What do you do when a book is too long and your child can't attend for the entire story? Or what if there are so many new vocabulary words that your child doesn't understand half of what you are reading? Here's my solution: make up your own story by telling what is happening in the pictures. Pick books that have interesting pictures that show activities that are familiar to your child (like eating, or going to the park, or playing with a pet). See how I do it with a book that is too advanced for my child, but I make it work by changing the story. Reading is about teaching new vocabulary and concepts, but it's also supposed to be a fun exchange between you and your child. P.S. It's also okay if you 'read' 3 pages instead of the entire book. Just try add more pages each time to you read with your child.
See if there are things at home that relate to the books you are reading. If you read a book about the grocery store, eat some of the same foods at snack time. That way, you take a concept that was introduced in the book and your child can experience it during a real, functional activity. Once you start thinking about the idea of incorporating 'learning' during daily tasks, it really does become easier and easier!
Don't have books? Tired of reading the ones you do have? No problem! Make your own (including props!). Reading is one of the best ways to increase vocabulary, work on back and forth language, increase skills with answering questions, demonstrate memory with real experiences related to the book, and practice participating in a structured task. Bonus points if you then follow up the book with a related activity. For example, If you read a book about swimming, talk about that while your child is in the bathtub. Bonus, bonus points- read the book again after bath time!
Not every child loves to spend endless time sitting on your lap and reading. Some don't even want to spend two minutes sitting for a structured book activity. Here are some ideas about how to set up reading time to increase interactions and success. Give it a try, but know that it is okay for story time to last only 1 minute when you first start establishing a routine.
Before children actually start to read words, we are teaching them about print and the concept that text tells a message. Find ways to notice print in your home environment and share that with children. Do you use a recipe when you cook? That's print. Do you read the directions when you see how many batteries to put in a new toy? That's print. Do you pick which can of soup by the name on the front of the container? That's print. Those are three very meaningful examples that show children the purpose of print and reading. And all of those can be done at home. Try to get in the habit of letting your children see you read. Say it out-loud. Tell them, "Well, let's read the words to see what it says." (and enjoy... this is supposed to be fun!)
Literacy is so much more than just sitting and reading a book. It's talking about what you're doing and relating that to a story. It can happen anywhere, at any time, with any activity.
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