Books are magical. They take you on incredible journeys, teach you about the world, and inspire you to dream. However, kids can easily be scared off by a book’s page count. Fortunately, the earlier you introduce your child to reading, the more likely they are to enjoy it. Here are five activities to help them appreciate books.
Books allow children (and adults) to enrich their vocabulary by introducing them to a host of new words. Before diving into a book with your child, you can set up a little game. Here’s how to play:
- Choose a page at random
- Point to any sentence
- Roll a die
- Find the word in the sentence that corresponds to the number on your die (i.e., if you rolled a six, choose the sixth word)
- Ask your child to guess the word’s meaning and then look it up in the dictionary, or help them use its letters to make another word (e.g., from the word estranged you can make strange)
- Help your child find synonyms
- Etc.
In children’s books, the characters often have big personalities. Ask your child to pick a monster, magical creature, or hero from a book. Then, use your crafting skills to bring them to life! Here are some ideas:
- Make a sock puppet of the character
- Make a paper cut-out of the character and glue it to a popsicle stick
- Sculpt the character with modelling clay
- Etc.
When you’re done, your new puppet friend can do the following:
- Read the book to your child
- Comment on the plot
- Ask your child questions about the story
- Etc.
Who says you always have to start at the beginning? Sometimes it can be fun to do things differently! Reading the last page of a book first is a fun way to shake things up. Plus, your child can do the following:
- Guess the beginning of the story
- Make connections between the cover page and the story’s ending
- Imagine what might happen in a sequel
- Etc.
A book’s cover always gives away clues about the story. By studying it carefully, your child can try to do the following:
- Predict a dozen or so words that they think they’ll find in the book
- Read the story and underline the words that they correctly predicted
- Try to insert the words they didn’t find into a sentence (e.g., by swapping out synonyms or adding them in appropriate places)
- Etc.
Ambience plays a big role in your reading enjoyment. That’s why it’s important to create a comfortable, cozy reading environment for your child. For instance, you can do the following:
- Establish a pre-reading routine (e.g., take a bath, choose a book from the library, make hot chocolate)
- Create a calming atmosphere (e.g., light candles, get your softest pillows, play soothing music)
- Set up a special reading tent for your child
- Etc.
Writing : The Alloprof Parents' team