What Should I Be Doing at Home?!
This is the question I get asked MOST from parents.
And of course it makes sense that a parent’s go-to is trying to get their child to read a book.
Duh! Isn’t reading what we’re working on here?
But reading a book at home is a like asking your child to run a marathon when a mile is still hard.
That’s why it so often leads to frustration, meltdowns, and refusal. And understandably, it leads parents like you to eventually give up and simply read to your child instead.
Now, don’t get me wrong: reading TO your child is a wonderful, fantastic, incredibly valuable practice for SO MANY reasons.
But, it doesn’t necessarily help your child learn the skills they need to read independently.
If reading a book is a marathon, we have to help our child train mile by mile.
That’s why my answer to this age-old question will always be the same: PLAY GAMES!
Say it with me: play games, play games, play games!
Play is the way!
PLAY GAMES with the part of the reading process that your child is struggling with and watch their experience on the page transform!
It looks something like this:
🌟 Is your child struggling to know what sounds letters make? PLAY GAMES with letters and sounds!
🌟 Does your child guess instead of sounding out? PLAY GAMES that require them to sound out unfamiliar/nonsense words!
🌟 Is your child struggling to recognize high frequency words (the, from, with, when) in context? PLAY GAMES with sight words!
🌟 Is your child struggling to sound out multisyllabic (2-3 syllable) words? PLAY GAMES with prefixes and suffixes!
Need ideas? Check out my all time favorite reading games – all of which can be played with letters, sounds, nonsense words, sight words, OR prefixes and suffixes! PHEW!
These are games to last a reading lifetime.
And before we chock play up to simply having fun, let me help you understand WHY play is so effective.
Play is the gold standard for learning because:
It works ONE skill at a time
It’s really hard to get better at anything if we’re always multitasking. You may be a great cook, but start talking on the phone at the same time and you’re likely going to burn dinner. Focusing on one thing at a time (monotasking) is pure gold to the learning process. Think of anything you do automatically now: drive a car, serve a tennis ball, navigate a spreadsheet. You learned it step by step. This same step by step approach through reading games that focus on individual skills allows your child to get fast and automatic with whatever part of reading they’re struggling with – be it letters, sounding out, or sight words – so that when it’s time to put it all together on the page, they have the tools necessary. Mastery of each individual skill is what moves the needle on the page. Play games and watch reading actually improve!
It REDUCES performance anxiety
Playing games is fun! And fun means we can take ourselves way less seriously. When we lift the pressure, our brain relaxes and it feels easier to try. If we make a mistake, who cares? It’s just a game! A safe space for risk taking will transform what your child is capable of showing you. Increase the fun, decrease the performance anxiety, and prepare to be amazed!
It builds INTRINSIC motivation
Your child may not love reading, but I bet they love winning! Give them motivation to win a game and I guarantee they will be chomping at the bit to do the sounding out required to get there. This works so well, my favorite word is: REMATCH!
It’s EXPERIENTIAL and repetitive
The best way to learn is through experience. Instead of explaining and listening (how often does that work?!), your child gets to learn by doing. Games are hands-on and involve movement, which will help wrangle your wiggly kinesthetic learner into an experience that fits their learning style. The natural repetition needed to get through the game will get the necessary reps in to build those reading muscles! Win, win, win.
And yes, because it’s FUN!
Let’s be honest, we are way more likely to do things when they feel fun. I’m not looking for the most effective way to stay in shape. I’m looking for the most FUN way to stay in shape. Because the FUN thing is the thing I will do over and over and over. It’s the consistency over time that truly moves the needle. This is the exact same for foundational reading skills: 5-10 min/day most days is all you need. Why not let that practice be fun?!
So next time you’re stuck on what to do at home, remember my mantra: MAKE IT A GAME!
Keep it simple and keep it fun! And most importantly, let it be EASY! Let it feel good.
Learning to read is meant to feel good! The process can feel just as joyful as reading your favorite book.
You’ve got this and I’ve got you!
Now, have fun playing!
xo,
Hi! I’m Cara
I’m a reading specialist and parent coach. I show you how to take the struggle out of reading at home.
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