My Preschooler’s Favorite Early Reader Books
The problem with preschool early reader books is that, if you already know how to read, they can be mind-numbingly boring. However, for a preschooler who is just being introduced to the wonderful world of reading, these books are fantastic for teaching sight words and building reading confidence.
You might know them as Level 1 Reading Books, Step into Reading Books, or Early Readers, but the principle is the same. They are very simple books with short sentences on each page. Basically, they are the modern version of Dick and Jane stories.
Below are some of my preschool boy’s favorite early reader books.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
Normally, we each pick a book for reading time, and this one is often my choice. This one is actually fun for me to read as well. It has a fun rhythm and a cute story line. Plus, there are lots of fun things to talk about in the pictures. As far as preschool early readers go, I totally give this one a thumbs up.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
I am embarrassed to admit how many times my son has seen Cars 2. Having a dad who is a Petrol Head doesn’t help. At any rate, he absolutely loves this book and picks it far too often for reading time. His favorite words to read out loud are “bad cars” and “spy”. Not exactly site words we see every day, but it’s a start.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
The fact that my rambunctious spirited boy loves this book makes my heart tingle. I will totally bring this out and show it to his girlfriend (way, way in the future). He has basically memorized the book and that has gone a long way towards building his confidence.
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Diary of a Spirited Child Mom: Story Time with a Preschooler
One of the many articles I have read about getting a preschooler to go to sleep said that sometimes you just have to let them talk for awhile before they go to bed. It helps them process their day and get it all out of their systems before they sleep. So, now Edison tells a story before bed.
These are not Pulitzer Prize winning stories. They are generally just long ramblings about sharks or trains or whatever. Half the time, you can’t even understand what he is saying because he is so into it. Sometimes he makes himself laugh which makes me laugh and that just encourages him more.
So, last night, he is telling me a story. It had something to do with a train that turned into a rocket, but it also involved unrelated things like cake.
Suddenly he stopped and said, “Oh wait! I can’t remember what that word is called. It’s like ‘L…A…Q…’” (It always cracks me up when he tries to spell things with random letters.)
Then, he threw his little arms up in the air and said, “I don’t know. I’m gonna have to look it up in the morning on Daddy’s iPad.”
Made me smile. 
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How To Get Your Child to Sleep In…This Works!
The problem with young children is that they have no concept of time. When they wake up, it is time for everyone to get up whether it is 4:30 or even earlier. And, young children can’t just go make themselves breakfast while we lounge around in bed until a reasonable hour.
We were going crazy. Sure, Little Man was sleeping through the night, but he was getting up so early that we were still loosing sleep. And, since he couldn’t tell time, it was impossible to convince him that it was not time to get up.
It took me forever to find this thing, but once I did, it changed our lives. It is not really an alarm clock. It is actually kind of the opposite of an alarm clock. Rather than telling your child to wake up, it tells them it is NOT time to get up. (Queue angels singing.)
It is simple. You set the night light on the clock and then set a wake up time. Instead of a bell ringing to wake your child up, the color of the light changes. It took all of 30 seconds to explain to our child that he cannot get up until the light turns green.
Now, instead of him demanding to get out of bed at 4:45, we hear a sweet little voice at 6:00 in the morning (or much later!) saying, “Mommy. The clock turned green. This has even made it into our family jargon. When we put him to bed, we say, “I’ll see you when the clock turns green.” And, he says things like, “Mommy, when the clock turns green can we play trains (cars, transformers, whatever.)
Oh, and it has a digital and analog display with a button that says the time out loud so he is actually learning how to tell time too.
If you have a young child that gets up way too early, you have to try this thing. You might be able to find it locally, but I just got ours from Amazon.com.
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My 3 year-old’s favorite books this week…
Below are the books that my son has made us read more than 3 times this week.
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Little man is all about rockets right now, so this book is just perfect. It is about a little boy reads a book and gets to join in a space adventure. The pictures are interesting, the storyline is cute, and it is fun to read. (Thanks for adding this to the library, “Glandpa”.)
