TRANSFORM READING INTO JOY
Find new ways to feel confident and inspired to create a habit of reading with your baby, toddler or school aged child
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A Love of Reading?
Not every parent loves to read and yet those who do usually want to do it in a cozy bed, quietly and alone. If the idea of reading aloud with your little one doesn't quite get you excited or you've run out of ideas- you're in the right place! As a child, I was not very interested in reading, mostly because I could not read at a pace which kept my attention so I was easily distracted. My memories of “practicing” reading in school were mostly filled with stress induced deer-in-headlights flashbacks of “circle reading” turn taking in front of the whole class. This habit of not loving to read carried on later into my teen then adult life, and honestly it didn't bother me much. However, once I pursued a multiple subject elementary teaching credential, I knew the benefits of instilling a love of reading at a young age and thus wanted to specialize in literacy learning to cultivate a love of reading- something I personally struggled with as a child.
Now, here I am, the child who once hated reading grew up to be a literary specialist focusing on second language acquisition! With teaching credentials under my belt and the understanding of language development through a Montessori lens, I want to share with you some of my best strategies, books and games to begin to transform reading with your child into a time of fun and connection.
It's no surprise that the activities I naturally love also come naturally to me to share with my child. I love exploring nature and so I easily share this by taking walks together or collecting items outside with my child. It's easy for me AND I take pleasure in these activities. This does not necessarily mean my child will respond exactly as I do–and enjoy it, but I can model my genuine appreciation. And yet with reading, we forget the same applies: the love of ( or indifference to) books can be easily passed down from caregiver to child.
Great news for parents who love books, however, if you have yet to cultivate a love of books or feeling stuck in a read aloud rut, I encourage you to read on and choose a couple tips to start. Additionally, I will share some impressive research showing the impact of daily reading as well as some examples of the best books to read together to meet the developmental needs of your baby, toddler or school-aged child!
The Research about Reading
Can 15 minutes of reading really make much of a change?
If you've ever doubted the impact of a daily practice of reading, the message is loud and clear: the impact of reading just 15 minutes daily is worth A MILLION! Actually it's more than 1,146,000 words per year! The research is simple; 15 minutes of reading a day is what it takes. Set a timer for 15 minutes and go! According to the Read Aloud 15 MINUTES nonprofit organization’s website Readaloud.org
Golden Benefits for your Child
Connection: you can create your own way to play with books, use voices, drama or use the illustrations to play a find the picture game.
Language development for 0-3 years: Use books illustrations to inspire simple conversation.
Listening to adult's simple statements about books:
“That cat is red.”, “The clouds are really fluffy.”, “ The raccoon is hiding.”
Listening to adult's yes/no questions then given a 'thinking pause' to think or answer:
“Does the alligator have a tail?”, “Did the child wear a hat?”
Listening skills: Simply listening to the words you read aloud, your child is being exposed to new vocabulary, in addition your child is practicing invaluable auditory skills whether they are babbling babies or school-aged children.
Open-ended Reflection Questions for ~5+ year old readers evoke curiosity:
“Where do you think he is going?”
“What kind of sandwich would you want to eat?”
“How would you feel if that happened to you?”
The goal isn't to get the “right” answer about the book-or even to READ the whole book, the goal is to get your child curious, thinking, talking and wanting to interact with books!
BEST Books (developmentally) for Every Age
Reading with your child can take on many forms depending on their skills, interest and stage of development. Picking the right book which holds interest AND supports language does take some practice and attention to details. Below, I’ll share some features to look for in books for all ages.
Infants
Reading with an infant can look like reading books with a few words, pointing and naming real images in a book or even propping up a book during tummy time and talking about the bold colors or Black and White Images. It's important for your baby to be in a position to see your mouth while reading. The simple act of listening to your voice and watching your mouth as you speak is so beneficial to your growing infant! As your baby grows so does their ability to visually process more color and shapes. Don't worry about reading the whole book or even reading every page at this stage.
Your baby will be learning through their own senses and sensorially through the adult reader. Your baby will be observing your various facial expressions, observing the movement of your mouth, listening to the sound of your voice, feeling the warmth of your body next to theirs and the tactile sensation of the book on their fingers. A good rule of thumb for babies is to keep the illustrated visuals simple and allow them to interact sensorially- thicker board books, soft bath books, flip books, and sensorial books with different textures are all great for babies!
Toddlers to Preschool | 2-5 years old
Books can be a great way to expose toddlers to a wide range of vocabulary around their interests. Whether it be animals, transportation or foods, books can help toddlers dive deeper into their interests. When deciding what kinds of book, my preference is to offer a mix of books with real photographic images and beautiful realistic illustrations for preschool ages.
The children in this age range love to make connections to what they observe in real life to the images in their books. Although often books for this age range have oversimplified drawings and characters, developmentally 2-5 year olds are still understanding what is real and fantasy and not yet capable of abstraction. Providing books with realistic images reinforces their reality and they can relate what they see in books to their real life. Children between 2-5 years old are curious to learn more and have the capacity to easily and joyfully develop an extended vocabulary in topics of their interest- dinosaur names, dog breeds, insects, etc. So look for books with many images, labels, informative simple facts and/or stories about real life creatures they enjoy.
