What's so great about books?
Dear Parents,
Books are a fun and necessary part of your child's development. The following are some tips to help you and your child get started on the right path to reading. Thank you for getting involved!
Reading is an important part of everyday life.
- It is a calming activity. You need to first get comfortable. Sit with your child on your lap, or tucked close under your arm so the pages are in view and you are snuggled up together.
- Make reading a book or two before bedtime or naptime a wonderful habit; then look for other times during the day to relax and enjoy a story.
Choose books that your child will enjoy.
- Begin sharing books that have only a few words on each page.
- Look for bright pictures, rhymes, repetition, and a simple story. Books need to be repeated many times, sometimes at the same sitting, sometimes a few days later. Let your child decide.
- Be sure to pick books you'll like reading over and over again.
Libraries are free resources of great books!
- Visit the library with your child often.
- The StoryBus works with the Chicago Public Library! Check their website for hours, locations, and book availability.
Be a playful reader, get silly, or serious.
- Let the characters speak out in different voices.
- Your child will love turning the pages. By turning pages children learn how books are put together.
- Wait and let your child finish a rhyme. This is an important way to become aware of the sounds that make up words.
As you read, your child is learning.
- Before you begin a book, ask your child to guess what it will be about. Use the pictures on the cover, the title, and the pictures inside for this great thinking exercise.
- Be sure to include the name of the book and the author and illustrator. (It is exciting to learn that people create each book, and your child can hear the names that connect with each new title).
- Move your finger under the text to help our child understand you are reading from left to right, from top to bottom.
Books are to be read to the very young child, and to the child who is already a reader.
- Share board books with your six-month-old baby, and read chapters aloud to your pre-teen. Being read to is not an age issue. Books supply their own rewards in the pictures, the experiences, the new thoughts, and the sharing.
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