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
Known in our home as “Chicka Chicka Number Boom Boom”, this one instantly held a number 1 ranking for our 3 year-old. It is a sequel to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (obviously). Although it focuses on the numbers 0-20, the numbers 0-100 are listed in the back. Every time we read it, my son insists on counting each number. This wouldn’t be too bad, but if he messes up, he starts again. Ugh. But, he is learning to count to 100, so it is totally worth it.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
This book makes me happy, and Edison can tell. I love the art, and I love the message. It is about a moose who goes off on an adventure and finds there is a lot more to life than he thought. My husband and I just love the message, and it is such a good thing for kids to learn when they are young. (Actually, we love a number of books by this author…see more.)
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
When my husband brought this home from a book fair, I rolled my eyes. Could a book be more boy? But, when it was my turn to read it, I changed my tune. It goes through different types of challenges and whether a train or a shark would win. Silly, but it sparks some great conversations. I wouldn’t say it is my favorite book, but it is certainly one of my preschooler’s top picks. At the end of the day, that’s really what matters.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
This book is absolutely perfect for a 3 year-old boy. First, it is about dinosaurs. But, what I love is how I can make references to it during bed time. “Hey…”, I say when my son whines about going to bed. “Do dinosaurs do that at bedtime?” Of course they don’t. This book makes bedtime a lot nicer.
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Pencils…A Million Preschool Activities in One
I once asked Edison’s teacher what I should be working on with my son at home. She answered, “Give him a pencil and paper. That is all he needs at this age.”
Honestly, I thought the answer was a little cheap until I gave him a pencil and paper and watched him try to write. He kind-of looked like a pig trying to knit. I didn’t get it…He does great with crayons, pens, markers, etc. There was just something about using a pencil to write that was extra hard for him.
Nothing like a good challenge.
We picked up a package of those extra big, preschool pencils to make it a little easier. We also spent $1 on a manual pencil sharpener, the kind where the shavings are contained in a little cup. Then, we set about practicing with pencils. His fine motor skills and “writing” have already improved. Plus, he has tons of fun while accidentally learning valuable preschool skills.
Below are some preschool activities for pencils:
- Sharpening Pencils - Who would have thought that this chore would be so much fun for a preschooler. Edison is fascinated with watching the shavings curl. He also loves emptying the pencil sharpener.
- Erasing - Now there’s a mark…Now there isn’t…The first time I brought out the pencils, Edison spent a good 15 minutes erasing things. Can we say fine motor skill development?
- Name Writing - Having a preschooler practice writing his or her name kills a lot of birds with one stone.
- Correcting Misspellings - I wrote Edison’s name on a piece of paper and purposefully replaced the “d” with a “c”. He figured out it was misspelled, erased the “c” and did his best to write a “d”. We did this with a bunch of words.
- Educational Write-A-Mats - I just love these things. They are place mats that you can write on. (Click here to see what I am talking about…) We have the United States map, the world map, the phonics place mat and the one for learning to tell time. Not only do they keep his table space clean, but they keep him occupied while we are getting dinner ready.
- Drawing By Instruction - Sometimes, I will just ask my preschooler what he wants to draw. Then, I walk him through it. For example, if he says “a rocket!”, I say, “let’s start with a big rectangle.” I demonstrate by “drawing” a rectangle with my finger on the paper so he knows where to start. Then, I walk him through adding fins, windows, boosters, etc. This activity makes it fun to practice fine motor skills.
- Tracing - Whether my preschooler is tracing his hand, tracing cookie cutters, or tracing things from around the house, it is a great way to practice his fine motor skills.
- Shading - Did you know that if you hold a pencil at an angle, you get a wide line that is perfect for coloring in large areas? Of course you knew that, but maybe your preschooler doesn’t. Edison thinks it is pretty freakin’ cool.
- Quick, Travel Entertainment - Now-a-days, I always keep a pencil and a tiny pad of paper in my purse now, for those boring moments in waiting rooms or in the car. What a life saver.
