Why?

Lil Ones Little Hands

It’s not often (if I do it at all) that I talk about my daughter in an open space such as the internet. Of course I’m turning into one of those moms who really guards information concerning her kid. However, I feel compelled to share some activities that she engages in outside and inside her classroom. This might be a good suggestion for fellow parents of pre-schoolers.

I met with her teacher a couple of weeks ago to discuss her progress in her preschool class. I’m happy to report she’s right on target with her progress and a little advanced in a couple of areas, especially in the area of literacy. Yay! I’m a proud mommy.

Yet, with this progress comes a pledge I have to make to myself in order to keep her on track. I’ll admit, sometimes I slack in properly engaging her when it comes to reading comprehension. My soon to be 4-year-old is highly excited about books! I love it! This is enhanced by her weekly visits to her school’s library, plus our runs to our neighborhood library – even though sometimes I go and get her books without her. I know.. bad mommy…

Our quasi-normal routine for reading is a story or two before bed. When we first started this routine it was all about me reading to her for entertainment as well as to calm her down before bed. Also, it was to get her ready for..well.. reading. This started before she even set foot inside a school, but picked up steam once the first advisory kicked in. By the second advisory I noticed she had memorized parts of stories as some of the books that are here at home are at her school as well. So in some instances it was nothing for her to know a part of the story very well.

Still, in preparation for kindergarten, what her teacher is encouraging all her children’s parents to do is to practice reading comprehension.  She would like to see that the kids have some kind of understanding of what was read to them; the how, what, when, where and why. It may seem like a lot to ask a 3 or 4 year-old, but even if they understand the basic theme or concept of the story this is great!

Each month my daughter’s pre-school class has homework assigned on the different days. Yes HOMEWORK! However, the teachers are nice about it and call it “home fun!” Actually, it’s nothing that will bust their poor little brains. It’s all simplistic as each assignment is designed to help develop motor skills (cut paper and glue inside composition book) and of course, reading, math and literacy skills (counting, practice writing name, draw favorite part of a story)

What has been part of the home fun activity is the “why” assignment. The child listens to a story being read and the adult formulates simple why questions.

Why is the bear worried?
Why did Peter’s snowball melt when he got home?
Why did the cat want sprinkles?

For any parent out there who may not know how to engage a child in reading and reading comprehension, this may be one way. Of course make it interesting. I try to read in various voices and when it comes to asking why…well we’re still working on that as my child wants to go on a tangent and talk about something totally unrelated to the story. However, there have been times when she has shown great understanding, especially after she has heard a story more than once. So don’t be afraid (or not  too enthused) to read the same story over and over… and over… and over.. and over…. trust me it’s beneficial.  You never know, your child may read the story right back to you.. in his or her own little way.

Tagged: motherhood, preschool, reading

Posted in: regular