The Purpose of Reading to Pre-Schooler’s

“Pre-schooler’s are extremely curious about everything around them, and at this age, adults often refuse to give them complete… answers, assuming that they are too young to understand.” 

- Margaret Read MacDonald

by Teacher Joan

At The Children’s School (TCS), teachers believe in fostering pre-schooler’s innate curiosity! Reading and books are an integral part of our daily curriculum. 

Here are six pivotal pre-reading skills we as teachers strive to integrate:

• Narrative Skills - Questioning about events and things, and telling stories.
• Print motivation - Teachers are interested in, and enjoy reading, books.
• Vocabulary - Knowing the accurate names of things.
• Print Awareness - Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, knowing how to follow words on a page.
• Letter Knowledge - Knowing distinct letters, their sounds, and recognizing letters everywhere.
• Sounds of Speech (Phonological Awareness) - The smaller sounds that make up words. For instance, “rat” “cat” “hat”.        

Moreover, we understand that nothing substitutes for a parent’s involvement in reading readiness. You are your child’s first teacher.

The Seattle Public Library offers tips for parents when reading aloud with pre-schooler’s. Among them are:

• Make it a special time.
• Have your child turn the pages.
• Be expressive!
• Let your child choose.
• Read rhyming and counting books.
• Let your child hold the book.

It’s the most important 20 minutes of your day. Read aloud to your child. 

Resource: 

Booksharing:101 Program to Use With Pre-schooler’s, 

by Margaret Read MacDonald

Here are some favorite books from your teachers at TCS!

Mrs. Banks: 

Winnie the Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner, by A. A. Milne

Teacher Cinda:  

Pancakes for Breakfast, by Tomie dePaola

Mrs. McArthur: 

Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

The Little Engine that Could, by Wally Piper and Loren Long

Teacher Lisa Eve:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett

Teacher Joan:

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice SendakTeacher 

Teacher Maureen:  

Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister

Ms. Tierney:

Hester in the Wild, by Sandra Boynton

Marvin K. Mooney will you Please Go Now, by Dr. Seuss

Teacher Julie:

Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

Teacher BJ:

Everybody Poops (My Body Science Series), by Taro Gomi and Amanda Mayer Stinchecum

Teacher Theresa:  

Are You My Mother?, by P. D. Eastman

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton

Mrs. Coleman:  

Fairy Tales—I loved Rapunzel, especially.

Baby Island by Carol R. Brink

Teacher Shelby

The Sweet Touch, by Lorna Balian

Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Siverstein

Ping, by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese