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Melissa Gibson
Educational Consultant with Usborne Books
There are several stages a child goes through on their way to becoming literate. They begin in infancy with awareness and exploration and continue through approximately fourth grade and beyond with the development and competency of reading and writing skills. The benefits to reading to a child are great. When you read aloud to a child you help them to develop many skills including concentration, speech and language development, literacy and a love for books.
It is very important to read aloud to children starting from birth, and to not stop until they are well into their teens. The impact this has a child's future literacy is well documented... so don't delay!
Author Mem Fox, in her the book Reading Magic states that children need to hear sounds many times before they can repeat them. She recommends reading 1000 books aloud to a child before they enter school. Don't make your goal to read "just" 1000 books. Reach higher! Mem Fox recommends three books a day: one favorite, one familiar and one new.
As you read a book, it's important to keep it interactive! Take time to look at and talk about the pictures and the story. Present questions to your child on book you just shared. Allow them to ask questions as well. Encourage a conversation at the conclusion of the story. This will help foster conversational and social skills along with higher level language functioning.
Reading the same book several times is encouraged as well. Although you may tire of a story you have read a gazillion times, your child will learn something new each time you read it together. The repetitiveness is helping them build their memory of sounds and words, establish a correlation between the written and spoken word and develop and improve sentence structure....among many other skills.
In many cases, once their child learns to read their parents will stop reading aloud to them! This is a common pitfall that you should try to avoid. Keep reading to your child and TALK about the books! By engaging in this activity you will help them develop their skills as they grow.
For more information on how important reading is to your child, I recommend Mem Fox's book Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. Additionally, fill your lives with books! Read aloud frequently, visit the library often, and build your home libraries with books that you and your kids will enjoy over and over again.
Usborne books has special offers and incentive programs available to schools, organizations and families. They are encouraging children to develop a love for reading and helping you earn rewards at the same time!
Click here to learn more!
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