Guiding a child through their early educational needs can be a fun filled adventure, especially when fostering a love for reading. For parents and educators, understanding the role of reading for pleasure in 3 to 6 years olds is crucial. We explore the benefits, offer practical parenting tips, and introduce tools and games from Teach Your Monster (and others) that can significantly enhance the reading experience for kids.

The Magic of Reading for Pleasure

Let’s start with a question — why does early years reading actually matter? Well it’s not just about decoding words on a page, it's about opening doors to new worlds, sparking imagination, and building essential social skills. It's a vital component of literacy development, enhancing vocabulary, comprehension, and communication skills. 

Boosting Confidence Through Literacy

Recognising letters, understanding phonics, and starting to read small words are significant early milestones for kids aged 3 to 6 years. Books and educational apps especially designed for early readers, like Teach Your Monster to Read or Reading for Fun, make learning these skills fun, immersive and interactive.

Building a child's confidence is an important stepping stone to building more advanced literacy skills. The more children engage with books (or reading in general!), the more their reading confidence grows. They start to recognise words, get their imagination going, start predicting where the story might go, and make lasting connections with characters they encounter.

Parenting Tips: Fostering a Reading Habit

• Storytelling Time: Make reading a daily ritual! Whether it's a bedtime story or a mid-day reading break, consistent exposure to books is key. The parents at Teach Your Monster love a reverse bedtime story, where their kid reads the bedtime story to them - why not try this at home?
• Interactive Reading: Use books and apps that are interactive and age-appropriate. Unsurprisingly we recommend Teach Your Monster Reading for Fun as an excellent example of an app that combines learning with play!
• Choose Engaging Books: Select books with rich vibrant illustrations and engrossing stories that play into your child's interests.
• Read Aloud: Reading aloud helps children understand the rhythm and melody of language, making any reading experience more enjoyable.

The Role of Educational Apps

Educational apps for kids can now play a significant role in literacy development. Apps like Teach Your Monster to Read take learning phonics and reading skills and turn them into an exciting rewarding adventure. They can offer a more personalised learning experience, making them a valuable tool for parents and educators alike. 

One of our favourite UK teachers, Adam (Abbott Alphege Academy, 2023) says  “Teach Your Monster Reading for Fun is absolutely fantastic in ensuring that children maintain a passion for reading and they are exposed to a wide range of texts. It’s engaging, it’s fun and it crosses the world of technology with the world of books and today, that’s really important, to bring those two together.”

The life-long journey of reading for pleasure in early childhood is more than just an educational milestone — it's the beginning of a lifelong love for books. By incorporating even just a few of these tips into a routine, parents and educators can help children become confident, and hopefully even enthusiastic readers!