National education standards have changed significantly over the past decade, and one of the most marked changes that I see in the classroom is the expectation that children should be reading by the end of kindergarten. Children develop in vastly different ways, and some really struggle to meet this standard. There are many things you can do to help your child meet this challenging goal, and to develop a love for learning, which is far and away the most vital element in reading (and life) success!

1) Read to your child every single day. Even when she has become an "independent" reader, hearing stories read aloud, gives your child the opportunity hear complex sentence structure and story structure. Pick a level of book that is one or two levels higher than what your child can read by herself.

2) Do a story preview. For a beginning reader, do a "picture walk" through the book. Ask your child to tell what she thinks is happening on each page. For a more advanced reader, ask your child to make a prediction about what will happen based on her prior knowledge of the story/chapter/cover/author, etc. At the end of the read-aloud, ask her to think about how her prediction was similar/different to how the story turned out.

3)Have your child read to you every day. For non-readers find books where the text is simple and repeats itself on each page. The pictures should provide bold cues as to what any new words might be. Read the book to your child first, pointing to each word. Then have your child 'read' the book. For beginning readers, continue to select books that use repetition and picture cues. Read the first sentence or page aloud. Then have your child read the rest independently.

4) When your child comes to a hard word, instead of saying "sound it out" say:

* "What makes sense?"

* "Get your mouth ready for the Frost sound."

* "Look at the picture."

* "Skip it, read on and come back to it."

* "Re-read what you just read."

These cues help your little reader to become independent with solving 'hard' words, and to use a variety of multi-modal strategies ("Sound it out" is a strategy that only really helps auditory learners, FYI.)

5) When your child makes a mistake, instead of saying, "No, that's not right." Say:

* "You read ____________." As you repeat what he or she just read, point to the actual words on the page. Then ask, "Does that sound right?"

This builds so much more confidence, than pointing out the error. It allows your child to think critically about what he or she has just read, and to become more independent about noticing and correcting errors. The difference between a successful reader and an unsuccessful one is the ability to notice and correct all significant miscues independently.

6) Lastly, make reading fun: set a goal with your child for the number of books or time spent reading independently/with support every week. Keep a reading log with your child to track progress. Then take a trip to the library or book store to celebrate! Soon your child will be sneaking off to read under the covers by flashlight. :)