Hi Folks!
There's nothing more delightful than curling up with your child to read together. If you are willing to spend some time reading to your child everyday, you're sure to get them hooked to a lifelong habit. They'll never sleep without picking up the book on their bedside table and reading a few lines every night. In fact, the more they see you read, the more likely it is that thy'll pick up a book themselves when the opportunity presents itself.
There are a million books out there that will enthrall your kid. Let her pick what she wants you both to read together. Children take comfort in repetition, so you might end up reading the same book night after night - that's fine. Maybe it's the character that fascinates your child, maybe its the sequence of events that's exciting or maybe it's just the sheer joy of looking at the illustrations that go with the story.
So, even though your child may be only 2 or 3 years old, how do you make the most of your reading sessions? There's lots you can do to develop your child's language and communication skills through reading. Discuss the characters in a story - ask you child who her favourite is. Get her to talk about what is special in this character. If you were to add one more character to the story, who might that be? How would it change the story? If you were to give the story another ending to the story, what might that be?
If you are reading a new story, stop at intervals and get your child to make predictions. Ask: What do you think will happen next? Based on their previous experiences, children definitely come up with something - it stimulates their thinking.
Slowly, you could introduce your child to parts of a book - use words like Title, Author, Illustrator etc. soon these words will become a part of your child's vocabulary. Every time you pick up a new book, read out the title. Even if your child can't read yet, she will recognize the picture on the cover and associate it with the title. Read out the author's name. Tell your child that this is the person who has written the book. Ask: Would you like to write books when you grow up?
In this day and age, if you're able to get your child to love books, you're doing her a great favour because no digital experience can match the joy of unwinding with a book at the end of a long day at work!
Happy reading!
Playpen Team
