Have you ever looked over and seen a preschooler reading a book and wondered why your child isn’t? The answer is simple: children all develop at different rates.
Some children in kindergarten are still wearing toddler sizes, while others are shopping with the big kids. Just like their bodies, children’s minds are growing at different rates too. Before you start a forced march towards literacy, see if your child is ready to learn to read.
Ear Touch
Your child’s body can give you clues about how his brain is developing. For example, an infant’s head is much larger proportionally than his arms and legs. As he grows, that proportion changes. One rule of thumb is to ask the child to reach over his head with his right hand and touch the top of his left ear. When he can touch his ear, he is ready to start learning. When his arms are too short to reach over his head, it’s still a little early.
Track My Finger
Another physical test is to ask her to track your finger as you move it from right to left. If her eyes jerk as he follows your finger, it means she hasn’t mastered control over her eye muscles. It will be difficult for her to follow a line of text.
Memory
In order to read, your child must be able to remember a series of letters. If your child can’t remember three things in series, it will be difficult to remember that “cat” is spelled c-a-t. So check your child’s memory by asking him what he did during the day, or what he ate for lunch. Ask him to re-tell a story that you just read together, or a story you read the day before. All of these activities help train his brain.
Interest
Any child that wants to read is ready to start learning. So if your child holds books, turns pages right to left or runs her fingers under the text from left to right, she is telling you something. She’s telling you she is ready to take that next step towards literacy.
Just remember, whenever your child learns to read is the right age for your child. Early readers aren’t necessarily smarter that late readers. Early reading doesn’t guarantee academic success. Don’t put pressure on yourself, or your child. Instead, enjoy stories and books with your little one. You will create memories that last a lifetime and encourage a lifelong love of books.