LEARNERS
LITTLE Pre c
ear Pre-reading
ear BY ZIBBY ANDREWS
y the time their children are in
preschool, parents can clearly see
how learning stems from rela-
tionships and engagement. When
young children are lovingly
encouraged and supported, they
engage joyfully with new learn-
ing and absorb new information quickly
and easily. Thankfully, research sup-
ports the role of relationships in learning.

Parental involvement has a scientific,
research-based stamp of approval.

Parents have a distinct advantage
over teachers. Teachers have to estab-
lish a multitude of new relationships each
year before they can allow optimal learn-
ing to happen. Parents can lead their
child into the world of reading directly
from intimate and peaceful rocking-chair
moments. They can follow their child’s
lead as they move them into the world of
books and reading.

But paving the way for pre-reading and
early reading means understanding that
reading is not about learning the names
40 of the letters of the alphabet. Reading
is about meaning and understanding. It
assumes active engagement with text and
requires an ability to understand context
as kids attack each sound and word.

Reading for meaning comes from lan-
guage and comprehension — skills that
can and should be purposefully supported.

Washington FAMILY NOVEMBER 2019
PARENTS HAVE A DISTINCT
ADVANTAGE OVER TEACHERS.

Teachers have to establish a
multitude of new relationships
each year before they can allow
optimal learning to happen.

Parents can lead their child
into the world of reading directly
from intimate and peaceful
rocking-chair moments.

To develop into strong readers,
children need:
€ a robust store of background
information; € a rich spoken language base;
€ a broad and deep vocabulary;
€ verbal reasoning abilities and
conceptual or abstract knowledge.

These are the things preschool teach-
ers emphasize, the things that do much
more than a worksheet to support pre-
and emerging reading skills. But they’re
not always on the parental radar as critical
to a developing or future reader.

A rich variety
Background knowledge is vital to learn-
ing to read. It comes from trips taken
to the zoo and the beach and the nature
center. It comes from socializing with
neighbors and friends who have differ-
ent experiences. It also comes from
choosing books set in novel places,
full of different animals, homes,
trees, flowers and characters. And