Reading is Fun! And early literacy is important. Literacy in the early years is particularly important for children as it gives them a head start in learning these essential life skills that they will use on a daily basis, as well as preparing them for when they begin school. Helping them to read and write effectively in the future and acquire the basic math skills so many of us take for granted, this will improve the future of everyone in society. Literacy is critical to economic development as well as individual and the community’s well being.
That’s why Pennsylvania ‘s One Book Every Young Child is a great program to start your child reading.
Facts about the importance of language and reading:
- Ninety percent of a child’s brain growth occurs during birth and 4 years of age, so it is suggested that parents begin reading to their child at birth.
- When we read picture books to children, researchers have found that 95 percent of their attention is on the pictures. By occasionally pointing to the words in the book, you are helping them realize that it is the text we are reading, not the pictures.
- Research has shown that children who play with sounds of words in the preschool years are better prepared to read when they get to school.
- The language used in storybooks is different from what we use when we are speaking. Stories also have a certain structure with a beginning, middle and an end.
- Reading aloud introduces the patterns of language and develops vocabulary.
- Reading to a child just 20 minutes each day will enable him or her to hear 1 million words in a year and will expand his or her vocabulary by 1,000 words.
- Acting out stories or parts of them, having young children use their whole bodies, helps them internalize and understand what is happening in the story.
- Reading aloud helps a child develop a longer attention span and encourages the art of listening.
- Sharing stories introduces and keeps alive the cultural heritage of our own traditional tales and those of other cultures.
- Rhyming is one way that children learn to hear that words are made up of smaller parts.
- Writing can be very motivating. It helps children make the connection between the spoken and the written word. Writing begins with scribbles and develops into the ability to write letters.
- By using specific names for things, like cat and kitten, not only helps children learn new words, it also helps them understand differences between similar things.
This year’s picks are two different books for different early age groups.
For Infants and Toddlers is a silly, fun introduction to farm animals and their sounds with an easy hide and seek game worked in.
Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming. (Find the FUN GUIDE here)
Which you can find at Belmont Hills Library: JP FLEM Picture books
And for ages 3-5 is a tribute to children’s imagination and creativity.
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Which you can find at our libraries
Ardmore Library: JP PORT Picture books
Bala Cynwyd Library: JP PORT Picture books
Gladwyne Library: JP PORT Children’s room
Ludington Library: JP PORT Picture books
Penn Wynne Library: JP PORT Children’s room
Also don’t forget to search our LMLS library catalog to find them at the other Montgomery County libraries.
PA One Book also provides Fun Guides that you can print out. It will help you engage more in reading these selections with your child. You find these PDF guides and more information about this program on their website https://www.paonebook.org/#
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Ludington Library:
Not a Box April 17th – Wed 7pm to 8pm. Not a Box by Antoinette Portis is Pennsylvania’s One Book Every Young Child pick for this year. We will be reading the book and doing a craft afterwards. The kids will choose a box from the many we have here and make it whatever they want it to be. They will have use of construction paper, glue, crayons, aluminum foil, and many other things to decorate their boxes with.
Belmont Hills Library:
We at LMLS libraries hope this program will help you engage in reading to your child and have fun.
by Valerie Vitale, Library Assistant at Gladwyne Library