Help Your Child Become a Reader

by Christianne Meneses Jacobs

Welcome to Latin Baby Book Club! It is an honored for me to participate in this blog. I have two voracious book loving daughters, Isabelle (6 ½) and Katherine (2 ½).
The month after I received my Master’s Degree in Education, I became pregnant with Isabelle. It was a very exciting and challenging time, but I decided this new baby was going to be my little experiment: What would happen to a child that grows up without television and lots of books in a print rich environment? Would the baby become a book lover and a reader? I was definitely eager to find out. Therefore, my husband and I started reading to Isabelle from the time I was four months pregnant. We decided at that time that I was going to speak and read in Spanish and he was going to do the same in English. And so it began Isabelle’s love affair with the written word.

I read to Isabelle in the morning, during nursing, before taking a nap and at bedtime. My husband read to her in the morning and at bedtime. By the time she was three, I was frustrated by the lack of Spanish language literature for children. As a result, my husband and I created Iguana, the Spanish language magazine for children (www.IGUANAmagazine.com). Isabelle was our inspiration. At around the same time, we discovered that Isabelle had learned to read and write by herself. We were amazed that a three year old could read at kindergarten level.

Isabelle and her sister are surrounded by books, have bilingual labels around the house, have four magazine subscriptions (Highlights, HighFive, National Geographic for Kids and Ladybug) and of course, they love Iguana. Now that she is older, Isabelle watches one hour of television a week. Katherine is not interested in television yet. She prefers to look at the Sunday comics.

My husband and I are very pleased that our experiment continues to be a success. Isabelle has entered first grade reading at middle of second grade level. I am pleased to say that we are raising readers.

I tell you this story because I believe every child has the same potential as my girls. Every child is born to become a reader. We, as parents, can help them achieve that kind of success. Here are some ideas that you can start using at home:

1 Start sharing books with your children during infancy, as soon as they are born. They should have their own books and see their parents reading and writing.
2 Use different voices for the various characters in a book when you read to your children. Remember to read with expression.
3 Point to the words when reading. You help your child make the connection between the oral and the written language.
4 Read repetitive and predictable story lines to encourage confidence. Read books with rhyming words like The Cat in the Hat.
5 Put signs around the house (my famous bilingual labels).
6 Encourage your children to talk about the books they love.
7 Have educational toys like alphabet refrigerator magnets and make “word of the week”.
8 Pause to allow your children to make predictions about a story.
9 Make sure your children see you reading and enjoying a good book.
10 Most importantly, talk to your children. Vocabulary, language skills and knowledge about the world is acquired during conversations with parents.

I guarantee you that your children will be better prepared for kinder and be more successful in school if they are raised with books.

Good luck and have a great time!