As a parent, you have a key role in developing your child ‘s interest in reading and writing . A child who loves to read and write has a head start when it comes to learning or studying. Speech therapist’s word ! And this pleasure of reading and writing is maintained over time, because learning to read is not always a piece of cake, it will be necessary to redouble our vigilance and originality to maintain this flame in the future. entry to school and throughout the school career . The key to success: fun!
Here are my ideas for reading and writing activities to entertain your children, as well as a favorite selection of children’s books that i received as gifts from publishing houses:
1- Expose your child when you read or write on a daily basis. For example, while you write your grocery list or a message on the fridge, or while you read the newspaper or a cookbook.
2- Verbalize your pleasure before, during and after reading by telling him that you can’t wait to read a new book, that you find the story funny or why you liked reading the story. Get inspired by the book “Le bon petit livre” which features this book that all children want to read and which transforms the lives of the people it meets.
Or the children’s album “Tom and the lost book” which tells the story of a rabbit who did not like reading, but who discovers, thanks to a lost book, that books can make him live owls adventures.
3- Choose books according to your child’s interests and reading level or let him choose by guiding him. A recipe book for a future chef, a comic strip for a born illustrator, everything is allowed to develop a taste for reading.
4- Have fun creating a comic strip with photos of the family (use post-its to create speech bubbles and write your dialogue), as in “The secret investigation of the alley” which offers a story illustrated by photos of children and adults taken in the alleys of Verdun in Montreal.
5- Allow your child to occasionally use the computer to write dictation or text for school.
6- Read together instructions for an activity (a game, a building plan or a recipe) as in “Lego Engineer 11 machines to build” which mixes the kingdom of Lego with pieces to experiment and plans to make with instructions In words and pictures.
7- Write everywhere in the sand, on boards or on windows. Use fluorescent, bright, dry-erase pens (for unusual surfaces).
8- Draw with the child what he has understood from the text. Create a picture book from your child’s favorite story.
9- Build a tent with sheets, blankets and cushions to discover new books as a family.
10- Do research on a subject chosen by your child and compose a funny or true story together, as in Mammoth rock, which presents a student’s presentation on the incredible imaginary prehistoric animal: the mammoth rock.
11- Take control of a book. Interrupt the story and invent your own ending like in the book “The Perilous Adventure of the Little Critter” in which the author loses control of his story at the hands of the little critter who has his head full of ideas.
12- Write a letter to a family member and read together the response you will receive in the mail. Get inspired by the adorable and so original children’s album “Dear Dragon” which offers a story enhanced by 5 real letters received by the character which are hidden in the book.
13- Have fun writing and collecting words on the fridge like the main character in “The Word Collector”, a curious and enthusiastic young man who writes words of all kinds on papers to keep them preciously.
14-Do not hesitate to read to your child for pleasure, even when he already knows how to read. Discover here all the advantages of doing so.
15-Participate in story hours to discover new books and new storytellers. You may discover “The Books of Madame Sacoche” and her contagious taste for reading.