Journey Into Home Reading Program

The joy of reading is one of the finest gifts that you can give to your child. It is a gift that will last forever. We will be starting a home reading program this month. This will give you the opportunity to read with your child 10-15 minutes every evening. Your involvement in this program will help build a positive attitude toward reading. Your child will learn to enjoy books in a personal, loving atmosphere.

During book sharing time with your child, the book should not simply be read, but investigated together. There are practices outlined below that may assist you. They are also practices that we share together in our classroom.

• Examine the book - the cover and the back. Predict what the story is going to be about. Who wrote the book? Tell your child the name of the author for this book.

• Examine the pages of the book before actually reading it. Talk about the pictures on each page. Play an "I Spy" game having your child find things or count items on a page. The possibilities are endless. Ask lots of questions... "What do you think?"

• Proceed to read the book to your child, modeling reading skills such as tracking with your finger, using pictures to identify words and showing that we read from left to right.

• If your child feels confident, encourage him/her to read the story with you.

• After reading the book, talk about predictions. What did they think the book was about? Was their prediction true?

• Discuss the story. Ask questions about the characters and other details in the story. Check for understanding.

• Read the book again. Your child may join you or want to read it on their own.

The purpose of the program is for the students to familiarize themselves with books and not necessarily to learn how to read. We want to foster a love for books and reading. We want your child to experience success and enjoyment through reading. Therefore, it is important that you provide positive reinforcement for his/her efforts. We can do this with praise and encouragement. Please keep this experience positive!

One of the first steps in your child's journey into becoming a reader is "memorization." Encourage your child to tell the story, using pictures as cues, but please don't correct the words.

This should be a fun learning time for you and your child. Enjoy this time together. Please return the book when you are finished with it and then your child may choose another book. As the process continues, you may want to make links and comparisons between some of the books.

Have fun and enjoy reading with your child!

Kindergarten teachers