It's never too early to introduce a baby to the concept of reading. "Baby 411" authors Ari Brown and Denise Fields recommend reading to your baby as soon as she comes home from the hospital. Some baby researchers take this a step further and recommend beginning to teach baby to read even during her first year. Word cards are one tool parents can use to introduce baby to reading, using a word-recognition approach as opposed to the phonics method most common in American schools.
Make the Cards
Step 1
Choose 10 to 20 words you want your baby to learn. Some good examples are favorite foods, names of family members, animals, colors and shapes. Early childhood educator Beverlee Brick notes that nouns are the best early words, because they are concrete concepts.
Step 2
Write the words on note cards or similar sized paper. Make the words big, so your baby's as-yet undeveloped eyes can make out the shape of the words. A single word should almost fill a note card, written with thick lines.
Step 3
Use black ink on white background to make the cards. Ari and Fisher report that, during the baby's first months, black and white vision is the most acute.
Use the Cards
Step 1
Sit with the baby in a room relatively free of toys or other distractions, such as pets, television and older siblings not also participating in the activity.
Step 2
Show your baby the card. Read the card out loud in a clear and upbeat voice. Repeat the card twice, then move on to the next card.
Step 3
Watch the baby carefully as you move through the cards to see how long her endurance and attention can last. Stop working with the word cards as she loses focus.
Step 4
Show your baby the flash cards often. It's better to work the cards in several short sessions than in a few long ones.
References
- "Baby 411"; Denise Fields and Ari Brown; 2009
- Intellectual Baby: Can Babies Learn to Read
- Beverlee Brick; Classroom Teacher; Hillsboro, Ore.
