Experts say children need to hear a thousand books read aloud to them before they will become early readers.
It may seem a lot but if you read one story a day, that’s 365 a year. If you read three stories a day that’s your 1,000 books in one year.
Many of us will remember snuggling in to our Mum or Dad or grandparent to listen to a story being read to us. It may have been part of our bedtime ritual to have a story. Nowadays there seems no getting away without a bedtime story; it has become a favourite part of our children's bedtime routines.
make it fun
In reading books it is not only the number of books that counts but also the enthusiasm with which they are read to the child. Reading aloud shouldn't become an intense learning session. It should be about having fun together. The more expressive we are, the more fun the experience will be.
Model the speech of different characters and have fun using different voices. A favourite book at our house is The Three Little Pigs with puppets in it. Three year olds love to join in, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down,” using a high voice for the pigs and a deep voice for the wolf. We make our voice loud, soft, fast and slow; then we go up high and down low.
Silence can also create excitement. Try pausing for a time to create suspense and then drag out the last line to finish a story.
Use your eyes as well as your mouth, make them wide open to be ‘big’ or ‘scared’, narrow them to ‘think’ and put on your biggest grin to be ‘happy’.
ask questions
Asking open ended questions encourages language development. These are questions that require a response other than yes or no. Try to vary the way you start a question, use Who? What? Where? When? and the more tricky Why? and How?
Ask questions about attributes and functions of objects, what they look like and what they do. By doing this before you read the book together you will have had time to have a really good look at the detail in the illustrations and your child will then have a good overview of what the story is about.
During and after finishing the story, provide opportunities for your child to talk back and give him time to do this. Expand on your child’s response and reword it correctly if necessary. This all adds to the development of the language.
read anywhere
It’s a good idea to always have a few favourite books with you when you are out to fill in those moments of boredom, or to help overcome the restlessness at the doctors, on the bus or train or even at a friend's place.
It is important to also have a special time or two when you read together each day. We read first thing in the morning all snuggled up in Mum and Dad’s bed. And then the bedtime story is a great way to finish off the day on a fun and positive note no matter what sort of day we have all had.
choose enjoyable books
Funny books, exciting books, colourful books, books with rhyme - the list is endless. Don’t forget nursery rhymes. The rhyme and rhythm help children to develop early phonics skills and begin to hear rhyme. Rhyming books allow children to predict and join in the last word of a line. Books with repetition in each page allow children to begin to ‘read’ long before they can actually read text, building up their self-esteem.
Include fairy tales in your repertoire. These help to develope children’s imaginations along with often containing a message.
No matter what age your children, read to them every day and have a fantastic time together.
