Your Kindergartener

• Reading Can Be Fun

  She’s in bed with a book, and it’s right-side up. She’s looking at the words left to right, top to bottom. She knows that words are made of letters. She can break down some simple, three-letter words on her own.

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  What books does your child care provider have available? Does she offer options that support humor and varying interests, fostering a love of reading from an early age? “Quinn, you like giraffes. Do you want to read this book about zoo animals with me?” See if your provider offers fun books and lots of text to bring reading to life.

• I Understand What I Read!

  He listens intently to every word of the books you’re reading, especially when he’s excited about the story. He can answer most questions about what you read together, identifying key details and important elements like characters, setting and events. He enjoys reading with you!

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  Does your child care provider do read alouds with the children in his care? Does he engage children in the pictures and story? Look for programs that read out loud to the children and ask them questions, getting them excited about the story.

• I Can Break Down Words

  She can tackle short words like “sun,” “swim” and “jump” on her own, and she uses what she knows about the sounds letters make to break down other words, even if the word doesn’t sound quite right yet. She can chunk words into smaller parts, sound them out and blend them together somewhat successfully, pronouncing words she has never read before. Early kindergarten activities like rhyming and understanding syllables and differences in sounds help her build these skills.

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  Does your child care provider help children sound out words they don’t know? “You can sound it out, Miles. Let’s do it together.” Does he offer books with shorter words, too, that children can already read independently, giving them a sense of success?

• I Create My Own Stories

  He spells words as they sound, a natural part of the learning process, and may leave you a note saying, “I luv mie mom.” By the end of kindergarten, he’ll be writing sentences with a subject and verb, revising and adding pictures to narrate a simple story. He is on his way to a Jane Austen moment, one letter, one word, one simple sentence at a time.

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  Look for child care providers who encourage children to write, draw or dictate the stories they want to tell. Does the provider support children in this process? Does she ask questions to strengthen children’s writing? “What happens next, Maverick?”

• Pages of Giggles

  How do we help children develop a love of reading? Help them read what they want! If he’s interested in automobiles, pick up books about trucks, cars and buses at the local library. If he’s interested in baking, grab stories about cookies, pancakes and pies. And if you can, bring home books that will make him laugh. Children love reading the most when there’s a laugh or smile on every page. Bring joy to learning with books your child enjoys.

• You read, we read, I read

  Reading out loud to your children as often as you can is the most important thing you can do to help them be successful readers later in life. When children sit next to adults who care about them and hear stories they enjoy, they begin to like reading, and they develop literacy skills, too. Let your child hold the book and turn the pages. Give them parts to read, especially parts that repeat. Reading with your child is the best way to set them up as lifelong readers.

• Ask Questions

  “What happened to the cow?” “What do you think will happen next?” “What does this picture tell us?” Whether you’re reading aloud to your kindergartener or helping him explore on his own, ask questions about the text to increase his understanding of, and curiosity about, what he’s reading.