The power of nurturing reading at an early age

Assalamualaikum dear readers.

We know that if we want our children to love books and reading, the skills and interests usually are nurtured when they are still very young like at the age of 1 and 2 years old. Our daily reading with them will gradually help them learn to appreciate books and of course love reading.

Just look at my two nieces here.

I exposed them with books on the first day they're born.

As an aunt who is always preaching to my family about the importance of  reading and encouraging children to read, I have taken the first step in introducing them with books as early as day one they came to this world. Yes, I brought a special book to visit the newborns at the hospital. Try finding, 'We Have A Baby', that's our favourite book.

And, alhamdulillah when I started reading aloud with them they improves a lot since then. The older sister can read at the age of 4 and now she's 6 and she reads books for primary school children sometimes depending on her mood.

The youngest sibling is my nephew who is soon to be 4 years old (the head owner) is not that interested in reading but very much into Blues Clues VCDs.

Her younger sister who is 5 now can read as fast and as good as the older one since a few months ago. And you know what, every afternoon they'll come to my house specifically to the reading nook that I made for them under the stairs to read. I just love seeing them there reading their hearts out.

Such a good feeling for what I've done, alhamdulillah.

Story talk

Activity 5: Story talk

Talking about what you read is another way to help children develop language and thinking skills. You won't need to plan the talk, discuss every story, or expect an answer.

What you'll need:

Storybooks

What to do:

* Read slowly and pause occasionally to think aloud about a story. You can say: "I wonder what's going to happen next!" Or ask a question: "Do you know what a palace is?" Or point out: "Look where the little mouse is now."

* Answer your children's questions, and if you think they don't understand something, stop and ask them. Don't worry if you break into the flow of a story to make something clear. But keep the story flowing as smooth as possible.

* Talking about stories they read helps children develop their vocabularies, link stories to everyday life, and use what they know about the world to make sense out of stories.

Taken from: Reading Rockets