Story time | Maragon Private School

It is never too early or too late to start reading to your little one. The earlier the better, you don’t need to wait until your baby has reached certain milestones such as sitting upright, crawling or even talking for you to start reading to them. Exposing your little one to story time is vital for their language development. Reading to them doesn’t necessarily mean that you must always use the story book in the “traditional” manner. You can page through the book discussing all the things you see in the picture, even incorporating games such as “I spy” is a fun way to look through books and to help develop their speech and vocabulary.

It is important to try and choose age appropriate, interesting books that will keep their attention for longer periods. Varying your voice for different characters helps to keep them intrigued. My personal favourite is “Winky Wonky Donkey”. Nothing like having a good giggle with my son at the end of a busy day to alleviate the days stress. 

Story time also does not need to be restricted to bedtime or “story time” at school. Story time is special as it serves as bonding time with your little one. Making story time fun creates a love for reading from an early age- my little boy for example loves building a story tent where we read stories to his soft toys. He is not only developing his listening skills when I am reading to him but he is also acquiring the necessary skills on how we handle and care for books as well as how to read books to others.  

Incorporating story aids, such as hand puppets, a felt board with pictures, various objects from the book and even story stones bring a new dimension to reading stories. Another tip is asking questions during the story can help develop your little one’s imagination, e.g. why do you think Goldilocks was wandering around, do you think her mommy and daddy were looking for her while she was sleeping in the three bears house?

Incorporating questions and life lessons into books gives you the opportunity to informally address any sensitive issues you would like to raise with your little one without them feeling on the spot or pressurised to answer. Many a time learners relate to characters and start opening up towards you regarding their own feelings and challenges that they might be facing.

I saw a statement the other day while browsing on social media that touched me deeply as a mommy and a preschool teacher.

“If you read just one book a day to your child, they will have read 1 825 books by their 5th birthday. “Every day counts. Every book counts.

The next time you walk past the bookshelf, grab a book and read to your little one.

Happy Reading.