Children ages 2-5 years especially benefit from being introduced to bilingual pictures books or a beautifully illustrated dictionary full of pictures! As children grow older closer to school age, books about the variety of emotions as well as funny stories are always a hit!
Bilingual books: First 100 words/Primera 100 Palabras(spanish)
Themed books: Animal Book, Trucks and Diggers, Baby Faces
Mixed images: First 100 Words, ABC book
Feelings book: How do you feel?
Funny Book: Waiting is not Easy!
GAMES with Books | Toddlers to Preschool
The goal is to give vocabulary to your toddler and build connections between the words and images while also having fun. Don't forget the fun- that's when the learning actually happens for the child.
Ages 0-2+ years One way to play with new vocabulary is to start by naming all the images in a book by pointing and saying its name. "This is a fox." Then play a guessing game by asking, “Where is the fox?”. Allow around 5 seconds for a "thinking pause" this allows the child to process your words and look at the images. Then if there is no answer you may point and say, “Here it is! This is a fox! fox.”
Ages 2-5 years Here are some great open-ended curiosity questions and statements to use with your child while reading include:
Which creature do you like?
I really liked________ because it had such a bumpy nose(reason)!
Do you see... an animal with small legs(specific observable characteristic)?
I wonder why... he sleeps so long in the cave? What do you think?
Name and point to all the images.
Ohh! Let's find... the blue fish! (pause for child to look) Here's one! (point)
Make an observation: This man has a green button like mine! (point)
CARE of Books | Toddlers to Preschool
At this stage your child will be wanting to take more charge of reading (and many other parts of their lives!). They may take want to take hold the book, turn the page, perhaps even read the story to the parent! A great mini-lesson to start early on is how to gently turn the page of a book- holding the bottom right corner and sloooowly turning the page-from right to left. Taking the time to model and practice this will save on many ripped books and hopefully promote care of books. The other option is placing books in the book hospital until the book doctor can fix them with tape! Personally, I find that having a very specific area where books live in the home- a box, basket, shelf or mat, separate from coloring materials, helps to keep order and avoid drawing on books.
Elementary ages
As your child grows, crossing over the development hurdle into the 6-12 years their capacity to understand their world begins to expand beyond the real tactile world around them. Abstract imaginative tales, creative characters, complex feelings and stories of challenges are all subjects that interest the elementary child.
Some children may be curious about a specific topic- again, real image books are still very popular and of high interest- however, now the text and diagrams should include much more details and complex information. One of my favorite books that can grow with your child from toddler to elementary ages is The Animal Book: A Visual Encyclopendia of Life on Earth. This book has endless learning possibilities and beautiful images of all kinds of animals from microscopic organisms and plant life to the various animal kingdoms. The elementary age range is also when reading capacity increases and chapter books become popular. My top tip is to find a theme or series like The Magic Tree House, or a fun leading character like Layla and the Bots or Geronimo Stilton that can spark the interest of your child. Make sure to have your child read a bit of the chapter book to see if they feel comfortable with the reading level- don't feel discouraged if it takes your early chapter readers time to find a book that matches their interest and reading level, keep looking you will find your match!
Old and New Favorites
A long time favorite online resource for families exploring read aloud with young children is Storyline Online. This award winning children's literacy website allows you to browse, together with your child, to choose a story that is read aloud by an actor accompanied by animated illustrations. It's a great way no-cost way to listen to a variety of books and a nice safe educational alternative to YouTube.
Lately, I have been loving the translated children's books from TRANSIT Children’s Editions publishing house. They have a wonderful variety of children's books originally written in a foreign language by international authors! The small publishing house hand picks international titles to be translated and published for the the first time for English readers. Their latest collection share funny, heartwarming and creative storylines that evoke curiosity and connections amongst a wide range of readers. If you are a Spanish-English bilingual home consider this Spanish language title, Gigante en la Orilla written by Alfonso Ochoa and beautifully illustrated by Azul Lopez. The accompanying English translation called Giant on the Shore magically approaches storytelling by exploring deep universal feelings with curiosity and acceptance.
My best tip for finding those Book Gems, as you enter the wild world of books both online and otherwise, is to pay attention to the publisher, author and illustrator. Using your child's favorite picture book's illustrator is one strategy to find new books your child might like. Keep in mind that stories portraying the lived experiences of diverse peoples should be authored by folks of that community- you would never read a book about Montessori in the Home written by a someone who has never experienced Montessori in the home, right? Children's books deserve the same discernment- it only takes a couple seconds to flip the book to read the author's biography.
In the end, whether you decide to implement many strategies I've shared or none at all, I hope your takeaway is the importance of having a positive and playful attitude about literacy with your child. Even sharing some of your favorite classic books as a child can start an interesting conversation about books before there was online read aloud. Simply being curious and taking some time- hopefully 15 minutes- but even just 5 minutes to connect with your child and a book creates a memory that can have an impact that lasts a lifetime.
I'd love to hear what tips were helpful to you in the comments!
~Hana