Preschoolers’ Activities For Pre Reading Skills

We often grumble as to how children these days are growing up without having read much in their lives – we them reminisce about the time when we lapped up books, any book that we could lay our hands on, to the extent that our parents scolded us for neglecting course books. We read murder mysteries, romance novels like Mills and Boons (sigh!), which were neatly tucked into large sized textbooks to trick our parents. The fact remains that we were not given the option of turning to technology for any kind of information; in fact, technology almost threatens to put an end to the habit of reading books altogether. Thus, it is all the more imperative to develop reading habit in children early, say during preschool. However, preschoolers barely know how to distinguish one colour from the other. Thus, we need to get them into the habit of playing games and activities that will help them read faster. Here are some activities for preschoolers to help in developing reading skills.

 

Here are some activities that your preschooler should be involved in to be able to develop good reading habits: 

Memory
This game is an excellent way to teach the alphabet to a preschooler, without making it seem like ‘learning’ in the traditional sense. The cards are laid out in front of the child and he or she has to pick up a card with an alphabet on it. If the letter is in upper case, the child has to look for the lower case one and vice versa – for instance, if the child has picked up a card marked‘d’ then he has to look for one marked ‘D’. Do only a few letters at a time when you play, 6 to 10 cards are usually enough for each game. 

Dramatic Play
It allows preschoolers to explore oral and written language. Ideas and concepts which they have learned and are familiar with are no longer abstract and arbitrary but become real when they engage in dramatic plays. When they are surrounded by an enriched literacy environment, learning becomes natural as they can practice, experiment, and explore oral and written language. 

I’ve Heard That Song!
Play any familiar songs but sing each syllable backwards, for example, "Baa, baa black sheep, have you any wool" become "Aab, Aab kcalb peehs, evah uoy yna loow". When the preschoolers hear the familiar melody, they will recognize the song and the preschoolers find them humorous as they are sung in a funny manner giving them laughter and enjoyment. 

Read Aloud
Gift shops all over the world are chock-a-bloc with books that come with audio tapes or CDs in which the whole text is read out by personalities as famous as Naseeruddin Shah, Saeed Jaffery and sometimes even Big B! All your preschooler has to do is listen to the CD a few times and he or she will be able to mouth the exact words. Karadi tales – adventures of Karadi the bear – is one such example. 

Letter Hunt
Scavenger hunts can be a lot of fun and a great way to learn to recognize letters. Write the letters of the alphabet on 26 small notecards and place them all inside a small bag or hat. Have your preschoolers pull one card and begin a hunt for that letter. Food labels in the kitchen, books, signs, and billboards are some of the places where your child can find letters for the hunt.