Reading - An important Life skill

 

One of the most important Life skill that can be developed from early years is – READING !

Reading can begin from an early age of 6 months. Initially make the child sit in your lap and read the book as though you both are reading it together. As the child sees colorful pictures, he will develop the interest to sit and listen to you. Here, his visual skills are developing. 

As the child grows, his attention span increases and is able to sit in one place for some time. 

Read to the child:

1. Show him the cover of the book – Before reading the book, show the cover of the book to the child and ask him questions about it. This is a great way to engage his interest.

2. Keep him focused – Young children get easily distracted. Start asking questions about characters in the book or ask him to predict what will happen next? This will test their interest and enhance predictive skills.

3. Assess his new skills – As you are reading along, a new word comes up, ask him to guess the meaning of it. You also need to repeatedly ask questions. This enhances language and thinking skills.

4. Make it simple for him – While reading the story, breakdown big / complex sentences for him to understand it better.

5. Use Voice modulation – The characters in a story can be differentiated using different voices for each character. This helps the child to picturize the story. When the story comes alive, he will be thrilled to listen to it. 

6. Ask for their response and reaction – Once the story is completed, ask the child what did he enjoy the most about the story? What is that he did not like in the story? If given a chance, what would he change in the story? This helps is building their confidence level and increases the oral fluency.

7. Different languages - Using a language that you are comfortable in, is a good way to start reading stories and Nursery Rhymes to the child. Being bilingual helps the child with understanding and recognizing syllables, phonics and letters.

It is absolutely normal if the child does not sit through the read aloud but you continue to read as he is listening unintentionally. Here, his listening skills are dominant.

Reading stories with the child is beneficial for the adults too. The special time you spend reading together helps to build your relationship with the child.

Life skills - A must

Teaching a child life skills is not only important in self care but also helps him in developing self esteem, confidence, socializing, independent thinking and reasoning.

There are certain skills which need to be inculcated at the very beginning of a child’s life and some as they grow. These skills are in cooperated from home and may be not at school. Being an Indian household, every family and religion have different ways of teaching these skills.

I have listed few life skills which I, as an adult and a mother have instilled in my son’s daily routine. Of course, there would be many more which might be taught at different levels. I strongly believe that none of the house chores should be gender specific.  Washing utensils or basic sewing can be done by anybody.

Little Angel (2 – 3 years old)

Ø  Puts his toys away with assistance.

Ø  Puts his soiled clothes in a basket, with little help from me.

Ø  Folds big sized napkins with assistance.

Ø  Assist in dining table setting like     laying the big sized cutlery – plates,   spoon, Bowls, napkin.

Ø Help him hold spoon / fork while   having meals on his own.

Ø Takes more time to complete his food   in the plate.

Ø  Brushes his teeth, washes and wipes his face with assistance. 

Cute devils (4 – 5 years old)

      

Ø  Basic house chores – laying / clearing the table before / after meals respectively, dusting the reachable places.

Ø  Knows his full name, home address and contact number (mobile / Landline) to be able to reach in case of emergency.

Ø  Placing all toys / games in places without any assistance.

Ø  Brushes teeth, washes face, combs hair and has bath on his own.

Ø  Independently folds medium sized clothes.

Ø  Segregates and piles up different categories of clothes.

Ø  Uses child friendly knife and Cuts veggies like Okra, carrots, cucumber with assistance.

Ø  With little help, he peels fruits / veggies using child friendly peeler.

Ø   Identifies currency denominations and its uses.

Ø  Selects his own clothes and basic understanding of
combinations to wear.

Adventurous (6 – 8 years old)

Ø  By now, he voluntarily helps in most of the house chores.

Ø  Enjoys chopping veggies using a blunt          knife.

Ø  Understands the concept of mixing and stirring while cooking.

Ø  Makes simple food like sandwich on his   own.

Ø  Sorts and puts away basic grocery items.

Ø  In an Indian household, he serves meals to the guests (with assistance)

Ø  Starts moving around independently, in known places like building compound.

Ø  Uses dustpan, broom and mopes the floor by him.

Ø  Prepares his birthday party guest list.

Ø  Selects his story books.

Ø  With little help, packs his school bag.

Ø  Tells time (with assistance)

Responsible (9 – 10 years old)

Ø  He starts getting independent with chores like crossing the road.

Ø  Takes care of his personal hygiene without being      told.

     Ø  Goes to a store and makes basic  purchases.

     Ø  Plans his meals with preferences.

     Ø  Uses microwave with assistance.

     Ø  Enjoys packing / unpacking his suitcase before/ after  travelling.         Ø  Looks after younger friends and cousins.

     Ø  Writes letter / post cards to family members.

     Ø   With little help, wraps gifts.

 ** This information chart is compiled with my own experiences and experiments. It varies as per every child’s need and development. It does not constitute a standardized research.