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SundaySeeds

because everything starts with a seed....

Quick! What 2 skills do you need to be able to read?

1. Knowing the sounds of the letters in the words

and

2. Language to understand the words,

Letters represent the sounds of a language – the phonemes. It is generally agreed that there are 44 phonemes in English made by the 26 letters of the alphabet.

How do we develop our children’s awareness of these phonemes?

Children learn the speech sounds of the language they use the most, and the way they learn them is by listening and speaking. They learn to hear, identify and play with the sounds: My name starts with M for Maria, S for Sanjay..

Later on rhyming play an important role – bat rhymes with cat

Reading is a wonderful way of expanding the experience of the speech sounds. Children learn the rhythm of the words and sentences and become aware of the individual sounds of the letters they hear.

International Reading Day makes us aware, once again, of the value of reading to our children from the time they are born. Reading can happen at any time – you only need 10 minutes to read a book and talk about it!

A bedtime story can be a comforting ritual that signals not only the end of a busy day but a special time with your parents.

And with that – a side order of the skill needed to become a reader too!

“Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible” – Barack Obama