Supporting your child’s reading and writing at home doesn’t require special programs or expensive materials. Small, intentional moments woven into everyday life can make a big difference. Check out this collection of easy-to-implement ideas that highlight how reading and writing can naturally fit into daily family life!
Supporting Your Child at Home with Reading
- Find a comfortable space where you and your child can sit together to read. Sitting side-by-side with your child creates a nurturing environment. It allows you to see the words if your child is reading to you, or them to see the words and pictures if you are reading to them.
- Having your child read to you doesn’t replace reading to them. You are able to read material at a higher level than your child is able to. This exposes them to a richer vocabulary which is critical for reading and school success.
- Make reading together part of a routine. It can be a nice way to wind down at the end of a busy day.
- If your child is reading and makes an error, don’t immediately rescue them by giving them the correct word. Allow them time to work it out on their own. Sometimes time is all they need.
- If your child needs support to figure a word out, try breaking it apart. Ask them to look at the letters. Are there any parts they know? What sounds do those parts make? Is the word like another word they know? Help them with parts that are beyond their current ability to figure out.
- Sometimes it’s okay to leave an error. If your child has worked hard at figuring out a few words and they happen to say “a” instead of “the,” it’s alright to let that pass for the time being. Eventually we will want to have them fix it up, but we don’t want to make the experience of reading with you unpleasant.
- Talk about the book/text together. Make this a conversation about it rather than an interrogation with many questions. Try saying things like, “I wonder why…”, “My favourite part way…”, or “I think…” and share your own thoughts.
- Share the reading. Try using my turn-your turn. Some books lend themselves to reading in parts, like The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
- Variety is the spice of life. Don’t limit reading to only books. There are great magazines for children available now. Try out poetry. Make sure to include nonfiction reading as this helps to build background knowledge for topics they might learn in school.
- Use your public library. In many places library cards are free. You don’t have to buy reading materials. You can have the world at your fingertips through public libraries.
Supporting Your Child at Home with Writing
- Create a time and space for writing. Is there a place for writing? It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to be functional.
- Provide a variety of writing tools–gel pens, pencil crayons, markers, fancy pencils, etc. Dollar stores are great places to find things like this.
- Provide a variety of paper to choose from. To do lists, note pads–big and small, notebooks, sticky notes, looseleaf, etc. Again, take advantage of what dollar stores have to offer.
- Encourage all kinds of writing–jokes, poems, cartoons, songs, plays… Lists are great because we make them all the time–grocery lists, to do lists, invitation lists, etc.
- Find a way for your child to share their writing. Something as simple as putting it up on the fridge with a magnet is great.
- Help your child figure out how to spell words. Encourage them to stretch the word out, writing the sounds and letter patterns they know. Help them with parts that are beyond their current spelling ability.
- Keep a family diary with different family members taking turns writing in it even a few times a week.
- Encourage your child to write letters, emails, even text messages. This is one way to show them how we use writing in our everyday lives.
Ask your child’s teacher for more ideas, book suggestions, or strategies to help your child.