At some point, it feels like a decision was made making it vitally important for a child to be reading by the time they graduate Kindergarten. I’m not sure when this meeting was held, or who attended, all I know is that the message got out and infiltrated the minds of parents and educators alike.
I see programs pushing children to start memorizing the configuration of letters in infancy. Parents reportedly spending an hour each day working on these programs. For the life of me, I cannot understand why. There are only so many hours in a day to explore the world, establish background knowledge, build social emotional skills, and work on fine and gross motor development. What on Earth is prompting these parents to spend that time drilling their children?
My guess is fear. That ugly driver who takes all of us parents to the worst possible places.
And to a certain extent, I get it. The system that we have set up places reading skills at a premium, and makes it difficult for those who don’t do as well absorbing information through reading. Good readers do better on tests. Good readers are better writers and speakers.
So it makes sense that we all want to develop good readers, or even better, phenomenal readers. I believe that we should help each child reach his or her full reading potential. How we get there however, makes a big difference.
Slow to Read
My classroom saw readers spread out across the bell-shaped curve. Entering second grade, there was a student who could decode books meant for a high schooler. There were a handful of exceptional readers who could read a few grades ahead. And there were students who were still struggling to break the code.
One of those students was a whip-smart, curious girl who was a strong leader in and out of the classroom. She had oodles of confidence that pushed her forward in all areas except for reading. When reading time came around, she was insecure, anxious, and sad. At the start of the year, she would make attempts to help out around the class instead of read.
Within half a year, she went from reading at a Kindergarten level to reading at grade level. How did this happen? Am I some kind of teaching genius? Nope.
All I did was take a little pressure off. I gave her the option to read books she was interested in, read out loud to her, never made her read out loud to me, and created a few special moments around some of the books she was into. Basically, I stepped back and focused on developing the enjoyment factor.
Everything else fell into place because it was simply her time. Each child will hit that time when they are good and ready, and no amount of pushing and prodding is going to make a huge difference. Getting your child to read early isn’t going to make them any smarter, it just proves that their brain was capable of decoding at a certain point in time.
I would argue that there is evidence that tells us not to push early reading. Dig through this study by Margaret L. Kern and Howard S. Friedman, and you’ll come to the following:
“Early reading was associated with early educational success, but was also associated with worse long-term outcomes including less overall educational attainment, worse teenage and adult adjustment, and increased alcohol use.”
Want something a little less dense, check out this article by Bored Teachers for one teacher’s perspective on the runaway train that is early reading. Or read this one by Teachers College Press, that asks the all important question - why do students from countries that don’t push reading early often outperform students in the U.S?
With all this in mind, I can only think of one good reason to get Rémy reading before entering school, and it has nothing to do with his intellectual growth, and everything to do with a broken system that makes kids who don’t read early feel like dummies. Reading early will make it less likely that he finds a teacher or peer that treats him like he isn’t smart. That breaks my heart, and also makes me question if and when I want my son to enter into a traditional classroom environment.
So, What’s the Plan?
Don’t mistake my lack of enthusiasm around teaching toddlers to read for some kind of reading void in our household. On the contrary, there is an abundance of reading that goes on here. But the goals around our reading work are different.
I have five learning goals around reading to serve us during Rémy’s toddler years:
Rémy will discover that reading can be a source of enjoyment
Rémy will recognize the power of books to inform
Rémy will learn to relate real life objects, activities, and emotions to books
Rémy will start to find patterns in storytelling that find their way into his own storytelling process
Rémy will be introduced to a wide range of pre-literacy skills that can be uncovered through a read aloud, rather than through reading activities that are separate from books
There will be no sight word flashcards, no reading worksheets, no training on phonics. I’m not even going to push the alphabet; the exposure to the alphabet will come through reading books, some of which will undoubtedly be alphabet books.
But there are many strategies I am employing to help us move towards our learning goals, and for the remainder of this post, I’m going to dive into each one. They are 10 strategies to help boost reading time for toddlers, and help you make the most of your read alouds. If you want the quick and dirty version, check out our video:
Strategy 1: Create a library
Want to see levels of engagement and focus increase? Start by giving your toddler choice and control. Provide the opportunity for your child to actively choose what they will read and when they will read it, and I guarantee that they will be more invested in their reading time. Much more invested than if you make those decisions for them.
