Ten Tips on Reading with your Child
Learning to read is the cornerstone of every child’s education. By reading aloud and teaching your child in a way that is a pleasure for both of you, you will be sharing one of life’s most valuable gifts and open all kinds of doors for the future. Here are some tips on making the most of reading with your child:
- Choose a time and a place where you can be quiet and give your child lots of attention. Make the occasion a special one.
- Turn off any distractions such as televisions, music CDs, radios.
- When you are reading aloud, show that you are enjoying yourself.
- Involve your child. Let yourself be interrupted with questions; talk about what you think of the story and the pictures.
- When your child has started learning to read, follow the text and help your child point to the words as you go along.
- Establish a routine. Try to devote some time every day to reading.
- Take your child to your local library and involve him or her in choosing books.
- Notice what kinds of stories your child enjoys and look out for ones with similar themes.
- When you are reading aloud, praise your child for listening well and sitting still.
When your child is learning to read for you, give praise and encouragement too, but be sure gently to correct your child when he or she makes mistakes.
- Help build your child’s vocabulary and memory skills by supplementing reading sessions with audio books on car journeys and after meals or at bedtime. Audio books are especially helpful in building memory skills and supporting the learning of dyslexic and autistic children.
*Added tip for reading for older children....read the first few pages together or even the first chapter with children ages third grade and up. Within the first few pages usually the characters' and the setting names will be given. These unfamiliar words might be difficult for some readers to pronounce so by reading together you are introducing these words. Also reading together shows you are interested in what your child is reading. Have fun!
Sharing your child’s journey into reading can be one of the most rewarding experiences of parenthood. You owe it to your child, and to yourself, to make it a priority in your daily life.
Making Storytime with Baby Magical and Memorable: Tips for Families from Barefoot Books
Storytime offers a perfect opportunity for family
bonding at its best, while helping babies develop essential early
literacy and cognitive skills, and create cherished memories that
will last a lifetime. Here are some fun and simple ways parents and
caregivers can make storytimes with their baby a magical part of the
day, everyday:
- When you read to your baby, even when they are a newborn, you are fostering in them a lifetime love of books and learning, and are helping to spark their imaginations and sense of wonder. You can begin storytime with your baby even when they are just a few weeks old. Babies love to be held close, look at your face and hear your voice, and that is exactly what storytime is about.
- Choose a quiet, comfortable spot for storytime with your baby. It may be holding your baby on a cozy rocking chair, on the floor with large pillows, or outdoors in warm months lying on a blanket together.
- Reading time doesn’t have to be at bedtime. Consider other times of the day when you can read together. Some families enjoy reading with their children early in the morning as a special way to start the day, or during bath time when your baby is sitting safely in the tub and you are sitting close by.
- Show your baby the pictures. Babies love colourful pictures and enjoy them even more when you point out the different colors, shapes, animals, expressions, and other details and talk with your baby about the story. “What color is the kangaroo? Do you see the girl smiling? Why do you think she is happy?” Even if your baby is not old enough to answer, having these “conversations” is an important way to develop their early cognitive and social skills.
- Be creative! Storytime is a time to let true personalities shine! Using different voices for each character, or acting out parts of the story can make storytime even more memorable and enjoyable for you and your baby. Have some fun with it and your baby will too. Get on your hands and knees and bark like a puppy, hop like a bird, or sing the story, and soon enough, you will find your baby laughing and trying to imitate what you do. This is how they learn about the world in fun ways.
- Keep a storytime journal: Write down the book or story shared, the date, and your baby’s reactions. The journal will become a beautiful memory piece as time goes by.
