BE YOUR CHILD'S READING ROLE MODEL

Assalamualaikum dear readers...

Kasih ibu membawa ke syurga, kasih bapa selamanya... that's the description of parents’ love for their child. Such a short sentence but with deep significant meaning… Recently I was informed of a parent who came back from one of our Fast Reading Technique seminar and made their very own flashcard as how the teachers do at Little Caliphs so that they too can practice with their child at home, subhanallah. Here is what it looks like:

Parents who dedicate a little bit of time in a day to enhance their child’s reading skills will see their child benefitting greatly from it, insyallah. ‘Berkat usaha ibu bapa’ as they say.  And if you have successfully attended one of our Fast Reading Technique seminars around Malaysia, insyallah you will know the right how-to that align with the technique used by The Little Caliphs Program which ultimately enables children to read as fast as 4 years old, biiznillah.

Quoting from my own book Raising Young Caliphs, ‘A Guide to Raising Muslim Children’, I mentioned in Chapter 2: Learning by Stages (page 26), at age 4, the ‘questioner’ in your child will awaken. This is why it is the ideal time to ‘feed’ them with as much input to help their mind explore and grow. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you can firstly, be available: Find frequent, small amounts of time each day to be available to your toddler. Secondly, share books with your toddler often during the day. If your child is upset or cannot settle, or if you’re waiting for an appointment together – share a book!

Another essential point I found from my reading and personal experiences are:

Practice phonics. According to Joelle Brummitt-Yale from K12 Reader, children can’t comprehend what they read unless they are able to identify the sounds making up each word. Practice phonics at home by pointing out letters you and your child see every day, on signs, in books or even on TV. For example, while waiting in line at the grocery store, point out letters in magazines or on signs. 

Read their favourite books over and over. According to Brummitt-Yale, repetitive reading allows a child to process a text multiple times. The first time your kindergartener reads a story, he likely focuses on decoding the words without searching for meaning. However, with repetition, he masters the words and begins to make meaning from them. Next comes the understanding that every story has meaning. Therefore, encourage your little one to read favourite books aloud multiple times.

Work with your child’s teacher. Meet with her teacher or at least speak with her over the phone regularly to make sure you are aware of her progress at school.

In summary and in short, here are the simplest of tips that you can follow:

• Provide varied reading material
• Encourage activities that require reading — for example, cooking (reading a recipe), constructing a kite (reading directions), or identifying an interesting bird's nest or a shell collected at the beach (using a reference book).
• Establish a reading time, even if it is only ten minutes a day.
• Write notes to your school-age child; encourage written responses.
• Encourage your child in all reading efforts.

And more importantly,

BE A GOOD ROLE MODEL! READ YOURSELF AND READ OFTEN TO YOUR CHILD. 

Wassalam, Allah ma'ak.