Journey to Reading

Reading opens your little one to a world of imagination, wonder and knowledge. Just as a healthy breakfast provides the right start for the day, early experiences with reading, listening to stories, language play and everyday conversation can provide the right start for a lifetime of learning.

Decades of research in education and child development show a strong link between early play experiences at home and reading skills development. LeapFrog’s Learning and Curriculum team recently released a white paper titled, Every Day is a New Chapter in the LeapFrog Reading Journey™, that explores how play-based learning supports reading development from birth to 8 years with a goal toward helping children learn to read, love to read, and read to learn.

Sound Babblers (0-1 year)

Research shows that it’s never too early to create a language-rich environment at home. Your baby may not be responding to you with discernable words, but they are hearing and imitating the sounds of oral language as they babble away. In fact, it takes most babies less than one year to learn the full inventory of sounds in their home language. Immersing children in oral language by talking with them, reading books, and enjoying songs provides a strong foundation for reading skills.

Word Explorers (1-3 years)

As your toddler grows, they begin to build vocabulary at a very fast rate. When you seize opportunities to build on their increasing interest in picture books, your toddler can start to recognize the connection between words on a page and words that are spoken. As you read stories together, make funny voices, point to different characters or objects on the page, and encourage your child to ask questions or turn the page. Being an active participant in your toddler’s reading journey helps them associate reading with fun.

Letter Learners (2-5 years)

Preschoolers are beginning to recognize some letter shapes and understand that letters represent the sounds of language. Read-aloud time is a perfect setting to support their growing alphabet knowledge. For example, if you come across the word moon on a page, you can point out, “Guess the word…mmm…ooo…nnn… Moon.” When children hear sounds blended together, they build an essential understanding that words are made up of individual sounds – the same sounds that infused their babbles in year one.

Book Readers (4-7 years)

Equipped with a growing knowledge of letters and sounds, kindergarteners begin to apply their understanding of sound-spelling relationships to read and spell words on their own. They begin to discover that individual sounds in words can be taken apart and put together in new ways to make new words. In addition, they are recognizing many words by sight, some of which have uncommon spelling patterns like the, where, and does. These skills help your child pave their way to becoming an independent reader.

Learning to read is a journey that begins with your baby hearing and making language sounds, to later developing the skills to make sense of the letters printed on a page. We invite you to read our white paper, Every Day is a New Chapter in the LeapFrog Reading Journey™, to learn more about the latest scientific research on reading, and how various activities and toys reflect scientifically-based approaches to phonics, vocabulary and comprehension instruction. By laying a strong foundation for reading and fostering confidence each step of the way, you are creating an environment where your children are more likely to develop a lifelong love of reading.