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Most parents are naturally keen to see their child starting to learn to read. Many want this to happen as soon as possible, at least partly because they see it as confirmation that their child is progressing in developmental terms.

This sometimes leads to questions for a pre-school education provider along the lines of “Can all children start to read while they’re attending an early learning centre?”

An early learning centre and children’s learn to read

Between the ages of 12-24 months, many children will already be showing interest in books. That will usually mean turning the pages, looking at pictures and perhaps allocating a word to a picture they can see – for example, “cat”.

Somewhere between 2 and 3 years, they should also start to be able to recognise some letters and possibly words. That might start with understanding the sounds that some letters make and how that can be a clue to what a word means.

At 3-4 years, children should be able to understand how sentences and books work in the sense of which way they’re read (left to right and top to bottom). They may also start to recognise some words when written down and possibly also read some very simple sentences of the “cat sat on the mat” variety, even if with help.

By 5, children ideally should have familiarity with the letters of the alphabet and be able to recognise them and know the sound they make. They may be able to read more easily and cope with increasingly difficult sentences in books – though errors will be frequent!

As we always remind though, children develop reading skills at different rates. The above ages are only a very rough guideline and some children may progress significantly faster or slower than the above. That, taken alone, is not of great significance.

Is this process instinctive?

Most psychologists, supported by experimental evidence, suggest that while language is instinctive, reading and writing are not. In other words, unless a child is taught to read, they won’t naturally develop the ability to do so.

Most children initially show an apparent predisposition to look at books because their parents or care providers encourage them to do so. From that point on, the connections between pictures and the words in books start to form. To some extent, imitation also plays a part, with children seeing others reading and being keen to emulate them.

This means that the early teaching of reading is highly desirable, as it will help a child to gain knowledge and social skills.

Can all children learn to read?

The answer is as close as possible to a 100% “yes”. The more professional the early learning centre environment is, the easier that process typically will be.

However, there are always some caveats to consider:

• some extreme and very rare medical conditions might make it impossible for a child to learn to read;
• children who use a different alphabet and reading sequence (e.g. right to left) at home, may need a little longer to learn to read in another system such as English. Most will rapidly adapt though;
• there are some conditions, such as dyslexia or dyspraxia, which may or may not mean children will find it harder to learn to read. Hearing problems might be another example. Most of these conditions though can be largely overcome in reading terms, with appropriate therapy and adjusted teaching techniques;
• there is some evidence that the home environment is also critically important. The extent to which a family reads (newspapers, journals, books) or not may have an influence (positive or negative) on their child’s enthusiasm for learning to read.

Summary

We are proud of our ‘Jolly Phonics’ program and the extent to which it helps children to learn to read.

If you’d like to discover more about it, just call us for an appointment to come and visit. We’d welcome the opportunity to explain further.