Surprisingly easy ways to teach your 3 year old how to read

Learning how to read for the first time is an essential part of growing up. Reading would open a world of possibility for your child. The process of learning how to read at the age of 3 is something that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. It is important to make yourself a part of this learning process.

Make sure that your child associates reading time with fun and excitement. Reading and the process of learning to read is the most important building block in a child’s life. Not just for academia’s sake but this also determines their reading habits.

Teaching your 3-year-old how to read might seem like a daunting task initially but it does not have to be difficult. The easiest way to teach your 3-year-old to read is by making it a part of their playtime.  Do not contain the learning process within a strict schedule.

 Do not make learning how to read an isolated activity. Rather, make it a part of your child’s daily activity. Incorporate songs, rhymes, and fun little tasks to pique your child’s interest in reading. Buy colorful books and stationery to get them excited. Let us discuss some of the easiest ways to teach your 3 year old how to read.

Surprisingly easy ways to teach your 3 year old to read

Bedtime stories

The easiest way to get your toddler interested in reading is by giving them the taste of a good bedtime story. Read to them every day, not just at bedtime but whenever your child wants to hear a story. Eventually, they will want to be able to read on their own.

Use colorful picture books to read from. Point at the words while reading and help them connect the words with the pictures. Occasionally pause while reading to them and ask them what happens next. Let them try to read out the next section of the story or allow them to concoct a different version of the story from their memory, with reference to the pictures.

This will help them develop their imaginative power. It would also create a keen interest in them to be able to read their own book. 

Songs and Nursery Rhymes to Build Phonemic Awareness

Set a catchy tune to every spelling that you teach your toddler. Children’s memory can easily catch onto a tune and it also helps them develop phonemic awareness. Developing phonemic awareness essentially means teaching your 3 year old how to connect sounds with the letters. It also gives them the ability to manipulate words according to the sound and being able to spell them out with alphabets. Once the phonemic awareness is firmly cemented into your toddler’s developing brain, reading becomes much easier for them. 

The best way to develop this awareness is to sing rhymes or catchy songs while teaching the spellings to your toddlers. It can be a fun and delightful learning exercise for you and your child.

Play word games

As I have already suggested, do not limit the learning exercise to a planned schedule. Talk to your child whenever you can and play word games. Ask them to spell easy words and play along with them. You can keep scores for each win and reserve small rewards at the end of each game to make the game all the more exciting. You can play this game whenever they are idle, in the car, while waiting for a doctor’s appointment. Do not turn this game into a questioning exercise, rather keep it light and fun.

Labeling objects

Once your 3-year-old finally starts picking up new words, start labeling the objects at your home with a sticky note, for example, the door, window, pillow, an apple, and all the other common household items. By looking at these labels, your child will start picking up newer words with correct spellings effortlessly. From time to time, point at objects and ask them what that is.

Colorful books

Buy colorful picture books, hello and goodbye stories, bedtime stories, and picture books about animals. Read to them and then give them the book so that they can read on their own. Even if they cannot read all the words, they will learn to guess them from the pictures and their memory of the story.

With these books in their possession, they will also develop a sense of responsibility and will learn to take care of their own possessions.

Tracing letters

Make a fun game out of tracing letters and words. Several writing books are available in the market which helps them to learn and write alphabets. Eventually, the alphabets will graduate to easy, mono-syllable words and then full sentences. Then ask them to read out loud what they have written.  This not only develops their vocabulary, spelling knowledge but also starts crafting their handwriting style from an early age.

Letter Magnets

Get letter magnets and stick them to your child’s bedroom. You can also get refrigerator magnets. Ask your child to arrange them into 3 or 4 letter words. Play jumbles letters with them. This will give them a fun and exciting way to engage with the reading and writing process. It will also keep them occupied and seated in one place.

You may also prepare flashcards for your child to read from but some experts are of the opinion that flashcards encourage memorization from a very early age. You definitely want to avoid teaching your child how to memorize. So, do not use flashcards too frequently.

Technology – DVD, mobile apps and computer software

Finally, you can make use of all kinds of technological advancements that you may have at your disposal. You can buy a children’s DVD or download mobile apps or computer software. Only use them when you are present with your child. These will usually come with animated features, songs, and cartoon characters. Sometimes they even contain small tests to encourage your child to learn faster and make the learning process all the more exciting. Do not use technology too often to teach them how to read, as it might get them addicted to the TV or computer screen from an early age.

These are some of the surprisingly easy ways to teach your 3 year old how to read. It should not take a lot of effort on your end but definitely be patient. Remember, every child is unique and has their own way of learning and developing. Do not force them into learning and allow them their own space and time. 

Some of the key points to give your attention to while teaching your child how to read are:

• Their Phonemic awareness
• Their ability to take care of their books and to handle them properly
• Their newly developing vocabularies
• Their ability to recognize pictures with words
• Their ability to comprehend the meaning of the words they are reading. If they do not understand what they are reading, they will lose interest quickly.
• Finally, their pronunciation and fluency of the language that comes with reading.

With all these in mind, be sure to make reading fun for your 3 year old. Have conversations with them about what they are reading or looking at in their picture book. Soon, your 3-year-old will be reading like an avid reader!