Reading in Early Years

Braeside Thika prides itself in its commitment to promoting a reading culture right from the early childhood education.

Reading makes up a fundamental part of language development in a child’s early years. Not only does it help with a child's ability to understand words, it also ignites the spark for imagination.

It can start from picture reading, grow progressively until it gets to the understanding of print. This in turn impacts a child’s imagination and their play. Reading plays a crucial role for speech development and introduces children to the world around them as well as new concepts. It is crucial that the adults around children demonstrate or model reading for children so that they, the children, make it a habit from their formative years. Reading helps with creating awareness of print and letter knowledge which children then use in their early writing.

With reading as a cultivated habit, children are able to pick their favourite books. Re-read these books to them to help build their confidence in word building, their fluency and their understanding and enjoyment.