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If you have a parenting question to “ask Karen”, you can email Karen directly at Karen@FamilyTimeInc.com. Karen will answer your question as soon as possible. Or, you can request a personal coaching session. About Karen Deerwester
Karen is the founder and CEO of Family Time, Inc., a Parent Educator and Early Childhood Specialist. Karen has supported thousands of parents in their efforts to build great foundations for children since 1985, through classes, seminars, and one-on-one coaching. Karen is uniquely committed to helping parents become problem solvers in the large and small questions that arise when "living with children." How-to Videos
Reading and Counting
Question: At what age should a child be beginning to read? My daughter will be five in April and she is beginning to read, with assistance. Also, by what age should a child be able to count to 10?- Rachel
Answer: Learning to read is like learning to talk - it's a process that happens over time. The process begins in infancy and extends through early elementary school. In addition to pre-reading skills, other seemingly unrelated factors are essential. Children need a language-rich and print-rich environment with lots of hands-on experiences that expose them to the world represented in books. Four and five year olds will best acquire the necessary skills for reading through meaningful activities rather than more formalized instruction because learning at this developmental stage is active and child-centered. Flash cards and "quick learn" programs offer only short term results with early advantages disappearing by 8 years of age while experience based learning creates lifelong learners.
Your daughter is on target if she is reading "with assistance" even if you notice some of her friends doing more or less. This is the age for parents and teachers to follow their children's interests and inspire their natural curiosity. You can support her efforts by paying attention to her environment and the scope of her experiences. Some ideas are:
- Have a variety of picture and story books at home
- Take her to the library on a regular basis
- Read to her daily (let her fill in the next word/phrase in familiar books)
- Read simple chapter books to her that continues from one day to the next (for example, Charlotte's Web)
- Let her see you reading adult material at home
- Tell her stories (let her build mental pictures and sequences)
- Point out letters and words all around her (road signs, storefronts, menus)
- Give her lots opportunities to write with pens, markers, crayons, & chalk
- Give her the junk mail and old magazines to read and cut with scissors
- Take field trips everywhere to make connections between print and objects
- Recite rhymes and sing silly songs (for phonics and listening skills)
- Play matching games and concentration games (for pattern recognition)
- Encourage risk-taking in her play (good readers are risk-takers!)
Good Luck,
Karen Deerwester, Ed.S.
Also see:
• Other recently asked questions
• Positive discipline
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