By Barb Morris
copyright ChildForum

We learn best when we are playing and having fun especially if we are rewarded with smiles, positive comments and cuddles. Children are no exception! So how do they learn? Mainly by copying and you, as parents are the most powerful role models that children copy.

Think about the way you skilfully taught your children to talk! At their request, you repeated words over and over again so they could say them after you. That’s not all that happened. You were so delighted with your children’s cleverness when they repeated the words correctly, your response to them was to smile, give positive verbal feedback and most probably cuddles as well. You were even more delighted when your children used words in the appropriate context. Once again you rewarded them in a positive way. This learning was enjoyable for both you and your children, making them keen to learn. You probably had fun as well. You did it quite naturally and without any special training. This method of teaching is called, "the mother tongue" method and can be applied to most learning situations, especially with children.

How can this fun way of teaching be applied to helping children acquire pre reading skills before they go to school?

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