As I mentioned in the previous post, I am a big fan of reading. Life wouldn’t be the same if I couldn’t curl up with a good book or two or three. My husband is always shaking his head because I will read several books at a time and I used to keep a book for each level of the house (or room). A book upstairs for when I wanted to read in bed, a book in the living room for when I was relaxing, a book in the baby’s room so I could read while I rocked him and a book in my oldest son’s room so I could read while he fell asleep. My husband has never understood that although I could get up and retrieve the current book from a location, it was difficult to get up with a cranky baby and search for a book. Having several on the go made it much easier to read along to the flow of life without disrupting other people’s routines.

Yep, not too obsessed with books and reading and thankfully my kids are almost as bad as I am.

As many of you know, the toddler stage is the age where mimicking begins and many children will continue with mimicking for many years. It is important that you demonstrate excellent reading habits, even at such a young age. It has been proven that parents who read will have children who enjoy reading as well. It is important for both mom’s and dad’s to read. In regards to boys, having dad read is an excellent way to teach boys that it can be an enjoyable past time for men and women.

Now that I have you reading, let’s look at having your toddler reading. Below are a few tips:

• Read every day: Set up a time that you read with your child everyday. I liked to have free time each day where my kids could bring me a book to read and I would stop whatever I was doing (usually housework) to read a story. I also had a set time where I would read for 15 minutes. This was always the bedtime story and it not only laid the foundation for reading but it also settled them down for sleeping.
• Picture books: Picture books are very important at this stage. Children can look at pictures to decipher the story while you read it. This will build on imagery and on creating stories of their own.
• Nursery Rhymes: Finger Plays and nursery rhymes may not have a book associated with them but singing little songs and nursery rhymes will help your child develop an interest in stories and rhythm.
• Turn the book: One of the key ingredients to reading is having the pages facing the right way. Watch your child while she flips through a book and take a moment to turn it so the book is right-side up.
• Point to the words: Like the little bouncy ball following the words on a sing-along, your finger teaches a child that reading is from left to right. He will begin to follow your finger, taking in the words that you are saying and eventually, he will start remembering the words that you point to.

Reading at this stage can be filled with a lot of trials and tribulations. Children may have a shorter attention span than before and with all the new things to explore, they may not want to sit down for a moment. It is important to make reading a part of your daily schedule and another layer of foundation will be added to your child’s reading development.

Sirena Van Schaik

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And this love of books isn’t reserved to my bookshelves alone.  My kids enjoy my infatuation with books and have several bookshelves in their rooms.  Despite having all these books, there is one set that I really feel is a must for any toddler to preschoolers shelf and I wanted to mention it here.  This is rare for me because even though there are brands and products that I love, I try not to push any one product.

As I mentioned in the Cheat Sheet:Volcanoes, I have a illustrated dictionary for my kids.  This is one of our favorite books and I have used it so much that I have actually had to repair the binding.  Still, that is not the book that I feel is a must have and it is actually a series of books that I am referring to.

These are the My First Steps to Reading by Jane Belk Moncure and illustrated by Colin King.  This is a set of 25 books with a parenting guide on helping your child to read and also a package of flashcards that correspond to the books.

They are very colorful and the storyline, although simple, is one that holds a child’s attention.  What makes these books so great is that each letter of the alphabet, except x,y,z, each have their own books.  All of them follow the same plot where a character, who is called by the letter he or she represents, such as “Little A”, is trying to fill a box with things that begin with his or her sound.  So the story reads, “Little A had a box,” with pictures near the word to represent “Little A,” “the box” and other things that are in the story.

Children can follow along in the story and eventually begin to memorize the repetition.  Since they are following the words, they begin to remember what words look like (especially with the flash cards) and eventually they begin telling you the story.

This is a great set for building those pre-reading skills and one that I would strongly recommend.  When i purchased them for my first child, he was identifying words in the book by 18 months of age and was reading along with me by the time he was 2 and a half.

So there is my first little plug to an actual product but trust me, you will be very happy that you have these books on your child’s bookshelf.

Sirena Van Schaik

*Photo Note:  Yes, that is an interactive R2-D2, a great toy that I think I play with more than my son does.*

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For this reason, probably not the only reason, I am a firm believer that reading should be part of the daily routine, not only for the child but for parents as well. Studies have shown that children who see both of their parents reading, are more likely to read themselves. So the whole idea of children learn through example is evident when it comes to reading.

What many people don’t know, is that a love of reading is not something that you pick up when you are old enough to read. It actually starts in the early years and it can be fostered in children as young as a few days old. Sure you won’t see the effects of this reading until they are much older but you will know that the groundwork will be in place.

Many children learn to read around age 6 when it becomes a necessity in school. This can start sooner and I know that my son’s Kindergarten class brought books home on a weekly basis to begin reading. I was actually blown away by how well my son picked up reading and experienced a confusing mesh of disappointment and pride when he asked me if he could read not only his own bedtime story but his brother’s bedtime book as well when he was 6.

Reading is such an important skill for everyone to learn and starting off right can encourage not only the skill but a life long enjoyment of reading and learning.

So how does this apply to infants?

Although an infant is not going to understand exactly what you are doing, it will set a routine that will become as cherished as bath time. It will also encourage later skills and will help build attention spans. People were always amazed when my active toddler(s) would sit for a half hour just to listen to three or four picture books and I remember the only way I could get through long car drives was by reciting by memory Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams and illustrated by Megan Lloyd and many other favorites that I had read hundreds of times (so many times that they are forever burned on my memory)

The reason for this love of story was started when my kids were only 3 days old and we began reading together and this is something that I recommend to all parents.

Encouraging Reading in your Infant:

• Start when they are young: Start reading to your child when they are only a few days old. The luxury of this is that you get to have some quiet time, read a nice story and spend those moments snuggling with your baby. This builds trust and a parent child bond, which have nothing to do with reading, exactly, but help your child’s development across the board.
• Start with the classics: When you are reading with your child, start with the old classics. Childhood favorites that you loved. There is no need to stick with picture books since your child isn’t really looking at the pictures but is instead looking at you and listening to your voice. I started with E.B. White’s The Trumpeter Swan and moved on to his other books Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little but you can start with any children’s treasure.
• Move up to fun books: Just as simple as that, as your child becomes more aware of the world around her, start looking at picture books and pops up. My kid’s favorite was a Clifford book with a big Clifford head coming out the front of a dog shaped book.
• Be silly: At this stage, when your child is sitting up, books do not have to be serious. Sit on the floor in front of your child, read the book, make silly faces and play with the book. One of our favorite pastimes was to sit with my kids in the recliner, me on my knees in front of them, holding up a pop up book or the Clifford book. At the end of the story, Clifford, or in the case of one pop up, a big Moose, would lick their noses. They would squeal in delight and want me to read the book again in hopes of experiencing the squeal inducing ending again.

I know that it may not seem like much but there is a lot going on behind the scenes at this age. Over the next few weeks, I will look at ways parents can encourage reading for all the age groups.

Until then, pick up a good novel. I know I will.

Sirena Van Schaik

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