When I was a little girl, I loved visiting the library. My mom would take me after school and we would spend an hour reading together and picking out books for me to take home to read. It is a memory I treasure to this day.
Yesterday, I took my girls to the library and experienced the same joy. I sat and listened to my youngest daughter read a book to me. She was so proud of herself and she smiled and said, “Mommy, I really like this story.” All three of my girls picked out a handful of books to bring home and we will enjoy reading them until we go back again next week.
Reading of course is exciting and enjoyable, but do you know how important it is for you to read to your child? When I was teaching Kindergarten, the only homework I assigned on a daily basis was reading. I told parents the kids needed to read 20 minutes each evening. They could read to the child, the child could read to them, or they could listen to an audiobook in the car. There are many reasons why reading is important. I want to highlight just a few here.
Listening to someone else read helps children understand the importance of fluency and inflection. Hearing the proper way to read will help them model this for themselves when they are reading.
Listening to a story will help expand your child’s vocabulary. Simple exposure to more words will help your child become smarter! Context clues in the story will help them understand the meaning of words and you will find that they will begin using words they read on a regular basis, in their speaking vocabulary.
So go ahead and take that time reading with your child. It will be a treasured moment for both of you.
Happy Reading!
Ms. Heather