There is no doubt that developing a love of reading at an early age will help give them a head start in life and set them on the path to becoming lifelong readers. Not only that but it will improve your child’s concentration, and vocabulary and language skills. But reading with your child can offer so much more than that.
Reading helps develop and fire their imagination, and opens their mind to the excitement of the world around them. But most of all reading is fun!
As World Book Day is celebrated in many parts of the world on 4th March, we offer top tips for developing your child’s passion and love of reading at a young age.
- Do let children choose the books they are interested in. Children may struggle to read books they don’t like, or are forced to read!
- Remember to have lots of different books in the home. And remember to lead by example, let your child observe you reading often.
- It’s not always easy but try and set a specific time aside every day to read together . You are likely to quickly start seeing the benefit of making it a daily habit!
- If possible, try and create a comfortable, cosy reading corner with lots of beanbags and blankets. And of course lots of different books!
- Why not visit the library, or see what book fairs or book clubs are happening locally? Also keep your eyes out for local author signings.
- Remember to talk about reading. It’s really important to ask children about the book they are reading or what they like about a certain book. They will love that you are interested in it too. Spending time together talking about books also helps create a stronger bond too.
- If possible, try and sit together as a family with each person reading their chosen literature. This could be a book, a comic, a magazine or a newspaper, depending on the family members age and interests.
- For another idea, why not read a story and then watch the movie remake of the book?
- Try and visit places that children are reading about, for example if your child is reading an animal story, take them to a wildlife park.
- And lastly, to inspire a love of reading, why not listen to audio books together? These are great to listen to in the car or when travelling. If you don’t have access to audio books, you can make up your own stories together. One person can decide on the characters and another can decide on the story plot or the problems and solutions that will appear in the story. This will also teach children the patterns of storytelling
Above all, enjoy reading with your child!
For more information on the benefits of reading with your child, read our article ‘Pingu’s English: Enjoying Reading in the Early Years‘ from Ms Rebecca Gilligan, our own Head of Curriculum and Content here at Pingu’s English
#pingusenglish #worldbookday #loveofreading
First published on www.pingusenglish.com
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