I had no idea how the child learnt to read when I had my first child. I liked to read fun stories books to her before her bedtime to cultivate the love of reading in her. Dr. Seuss books were her favorite books. She often asked me to read over and over again the same book. Sometimes, she could recite the phrases when we came to certain part of the story. When she went to pre-school, the pre-school taught her about phonics and she had to practice writing simple words of 3 letters. That’s how she learnt to read. At age 5, when I bought Scholastic series books from A to Z, she suddenly could recognize the words and started to read independently. Then, I found out the magic of Key words. So, I bought  Key words with Ladybird book series. She could finish the series up to level 10 in  one year. I suddenly realize that a child can read with LOOK-SAY method rather than learning PHONICS.

With my first child, I used the approach READ TO YOUR CHILD.  I read the book and my child just looked at the printed words and listened to me. When I had my second child,  I changed the approach to READ WITH YOUR CHILD. I gave her a chance to recognize one or two Key words and encourage her to read them. We took turn to read. This approach worked well. I used Key words With Ladybird book series to teach her to read with the LOOK-SAY method when she was 3 years old. Key words are the frequent words used in the reading and writing of English language. It’s wonderful to know how a child knows its sound and the meaning of the word and memorize the whole word. When she sees it again after few times, she can say it correctly. It’s like a photographic memory.

I know that pre-school emphasizes more on PHONICS method to teach children to read and write at the same time while enrichment program such as reading and writing program, uses LOOK –SAY method for faster result in reading. But you can use both methods together.

Tips for parents to encourage early reading in children: 

• Choose books with the big word prints.
• Choose books which have fun story inside and  repeated phrases. This kind of books appeal to the children.
• Use various books. Some books have phonics method, some have Key words and some have simple story context.
•  The phonics book teaches a child the sound of the word correctly.  It does help in writing and reading when a child knows the sound of each letter that makes up the word.  Starfall  is the site to learn phonics and first reading with PHONICS. I would prefer use PHONICS method to teach my children to write.
•  Books with LOOK-SAY method and lots of Key words  enable a child to capture the whole meaning of the word and say it. 
• Read with enthusiasm.  If the story is about the giant, you can read it in a big voice and do the action to make reading fun.
•  Involve your child in reading. You can stop at certain words to give a chance for a child to read. When your child can read well, you can take a turn in reading page by page.

Here are some of my kids’ books when they learn to read:

Key Words with Ladybird book

Read With Me book which has key words in their story

My First Step To Reading, Scholastic Book Series, book A to Z:

This book is fun because the child learns all objects that start with certain letters. The story is simple but fun. It is about little D who had a box called “D box” and collected objects that start with letter D. When the box was too small to accommodate all the objects, she looked for a bigger box and it was a Doll House to replace her small box. You can put the story into a play by asking your child to collect objects around the house that start with certain letter. 

I had 3 blogs set up using Blogspot previously. Each blog was created for different reasons. Kidzpuzzle blog has all product reviews of my online store, Kidzpuzzle. Enrich Learning blog is to support my Facebook group. Vie-my story is my personal blog. When I first joined Mompreneur Internet Marketing Hub, I just realize that my previous blogs look amateur to me. I followed what other bloggers did and unfortunately, I followed the wrong crowd.

By taking up a coaching at Mompreneur Internet Marketing Hub, it changed my attitude toward blogging and I’m learning to blog again in the right way. I need to focus on certain topic in my blog and treat my blog as a serious business. So, I set up a blog using WordPress. I chose a topic that is close to my heart, moms and kids. The blog Resources For Moms And Kids is about sharing of my journey as a learning mama. I am not selfish anymore, talking about myself and family though I still relate my experiences in certain topics and I hope that my new blog will benefit moms and their kids.

My previous blogs look like this. I’m actually ashamed to show you but I show you anyhow. So, you may learn a lesson from me.

Free Play is when the child has an initiative to play without the intervention of adults, whether he plays alone or in a group.  As today’s family is getting smaller with one child or there is a big age gap between siblings, the siblings don’t play together. The child often feels lonely with the free play and no friends to play. Often, when he comes to Pre-School, he doesn’t even know how to play together in a group.  

I came to know about Structured Play when my youngest child, Aimee, go to Pre-School. There is Structured Play in her timetable. What is it about ? The Pre-school headmaster explained that play was structured in such a way so the children could benefit from it.  The teachers act as a facilitator to assign the theme of the play, numbers of children and how the play shall proceed.  With the involvement of teachers,the teachers introduce new ideas of play to the children and monitor their learning abilities and social skills. The benefits that children gain from structured plays are tremendous:

•  develop learning abilities, support healthy brain development. The Pre-School headmaster said it would develop children multi-talents skills.
• Increase physical and social skills.
• gain experiences in cooperation or team skills
• develop a positive self-image and self-confidence
• develop self-discipline and responsibility as they are responsible for the toys that they play

Aimee, my youngest girl learnt to walk early.  She started to cruise at age of 9 months and before her first birthday, she could walk confidently. I remembered that she didn’t like to be swaddled when she was a baby and it gave her freedom to move her legs.  I also often put her lying on her tummy and tried to attract her attention with her toys so she would lift her head higher. I sang rhyme songs to stimulate her feet, such as “This Little Piggy” to wiggle her toes or “Incy Wincy Spider” which she would feel that my hands went up and down along her leg.  These fun exercises benefit her to strengthen back muscles and leg muscles.  If we can help the babies during their stages of development, we can encourage them to walk early.

Here is what I read from Parenting. com, the tips to encourage your baby to walk early and there is an opinion if Walker actually helps them to walk.

How to encourage walking

It takes most babies about 1,000 hours of practice from the time they pull themselves upright to the time they can walk alone. To help prepare your child for taking those first few steps:

From birth:
The single most important requirement for walking: strong back muscles, which babies develop by lifting their heads while lying on their tummies. So make sure yours gets plenty of tummy time while awake. Place interesting toys and objects just out of reach for motivation.

Once she can sit:
Help her practice her balance and mobility by rolling a ball back and forth with her. Or hold a toy in front of her and move it from side to side, which will encourage her to lean this way and that. As she lunges forward or crawls, she’ll develop more strength in her neck, back, legs, and arms, as well as more control of her hips  – enabling her to pull herself up to a standing position  – and safely plop down again.

Once she can stand:
Let her walk in front of you while you hold her hands  – and periodically let go of one hand so she can experiment with balance. Or stand a few feet away from her and cheer her on when she’s standing on her own. Offer lots of encouragement and praise.

Once she can cruise:
After she has mastered standing, she may start to leave her handprints all over the house as she cruises from the wall to a chair to the coffee table. Help her by arranging sturdy furniture so she can make her way across the room. She may not yet be able to sit from a standing position, which she’ll want to learn to do before walking on her own. Be close by so you can help ease her butt down with your hand; then she’ll be able to sit without hurting her bottom.

Should I buy a walker?

The short answer: No! Canada has banned the sale of walkers, and the American Academy of Pediatrics supports a similar ban in the United States. Each year, thousands of children end up in the hospital due to injuries from using walkers, such as toppling down the stairs or reaching a hot stove.

Bouncers and elliptical seats aren’t good ideas, either. While they hold kids in an upright position, they don’t help them learn to walk any faster. In fact, these devices may even delay walking if they’re used too often. A child’s body is not aligned correctly when he sits in one of them. Your baby’s much better off on the floor or in a playpen.

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