I have two kids. We will call them Goob and the Maniac. My little Goob is in second grade now. She is dyslexic and dysgraphic. We were able to intervene with her reading struggles early on because I am dyslexic, and learning disabilities were on my radar. I did not want my children to struggle the way I did, so I worked hard from day one when they entered the world to prepare them for reading. Here are five things I did to help develop pre-reading and writing skills in my children.
- High-Contrast Books and Images – High-contrast images play a crucial role in brain development in newborns and infants by stimulating the visual cortex, leading to the formation and reinforcement of neuron connections in this brain region. While not directly linked to reading and writing skills in children, high-contrast images support early cognitive development in young minds. Additionally, exposure to high-contrast books encourages increased verbal interaction with babies, aiding in auditory stimulation alongside visual development.
- My First Steps to Reading – Jane Moncure’s My First Steps to Reading series offers a valuable learning resource for toddlers aged one and a half to three and a half. These alphabet books are particularly effective in supporting early phonological development in young children. Each book in the series focuses on one letter sound, introducing it through a child character like Little B in “My B Book.” By following the character’s journey to collect items starting with the featured letter, children engage with simple content tailored to their understanding. We took these books further and created our own letter box for scavenger hunts. These books are a great way to foster basic phonological skills during early childhood development.
- Alphabet Crafts—I did my best to make learning the alphabet fun and multi-sensory. There are a thousand craft ideas online; pick a handful that matches your parenting style. Our favorites were playdough letter-making and shaving cream letters. These activities always devolved into just playing, but to start, I introduced a letter to help get some phonological learning in.
- Animal Antics A to Z by Barbara deRuberts—These books are for preschoolers, kindergarteners, and older toddlers. They do an excellent job of telling compelling stories while focusing on a letter sound. The kids just loved these books. There are also exercises at the end of each book to help focus on beginning and ending sounds. The focus on featuring words with a specific letter helps to build vocabulary.
- Read a Lot – We are big readers in our house. From the get-go, we have made it a point to read to the kids. When Goob was a baby, she was not particularly interested in books. I read to her while she nursed, so I had a captive audience, and eventually, it took, and she loved books. The Maniac, on the other hand, has always had an interest in books. He might not stay still while I read, but he still likes to listen to stories, even when jumping on the trampoline.
So, what were the results of all the reading and working on phonological awareness? They were very different for both kids. The Maniac is four and is reading decodable readers on his own at this point. He started picking up on two-letter words when he was two and a half and sounding out CVC words when he was three, closing in on four. On the other hand, Goob had an aversion to words and disliked looking at text and writing. As much as she loved it when we read to her, she hated doing it herself. In kindergarten and first grade, this meant temper tantrums when she had to complete reading assignments for homework and meltdowns for spelling tests. Despite all my efforts, it didn’t change the fact that she has dyslexia. This is just how her brain is wired. Where it did help, however, was with her speech. Both kids talked early and spoke relatively clearly for their age, and neither of them ever had issues rhyming words, one of the early signs of dyslexia. Both kids also developed exceptional auditory comprehension skills. Goob excels in this area; anything said to her, she can digest and explain what she has learned very well.
Developing pre-reading skills will not prevent learning disabilities that are hardwired into kids, such as dyslexia. However, being intentional with their development can help boost their comprehension and vocabulary and give you a clear insight into their development. Had we not spent time paying attention to Goob’s development, we might not have noticed the early signs that she was very much dyslexic.