Reading with Preschoolers

Let your child be involved in choosing books and let her practice retelling the story in her own words.

Talk about the pictures, characters, and events in the story as you are reading.

Encourage your child to use his imagination or to make predictions about what will happen in a story.

Casually point out some of the letters in the book. “There is a ‘j.’  Your name starts with a ‘j,’ too.” At times, run your finger below the text as you read aloud.

Choose some books with repetition and rhyme and read aloud with pauses to allow your child time to fill in the words.

What preschoolers like in books:

• Books that tell stories

• Books that make them laugh

• Books with simple, repetitive text they can be memorized

• Books about kids that are like them, also books that introduce children who are different from them

• Books about going to school and books about making friends

• Books that have playful or rhyming language

• Alphabet books, counting books, and vocabulary books

• Books about the real world – trucks, dinosaurs, animals, food