How to Get Your Child EXCITED about Reading + 8 Activities You Can Start Today

Could you use some fun (and screen-free) activities for your toddler this summer??

It’s never too early to develop a love of reading, so read on for some easy strategies to help your child prepare for reading. Guiding your child through the reading process can be easy and even enjoyable for you if you begin when their period for language is primed and ready.

Here you will find a helpful overview of some activities you can do with your child aged 18 to 20 months and older.  If you’re interested in a more thorough guide on Montessori and language development as a whole, I’d love to connect and see how I can support you. I love to focus on toddlers because they are fascinating. I also happen to have one. In addition to my love for the toddlers, my formal training is with children of the early childhood aged three to six. (I have tons of ideas for this whole span and to help you meet your child where they are.)

Why Workbooks Alone Don’t Work

Have you ever seen a child under the age of six sit down with a workbook to practice reading or writing? Don’t blink or you’ll miss it, after about one page, you’ll notice their eyes start to glaze over.

Here’s Why

It’s decontextualized practice.

What does this mean?

For a young child, reading a workbook is a disengaged and unconnected practice. What does anything in a workbook have to do with anything else in your child’s day? It doesn’t support the idea that children (as well as us adults) learn best when they are excited about what they are learning.

I have a scenario for you. Take yourself back to your four year-old self. What did you love to do? Play outside, play with small objects, draw pictures, get your hands wet or muddy, explore? I’m betting of all the activities you liked, working in a workbook wasn’t one of them.

As a Montessori teacher, I have been lucky enough to see the light in a child’s eyes the first time they realize they are reading. It’s my goal to help you have that experience at home!

The key to getting children excited to try something is to use things they are already excited about exploring, touching, and learning. Creating a language-rich environment with materials that are interesting (from birth) is the best place to start. This is not the easy way to do it (that’s workbook territory), but it’s an engaging way that will get your child excited from the inside out.

We focus on stoking a child’s natural passion and excitement to learn, rather than using rewards or punishments to get what we want. This approach aligns with the  constructivist theory, as opposed to the behaviorist approach – but that’s an entirely different blog post. The question to ask yourself here is, do you learn best when you’re engaged and excited about what you’re doing, or when you’re doing something because it’s something you “have” to do?

Here is a list of activities you can do or create today to help promote a positive, language-rich environment for your pre-reader:

• Singing – Often we get stuck singing the same songs. Try to reach out of your comfort zone and find new songs to sing with your child. (YouTube is your friend here.)
• Reading – Don’t get discouraged when your toddler gets hooked on reading the same book over and over and over. They are in their sensitive period for order, so this is normal. Just keep reading and gently encourage other books when you can’t handle reading the same book for the millionth time.
• Object-to-object Matching – Start with three pairs of the same objects for matching. It’s fun and easy to do a theme with objects they are interested in. Small matching fruit objects, reptiles, farm animals are all great places to start.
• Object to Picture Matching - I love this set because the images are of "real" things.
• Picture-to-Picture Matching - Link to cards I made for my toddler, who happens to be super interested in shapes. (True picture to picture cards would be pairs of the exact same picture. Try to use pictures of real things rather than cartoons or illustrations - especially for those toddlers, who are still developing the concept of real vs. pretend.)
• Sequencing - When introducing sequencing cards to a toddler, only put out one sequence at a time, so they don't become overwhelmed and avoid all together.
• Puzzles - This is a link to a full set of beautiful wooden puzzles. Don't put these out all at once. By presenting them one by one you won't overwhelm your little one and you'll have an entire set of puzzles to pique your child's curiosity and they will last you throughout the year.
• Language Object Boxes/Basket - (This is a link to buy sandpaper letters.) Our first object box is pictured at the top of this article. I used a basket, a sandpaper letter, and 5-10 objects I found around the house that start with the sound "c" (like comb) as opposed to something that starts with a "c" but makes the sound of an "s" (circle) or "ch" (cheese).

Too overwhelmed to think about how to present all of these ideas to your little one? Join our Follow the Child Tribe on Facebook for quick presentation tips and troubleshooting advice.