How To Develop Reading Skills In Children

Reading difficulties can be prevented during early childhood. When introduced at an early age, reading skills can be achieved without much difficulty. Early intervention can prevent future reading difficulties in children. It is crucial that parents introduce reading to their children as early as possible – especially when they suspect that their children needs extra help in development.

Here are some tips on how to help children develop good reading skills at an early age:

* Introduce reading as an enjoyable activity. It should be highly motivating and not stressful for the children. Games and surprises should be part of reading activities. Children will be interested with something fun and enjoyable. When you introduce reading as simply a task that they should do because they have to, don’t expect any positive result.

* Parents should choose books and reading materials that are highly interesting, colourful and easy to understand. The choice of books should depend on the ability and age of the child. It should be something which they can relate to. Books should be written in big letters and with images.

* Children should be guided in learning the connection between spoken and written words. Strengthen word recognition to avoid problems with reading comprehension at the later stage of learning and reading.

* Allow the children to read more or you can read for them. A better reader is one who reads more. Fluency in the recognition of words can be achieved through constant reading.

* Introduce alphabetic principles. Let the children understand that words are formed by letters of the alphabet. Mastering the alphabet makes reading an easy task later on. Children should be guided to achieve familiarity of the alphabet and the sounds they represent.

* When children are already able to read independently, let them read on their own. It helps them develop their own reading strategies that will make reading and comprehension a lot easier for them.

When developing reading skills in young children, remember the principle of motivation. To encourage children to read at an early age, you need excellent motivational strategies. They will read when motivated.

It may seem to be a challenging task to teach children to develop reading skills at an early age; however, it will all be worth it. Early intervention in reading prevents future problems with reading. More adolescents today are facing reading difficulties. It could have been avoided if early reading intervention was done during their early grades.


With seventeen children's books currently in print, and with sixteen new books to be published in 2007, Marie Dunleavy is an accomplished children's books author. Her books and associated resources were originally developed for a differently abled child in her own family but are now used for children with special needs in classrooms in U.K. and Ireland. For more information about the resources, please visit http://www.pops-resources.com

Home School VS. Public School

"Each day, more than 1,200 young men and women give up on their high school education, and, in many cases, on themselves" - so says the AdCouncil. Each day, 1,200 young men and women are becoming a burden to society. In a report done in March of 2006 for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it was found that one third of all Public High School students failed to graduate with less then 2 years to go. Nearly one half of those were blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Many students gave personal reasons for leaving school. A third (32 percent) said they had to get a job and make money; 26 percent said they became a parent; and 22 percent said they had to care for a family member. At the end of this article I will show you where to get the rest of this disturbing report.

I am not a fan of the public school system. Not with numbers like... the nationwide grand mean in reading for home schoolers was at the 79th percentile, and the 73rd percentile for language and math. This ranking means home school students performed better than approximately 77% of the sample population on whom the test was normed. Nearly 80% of home schooled children achieve individual scores above the national average and 54.7% of the 16,000 home schoolers achieved individual scores in the top quarter of the population, more than double the number of conventional school students who score in the top quarter.

Facts are facts, but commons sense dictates that the public schools just do not work. They keep throughing money at the problem, working on self esteem and incentives while passing out condoms. They took out morals and replaced it with acceptance. They took out accountability and replaced it with food stamps. That's what the government gives in return for your tax dollars. Not to mention the NEA. They are a force in Washington that would rival the IRS. Just mention the word 'school vouchers' and red flags go up while the race cards come down.

Point being that this great country does allow us a means to avoid the peer pressure filled, barb wire lined, police patrolling institutions we call public education. The number of home schools is rising every year, and with that are SAT test scores. The fact that nearly all home schools are Christian based is reason enough to go this route. But even if you took that out of the equation you would be left with flexible schedules, like going year round and taking a week off anytime you like. One on one training and tutoring, a nurturing environment as apposed to one that requires self defense as part of the curriculum.

It is easy to realize that the home school beats public school, and even private schools for that matter. One must consider the time it would take to pursue such a task though, along with the cost. I have found places that get the process rolling for a $75 Registration fee, $25 processing fee, and then $500 - $750 per child, depending on the number of children. These organizations will provide proper paperwork, curriculum's, planners, schedules and support to keep it in line with all the various state laws that apply.

For those interested in many more statistics and getting further details on home schools, a good starting point would be at http://www.wulliebull2.com/homeschool . Included is a fun read call "The Teachers Interview", which will need no explanation.

Brandon McVey