Understanding the importance of the preschool level in learning to read

Several observations indicate that children leaving preschool currently demonstrate a low level of reading and writing skills.

To better understand this weakness among today’s youngest children, we spoke with Jessica Ikete, a specialist in communication disorders in children and adults, to gain insight into what this process entails—a process that, according to her, begins in preschool.

According to this expert, there are prerequisites that many parents and teachers are unaware of or overlook during this period of introduction to reading and speech.

The specialist therefore identifies several key elements—referred to as prerequisites—that a child’s brain needs to learn to read and write more quickly and easily.

The first prerequisite, she says, is the development of strong oral language skills. This is followed by the development of phonological awareness.

Reading involves matching the “auditory” sound with written letters. To do this, the specialist says, the child’s brain must be exposed to sounds from a very young age.

The second prerequisite concerns the visual aspect. In this case, “graphemes.”

Reading can also be understood as the encoding and decoding of visual symbols.

This process also develops the child’s psychomotor skills.

The goal is to help the child become more aware of their body, learn to control it, and turn it into a tool capable of expressing themselves and communicating, as well as helping them (re)establish a harmonious relationship with their body and (re)connect with their emotions.

"Psychomotor exercises, such as recitations with gestures, help program the child’s brain," continues our specialist.

Psychomotor therapy develops the child’s sense of perception, preparing them for reading and expression.

"Sensory activities encourage the child to see more clearly and distinguish between what is the same and what is different, what resembles each other and what does not; psychomotor therapy also addresses the child’s visual field. Another benefit of psychomotor therapy is the development of the child’s executive functions. It teaches the child to control themselves, to control their body, their thoughts, what comes out of their mouth, and their cries… Psychomotor skills develop the child’s memory, which can help them begin to learn to read and even to spell,” she explained.

It should be noted that there are important stages to follow in the process of reading and writing for preschool-aged children.

These include, first and foremost, all games related to listening, auditory attention, sound memorization, and nursery rhymes.

There are also activities that help develop the child’s phonological awareness.

This involves, first, awareness of speech sounds, and then the ability to compare and contrast sounds by grouping words that have similar or different sounds at the beginning, middle, or end of the words.

There is the ability to segment phonemes—that is, the child feels capable of isolating specific sounds within a syllable—and the ability to manipulate phonemes by omitting them to create new words.

The specialist asserts that the preschool years are the best stage of preparation in a child’s reading and writing process, thanks to the various exercises—which may seem trivial at first glance—that are incorporated into the curriculum.

Jessica Ikete emphasizes that from an early age, parents should make a habit of talking to their children a lot, as well as reading or telling stories to them.

She also recommends letting children watch age-appropriate cartoons to immerse them in language.

Magalie Mussa