Will my child struggle to read?

With the summer days in and the school days out, where kids have finished their yearly curriculum, different thoughts circle in different parents’ minds. Some parents thank Hashem for their child’s success despite this year’s situation which has diminished lots of quality school hours, while others are very concerned about their child’s future.

What concerned parents say:

“My daughter learned the א-ב but has not yet managed to fully grasp it before the virus kicked in, and since then she is struggling with the אותיות. Soon Pre 1-A will start, and before I know it my daughter will remain the weak kriah students who will need tutors for who knows how many years…”

“My son learned how to read; he was ב”ה reading accurately but slowly. Now after the virus, his class has already mastered reading תהלים, and he still thinks about every אות and נקודה before saying each word. Soon he’ll be starting כתה ב’. How will he be able to learn חומש and recognize words?!”

As a parent reading this article, many of you might have similar concerns and fears about your son’s or daughter’s הצלחה with their קריאה skills. As we are working with מוסדות on their kriah curriculum, we can tell you that these concerns are valid, and yes! you have what to be concerned about. It can take all of a couple of weeks for the concern – the challenge to become an obstacle and a real problem.

The good news is that ‘it doesn’t take a village to raise a child.’ ‘An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure’- assisting your child in a productive way while there’s only a fear of failure can eliminate hours and hours of tutoring when the concern grows into a problem.

Following is a list of principles for kriah success:

1. Kriah is a step by step process; the better your child will be with each step, the easier he/she will acquire each new step.
2. Children prefer reading texts of levels that they’re fluent with rather than new levels.
3. Learning with a parent should be a positive experience for a child; how positive can the experience be if he’s constantly getting criticism for reading words incorrectly?
4. Kids want to read well! If something was said incorrectly it’s not because of their bad will.
5. Success in each level of kriah is dependent on specific skills; practicing activities that strengthen those skills will increase reading success.
6. A human brain adapts new skills with less practice more frequently, rather than more practice less frequently.

With those principles in mind, choosing targeted exciting activities that strengthen kriah skills and doing it with your child on a consistent basis for only 10 min. per day throughout the summer, will on your child’s be a tremendous benefit for your child’s future success!

We have produced a variety of exciting kriah workbooks geared for each level of kriah. It’s a great opportunity to practice, upgrade and maintain your child’s reading and get them ready for the upcoming school year. For more information call the Toras Picho office at 845-538-4168

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