Having a toddler pick out books helps develop confidence, independence, and responsibility. It can also be the very first steps toward understanding the concept of research. A question or idea pops up, and books are there to help. This little series of events is at the very heart of academic thinking.
In order to promote the all-important choice and control, you’re going to want to set up a small library for your child, one that they can easily access at all times. I have seen so many beautiful, well thought out book displays, it’s really all about picking what will work best for your space and budget. For a nice guide on different types of book displays and organization, head over to How We Montessori.
Currently, our library sits in a little book basket beside a couple floor cushions, although I do have my eyes on a larger display shelf like this birch one. Each week, I provide around 12 or so books. Any more than that and I find the variety of books he picks goes down. It’s like he becomes overwhelmed by the options and just reads the same two.
Of those 12, you will find a mix of books that were favorites the week before, books he hasn’t seen in a while, books from the library that have a short window for reading, and books that relate to some activities we have going on.
I do not provide 12 books on the same topic to last for the entire week. He is interested in lots of different topics and we are working on many different big ideas at the same time, so creating a whole book shelf for whales just won’t work. I do believe that themed book displays have a place within the home and classroom, but I recommend creating a whole separate space for that.
Strategy 2: Lean into interests
Learning is easy when you are exploring something that you are interested in. Our brains don't have to try nearly so hard to pick things up. It’s no different for a toddler. When new learning occurs within a range of topics that they are already interested in, it’s as if the wind was at their back pushing them along. Capturing that tailwind isn’t difficult, it just takes observation and planning.
Picking out the right books is all about observing your toddler. What types of things have captured their attention? Make a mental list. Heck, make a physical list in a notebook and then refer back to it when picking activities and books. Right now, Rémy’s list looks something like:
Animals
His body
Colors
Cooking
Dirt
Jumping
Water
The moon
Fire trucks
Now, take that list and find ways to introduce new ideas that are grounded in current interests. For example, knowing that Rémy loves all things animals, I picked African Animal Alphabet, so that he could explore a new group of animals and the different types of habitats that are spread throughout Africa.This past week, he has grabbed the book two or three times a day.
Strategy 3: Gestures and sound effects
After watching countless teachers and parents perform read alouds, I’ve found that there are two types of people who excel. People in the first group have a melodious voice that children, adults, and even animals can’t get enough of. However, having a voice powerful enough to maintain the attention of children is quite rare.
People in the second group put on a show. There are multiple voices, gestures, sound effects, and expressive faces. No matter the book, these read alouds are enjoyable and memorable. And once you get past any weirdness of acting silly, these are so much fun to do.
Before reading a book to your child for the first time, go through and learn your lines. Where are there places for sound effects? Where can you insert a big gesture or two? After you see the possibilities, you’ll be prepared for a read aloud that will have your child enraptured.
Strategy 4: Bring in props
Whenever we read one of Remy’s favorites, Giraffes Can’t Dance, he will inevitably drag over his worn out stuffed giraffe to join us. I love this fact because it means that he is making connections to his books, but also because I really appreciate using that giraffe as a prop to enhance the storytelling.
As Gerald dances his way through the plot, I try my best to have the stuffed animal twirl, flip, and bow. It’s as if his little giraffe is performing for us. It always elicits a smile or two.
Props create fun, engaging moments throughout books, but they can also be great devices for illustrating new vocabulary words, particularly actions. When we hit the word bow, it is wonderful to be able to make a stuffed giraffe bow rather than have to get up and do it myself. And he is much more likely to understand what the word means and how it contributes to the story.
Strategy 5: Sing snap clap
A big part of early literacy work is about helping toddlers discover the music of language. Great children’s book writers are able to craft sentences that amplify that music. As a reader, you also have the power to augment the rhythm of the books you read aloud.
There are some books, and some sections of books that practically beg you to sing them. When I say sing, I mean more of a sing songy recitation akin to rap, and less a full blown musical number. My favorites to sing are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You?, and Hand Hand Fingers Thumb. There are also books like Every Little Thing, a Bob Marley song that has been transformed into a book, so you can really sing away.
