Parents are so busy today, so why make the time to read to your child? Reading to your child from a very early age is an excellent way to develop his appreciation for reading and anticipation of a story. A bond is shared as you sit very close, touching, to see the pages together. Your child hears your voice in a calm, sing-songy tone expressing a story where you both experience the plot and the outcome together. Together, you meet the characters and enter their world apart from your own. You share the feelings the story arouses such as anticipation, excitement or concern. Even babies enjoy hearing stories. As your older child follows the written words along with your voice, his own reading skills are enhanced. The joy of reading can enhanced your childís learning experience and future advancement throughout his school years. Reading to your child is a wonderful gift with lasting impressions for him and an enjoyable time of bonding for both of you. Here are a few tips for reading to your children from childcarefinders.org. When reading aloud to children, follow a few simple steps to make the experience better and more educational. 1. Choose books with bright colors and pictures for very young children. Even if a child is too young to understand words or follow a story, looking at pictures will develop eyesight and keep the child's interest from wandering. 2. Use a sing-song tone to preserve interest and to expose children to phonetic sounds and words. Children's reading skills as well as vocabulary are developed when they hear a word repeatedly and understand its concept. 3. While reading aloud to children, using different voices for different characters and making sound effects to match the story fascinates them. 4. Involve them in the story by asking them to make sounds, or to point out characters. 5. Read slowly and stop to allow children to examine pictures. Ask questions about pictures on the page, or ask what they think will happen next. 6. Make sure that reading time is always quiet and there are no disturbances. 7. The best time for reading aloud to children is usually just before bedtime. It gives children a chance to wind down after the day's activities, and is less distracting for adults as there are no phone calls or chores to complete. A story before bedtime can be a well-loved part of a child's bedtime routine for years to come. Remember, children have different personalities and patterns of behavior. Some only want to just look at pictures, some want you to keep reading so as not to break the spell, and some will pick up a story book and ìreadî to you, by telling their own story based on the pictures. As long as they are involved, inspired and motivated; all benefits of reading to children, let them lead the way. Do you have a favorite story from your childhood? I had many. One was The Little Engine that Could. The moral of that story was to believe in yourself and never give up. I remember feeling so happy for the little engine when she could finally say, "I knew I could I knew I could!' The rhythm of the words as my mother read them sounded like a train chucking along the tracks. My most recent book, Bartholomew's Gift, was meant to be read aloud to children. Please share your memories of being read to as a child or reading to your own child on my blog at http://www.storieswithmorals.net
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