Young children often have eager minds that run wild while playing with others and learning new things. However, when it comes to teaching children new concepts, there are a number of ways to get their attention. The best way to help children comprehend new skills is to make learning fun!

For parents seeking to start their children on the path to early reading and academic success, here are five tips from Reading in Preschool to teach your child how to read:

Read to your children. Reading to your little one may help to spark their desire to read. Studies also show that "children growing up in a home with many books get three years more schooling than children from bookless homes." A great place to start is by creating a library at home and reading to your child often. Be sure to ask them questions to test their comprehension and listening skills.

Help them identify letters, decoding and sight recognition. Allowing your child to become familiar with recognizable letters and words is an important part of the process. When you are reading to them, point out letters, numbers and characters in the story and identify them. Help them to remember this by repeating it before turning the page or moving forward with the story.

Incorporate multiple domains. There are a wide variety of things at your disposal to help guide your child's learning experience. Utilize fun arts & crafts, songs, or rhymes to fuse with reading. Be sure to choose words that are rhythmic to draw your child's interest to the sounds of the story. Books with interesting photos and illustrations may also prevent young children from becoming distracted by outside interferences.

Help them identify word families. Introducing young children to word families can help to familiarize them with certain words and help your child learn how to read faster! Start with a key word (i.e. can). Then help children think of words that rhyme. Test this skill by asking them to think of words that end with certain sounds similar to -an (i.e. fan, ran, man, van). Check to make sure that they understand these word meanings and guide them if they need help. If your child likes guessing new words that rhyme, continue to add words to the extended word family and introduce them to more complex word families as they learn.

Establish phonemic awareness and use phonics. Helping children to sound out words will help them to remember them! So, start by helping them to read a few books that stimulate all their senses, such as touch-and-feel books or books that make sounds. Phonics books may also help children to more easily sound out words and increase their phonemic awareness when reading.

However, these are just some of the useful ways you can help your child learn to read at an early age. Reading and tutoring programs can also help jumpstart early reading, and Reading in Preschool offers a dynamic tutoring program for young learners.

To discover more creative ways to teach children to read, visit Reading in Preschool.