The Steps to Fluent Reading

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Age-Appropriate Books for your Children

Many parents have a routine each night with their children. This routine may consist of a bath, tooth brushing and a bedtime story. Although most moms and dads simply use story time as a way to transition from the busyness of awake time to the quiet time of night rest, reading sessions are valuable for children for many other reasons.

Experts say that reading is vital to the success of a child's learning experience in school. They also say that children are capable of learning about the value of books and reading long before they can ever even recognize the letters of the alphabet. Even at the tender age of six months, books are valuable to an infant.

For older babies and toddlers, reading to them every day shows them how important and fun that reading can be. These children should have regular access to picture books, even if they are indestructible board books. Soon, parents will notice their children picking up books and looking at the pictures. At some point, children will pretend to read to themselves, siblings or their toys.

Books for preschoolers and toddlers should be bright and colorful with few Words. Rhyming schemes in the text can help the child learn to follow along as mom or dad read. Rhyme also develops a child's ear for language. Although parents may tire of reading the same story every single night for months, a child may find comfort in a familiar story. Eventually, the child may "read" memorized text back to parents, and soon he or she will learn to recognize short Words by sight.

When children start school and begin to learn to read on their own, sometimes they can be frustrated with the hard work that it takes to learn to read. Parents should be patient when listening to their children read. Reading should always be a happy, pleasant experience. Children can sense a parent's impatience, and they will be reluctant to read if they feel that mom and dad are annoyed by their reading attempts. Consistent practice is the only way for children to gain skill at reading.

After a child is able to read fluently, they will still need to hone their skills and increase their vocabularies by choosing more difficult books. Parents should frequent libraries and bookstores and allow their child to choose interesting books. Having a regular reading time each day will encourage kids to make reading a part of the daily routine.