Apples, Preschoolers, and Reading

You are the best person to start your child on a path to reading. As parents and caregivers, you know your child better than anyone and have the best relationship with him or her. It can be a little intimidating, though, to think of taking on that responsibility. Don't worry! You're probably already doing lots of things that will help your child! I'm not talking about schemes to have your child reading by age 2. I'm just talking about some important skills that will have your child ready to learn to read when they get to kindergarten.

This is a fabulous time of year for outdoor activities, such as the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch! So let's talk about some activities you can do with your child, whether you're able to take advantage of the orchard or not!

Show your child different types of apples. How are they alike? How are they different? Do you think they taste the same? What do you think they look like inside? Cut open an apple and show him the seeds. Do you think all apples have the same number of seeds? Slice a couple of different kinds of apples to see and to taste. (May I recommend some caramel sauce to dip it into?)

Follow up with some books... maybe a non-fiction about apples and how they grow. Or stories about apples. Or a book with apple recipes. We'd be glad to help you find a good fit that you and your child can enjoy together.

One suggestion: Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo LeSeig (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss)

After you read this silly book together, see how many bean bags your child can balance on her head. No bean bags, no problem! You could use books or even a stuffed animal to practice that balance.

You've just gotten your child engaged in some important pre-literacy activities. The American Library Association's Every Child Ready to Read program identifies five types of activities as very important for developing a child's pre-reading skills. You've easily used some of those:

Playing: as your child balances those bean bags on his head, he's developing some coordination skills. And if he pretends he's a character in the book, he's working on those story telling skills as well.
Reading: as you read the books together, your child is developing a love of books, as well as learning how books work and that those funny marks on the page have meaning.
Talking: as you talk about the different types of apples and make predictions, you're developing story telling skills. And if you introduce new words, such as the names of the apples, you're introducing new vocabulary.

Enjoy some time reading with your preschooler this week!