At the age of 3, your child is already developing social skills which allow for social game play, and it is possible to teach them how to read with a simple game. It is a joy and a milestone for all parents to see each child transform from a non-reader into a child that can pursue their own interest, be it educational or entertaining, through books and other print media.
New science is inspiring more efficient and less frustrating paths for teaching kids how to read. One of them is through the use of manipulatives to allow playing with the construction of words from letters in a way that creates a lasting impression in the child’s mind. I came across this amazing project on Kickstarter (and you already know how much I love to talk about Kickstarter projects) as I was looking for a manageable, fun way of teaching my 3-year old daughter how to read.
The Illustrative Primer Project
It intends to avail two fun, eye-catching board books that will introduce your child to what words are, how to recognize them, and how identify their vocalization. In the primer, the letters will be introduced as elements of words. The primer will be personalized, thus making reading an engaging and interactive activity for your child. The first word introduced is your child’s own name. For each word your child will play with letters that pop-out from the paperboard page. In the primer and its companion book your child will learn to read new words through stories about adventures in reading, which improves their fluency progressively in a fun, easy way. The board books center around your child with their picture appearing a few times, including on the cover, and their name featured on all pages.
The children’s story will teach both you and your child all you need to know about the pathway to fluency in less than 100 words (with the help of some beautiful illustrations). No special training is required and there’s no need for complex lesson plans that your child would lose interest in anyways. But just in case you are scratching your head about how this can be so simple, it includes a parents guide which tells you explicitly what it has already shown you, and introduces some of the science behind why it works.
Why You Should Support It
You have a chance to increase the curiosity of your child in reading. It gives your child an opportunity to begin reading at a very young age without losing interest or experiencing frustration. The paperboard letters become an engaging physical medium to teach your child how to read in a much more practical way. It presents letters as foundations of words that your child can engage with to actually build words. Then you simply assign meaning to the constructed pattern of letters by saying the word aloud.
Don’t put it off even for a second. These type of projects deserve our attention. Even 5 dollars can mean a lot!
So check out their page and back them up!