| Leading authorities in developmental psychology and | | | | education. Home school educators generally believe |
| education report that children who have mastered | | | | that learning is a lifelong process and that readying |
| reading readiness skills find themselves better | | | | children for learning is as important as the act of |
| prepared for scholastic success than children who | | | | learning itself. For this reason, reading readiness is a |
| have not mastered the basics of reading. But what, | | | | process that occurs rather naturally within the |
| exactly, is reading readiness? | | | | homeschooling environment. |
| In the view of many experts, reading readiness | | | | Preparing Children to Read |
| includes: | | | | There are several strategies that can help parents |
| "The teachable moment for reading: Just about the | | | | and home school educators prepare young children to |
| time that the student seems most ready to learn | | | | read. Just as significantly, children should have easy |
| how to read." (See Dechant, Emerald. | | | | access to reading material. From colorful and |
| 1991.Understanding and teaching reading: An | | | | engrossing early reader books, to TV programs that |
| interactive model. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.) | | | | include elementary text- reading opportunities, and |
| "A transition extending over several months during | | | | even the back of a cereal box, children tend to |
| which time the child (student) gradually changes from | | | | blossom when they have been surrounded by fun |
| a non-reader to a beginning reader. In this case the | | | | opportunities to read. |
| readiness program couples the (student's) past | | | | Opportunities for reading often present themselves in |
| learning with new learning and brings the (student), | | | | unusual places. Some parents like to play word games |
| gradually, through the transition." (From Clay, M. M. | | | | with their children while driving. Others help their |
| 1992. Becoming literate: The construction of inner | | | | children prepare to read by locating letters on a page |
| control. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.) | | | | to teach their child letter-recognition. Still others |
| The Ready to Read Child | | | | employ traditional methods such as taking the time |
| Simply put, reading readiness is the point at which a | | | | to read together for a few minutes each day. |
| child is academically, emotionally, and mentally | | | | Even though children may seem to be only "looking |
| prepared to read. Being ready to read means that | | | | at the pictures" when reading with an old child or an |
| the child has the skills that he or she needs to | | | | adult, they are also implicitly learning significant |
| understand the concepts of reading. It also means | | | | elements about words, sounds, and sentence |
| that the child is able to comprehend what he or she | | | | structure. |
| reads. | | | | Children also need a great deal of guidance as they |
| The point of early literacy programs is that they | | | | learn the basics of reading. Although every parent |
| prepare children to read. In the homeschooling | | | | would like to believe that her or his child was born a |
| environment, this means reading to young children, | | | | genius, the truth is that even a genius needs help at |
| sharing verbal stories with children to spark their | | | | the beginning. That's why it's important to make sure |
| imaginations, and setting a good example for children | | | | that children have help with beginning reading |
| by reading yourself. | | | | concepts such as phonics and syllabics. Taking the |
| Interestingly, early literacy, or reading readiness, is | | | | time to sit with a child and read with him or her can |
| often a "program" that comes naturally, especially to | | | | make all the difference in the world. |
| the parent that emphasizes the importance of | | | | |