to help children enjoy reading and see the value of it.

Journey Into

Reading

St. Monica's Home Reading Program
 for Kindergarten Children

Information for Parents

There is no more

important activity

for preparing your child

to succeed as a reader

than reading aloud together.

Prepared for St. Monica's parents by

Carol Vaage, Pat Opyr, & Michelle Bezubiak

(Kindergarten teachers)

Reasons to Read to Your Child:

·        When you hold them and give them this attention, they know you love them.

·        Reading to them will encourage them to become readers.

·        Children will grow to love books.

·        Reading books will stimulate their imagination and expand their understanding of the world.

·        It helps your child develop language and listening skills.

·        Reading books can enrich our minds.

·        Children's books today are so good that they are fun even for adults.

·        Children's books' illustrations can give children a lifelong feeling for good art.

·        Books are one way of passing on your moral values to them.

·        Every teacher and librarian your child encounters will thank you.

·        We relax and enjoy some precious leisure moments together.

·        For that small space of time, your child will stay clean and quiet.

·        They may then let you read in peace.

Think from a Child's Point of View:

Adults take so many things for granted. Does your child know. . .

·        There is a difference between words and pictures. Point to the print as you read aloud.

·        Words on a page have meaning, and that is what we learn to read.

·        Pages are turned by the corners.

·        Pages are read from left to right.

·        Words go across the page from left to right. Follow with your finger as you read.

·        Words on a page are made up of letters and are separated by a space.

·        Each letter has at least two forms: one for capital letters and one for small letters.

Characteristics of Readers at Different Stages:

Emergent Readers:

• understand that print contains a consistent message
• recognize some high-frequency words, names, and  simple words in context
• use pictures to predict meaning
• attend to left-to-right, top-to-bottom directionality and features of print like lines of text, words and letters
• can be prompted to check for accuracy and sense
• use prior knowledge and their own experiences to make meaning
• use repetitive story patterns and language to help with fluency and to support their efforts to attend to unknown words

Early Readers:

• recognize most high-frequency words and many simple words
• use pictures to confirm meaning
• can figure out most simple words using meaning, syntax, and phonics
• use known spelling patterns to figure out new words
• are becoming more skilled at monitoring, cross-checking, and self-correcting reading
• are gaining control of reading strategies
• use their own experiences and background knowledge to predict meaning
• can retell a story or recount things they've learned