Another great way to emphasize the rhythm of the language is to clap or snap a beat to accompany your reading. Clapping with every syllable is a traditional strategy to help develop awareness around breaking down words into syllables. And while I don’t recommend reading an entire book this way, highlighting this pre literacy skill during a couple passages will aid in awareness without having to do a lot of formal “teaching”.
Pre literacy skill development that is a natural extension of the read aloud process - that’s everything I’m looking for!
Strategy 6: Try different locations
I have always been the type of person that likes to take a book with me wherever I go.There’s the fact that nothing makes waiting for an appointment more bearable than bringing along a riveting book, and that reading in the shade of a large tree is a particularly fine way to spend an afternoon.
I also think that where you read a book can change the effect it has on you. The same book read in bed will feel completely different on a crowded metro. And I want Rémy to experience books in these different ways.
At this point, we treat reading as an on demand activity that can happen anywhere and at any time. Yes, there are limits, especially when we need to go to bed after reading 10 books, but for the most part I’ve tried my best not to put limits on his reading. So you will often find us huddled on the kitchen floor, nestled in the hallway, and digging through his book basket that sits next to his potty.
You will also catch us reading outside under that large tree I mentioned.
Strategy 7: Read everyday objects
Reading a book has clearly delineated boundaries and it feels nicely contained. There is the text that lives between the covers, and that is all. To make sense of what is there, you bring your background knowledge and if you’re reading fiction, a healthy dose of empathy. You fill in all the gaps and provide any context required.
This is important to remember because toddlers don’t have the deep wells of background knowledge and empathy to help them when they encounter a book. If they are reading a book about cooking, and it brings up a gallon of milk, there is no point of reference there yet.
But if you are reading the text on objects living within a set context, then toddlers don’t have to come with as much background knowledge. The word gallon written on a milk carton will make much more sense than the word gallon written in the cooking book.
Providing reading opportunities outside of books is easy because text surrounds us. Read a street sign. Read a box of cereal. Read the play doh container. You will be showing your child that words are all around, helping us make sense of things and arrive at better decisions. You will also be introducing new vocabulary words in context, which makes personally defining the words that much easier.
Strategy 8: Extend the book
There are days where Remy gets stuck on a book. He just can’t move past the book until he’s read it at least a dozen times. This is how toddlers learn. They repeat the same things over and over again until they have gathered the information they need. It’s a fascinating process, and worth checking out at The Conversation, and Krista Brock, Author.
There are tremendous benefits to vocabulary development and comprehension that come with repetitive rereading. But that doesn’t make it any easier for mom and dad to muster the enthusiasm necessary to make it through The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the 5th time in a row.
How do you stay engaged while also expanding the learning that’s happening? Extend the book a bit. During your first read through, you may stick to the text closely. During the second read through, you may veer off a bit to focus on how the pictures contribute to the story. The third read through may be about the emotions that the characters would be feeling.
There are dozens of ways to read through a book. Good thing too, as your child will probably come at you with that greedy caterpillar 12 times.
Strategy 9: Pair with activities
In the classroom, I loved projects and lessons that tied back to the books that we were collectively reading. Pairing a project and book strengthens the learning that occurs in both places. Books are excellent ways to set the stage for big learning moments, and projects reinforce central themes within the books.
I’ve been creating book and activity pairings that reflect some of the topics Rémy has shown interest in. I recently leaned into his love of cooking and presented him with a Julia Child book and sensory bin. He loved the whole experience so much we repeated it every day for a week!
Strategy 10: Interactive read alouds
Another strategy that takes a bit of work on my part, but is completely worth it: creating interactive read aloud baskets. These baskets are a mash up of a technique called “reading with realia” that is often used with students who are learning English as a second language, and Montessori vocabulary baskets. The big payoffs for using these baskets is in vocabulary development, providing context, and creating memorable reading experiences.
To create an interactive read aloud basket, you will collect objects that play a role in a targeted book. For instance, if you are reading one of Rémy’s favorites, The Big Book of Bugs, you would fill the basket with bug figures that can be pulled out as you read through the book.
For an in depth look at these powerful baskets, and everything you need to know about putting one together, take a look at our video:
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