How To Encourage Your Child to Read and Write Better

Research says that the capacity of children to learn ranks the same from the day they were born. Their brain consists of the same structure and elements. So why is it then that other children seem to fare better in terms of reading and writing skills than other children? A probable answer is that these children may not have been taught in accordance to their learning preference. They might have not been exposed to a learning environment at home and at school that could best stimulate their brain to enjoy reading and writing.

But it is not yet too late. Learning is a continuous process. A human brain never stops working. Proper stimulation taking into account the most effective way of teaching your child could significantly improve your child's ability to read and write.

Find out what kind of a learner your child is. Children's ability to learn depends on their most receptive learning preference. The VAK approach using neuro-linguistical programming claims to be the key to accelerate your child's learning ability.

The VAK approach states that there are basically three kinds of learners. The V-isual, A-uditory, and Bodily K-inesthetic approach. Visual learners retain information through the use of visual style such as images, pictures, colors and maps. Auditory learners learn most effectively when listening to information delivered orally. Kinesthetic learners, on the other hand have good hand and body coordination.  They learn best when they are able to use concrete objects as learning aids. They cannot sit in long period of hours without fidgeting. They also tend to excel in sports activities. Most children who are under bodily-kinesthetic type of learning are labeled as slow-learners. And because schools use a lot of lectures and demonstrations, these children find it difficult to comprehend and thus, fall short in academics.

Here are helpful tips that could encourage your child to read and write better and help stimulate his/her brain.

Visual learners -

• Use pictures or illustration when reading to your child
• Let him/her look at their mouth in the mirror while reading
• Allow to initially copy from books or articles to develop his/her writing skills
• Demonstrate meanings of words
• Use videotapes and filmstrips to learn words
• Ask him/her to take down outlined notes while you are reading
• Provide a quiet and uncluttered study area

Auditory learner -

• After reading a story, ask him/her to read repeat the story afterward
• Provide a quiet study area
• Teach him/her to identify punctuation marks and how to read them
• Play rhyming games
• Play background classical music before writing
• Teach word spellings through say-spell-say and ask to write them down simultaneously
• Allow them to point to words while you read to them

Bodily-Kinesthetic Learner -

• Provide lots of writing tasks. Give him/her different types of pencils or pens.
• Use a lot of body and eye coordination when teaching them to read.
• Do not limit your child to one task at a time. He/she can focus on two different things at the same time
• Play background classical music as he writes
• Ask him/her to act out letters while spelling words
• Have children clap or tap on the table while reading

Keep a mental note though that while a child falls under one learning preference, it does not necessarily means that he/she no longer has the capacity to learn from other teaching mode. The best way to teach children how to read or write is to use a combination of visual, auditory and bodily-kinesthetic methods. Your children would remember words better when they have seen it, heard it and acted it out.