Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports: Top Twelve Ways to Read to Children

Sep 18, 2010

Top Twelve Ways to Read to Children

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Have you ever wondered how to get your little munchkin to develop a love for books?
Well Suzanne Beal has twelve time tested and parent researched ideas that are a sure fire route to reading success.
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Top Twelve Ways to Read to Children

We’ve pulled every trick in the book to generate a genuine appreciation for reading.

1. Remind your littlest readers what every pediatrician should have already told you: Books are for reading, not eating.

2. Reading begins with an appreciation of the alphabet, and alphabet books are a great way to learn letters A to Z. Check out Alphabet City, Alphabatics, and The Handmade Alphabet.

3. Act it out. Use different voices to make your characters come alive. Check out You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You.

4. Have beginning readers identify the first letter of each word that starts a paragraph, and have them guess what word it might be.

5. Engage young listeners’ empathy. “How do you think Red Riding Hood felt when she met the wolf in the forest?” See Today I feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day.

6. Give it a tune and sing your favorite stories in harmony. Check out two super sing-able books: Snuggle Puppy and Jazz Baby.

7. Do they know a story by heart? Ask if they can “read” the book to you as you point out the words in each sentence.

8. Work on the importance of end punctuation. Which sentences demand an answer? (Look for the question mark). Which ones are generally loud? (Find the exclamation mark)!

9. Practice alphabetization by having your child play librarian and putting books in order. For a story about a librarian on the loose see Wild About Books.

10. Nap time? See if you can whisper the whole way through sleep inducing stories like Time for Bed.

11. Ask kids to mimic the Bard of Avon himself (Hi Shakespeare!) by finding words (and letters) that rhyme. See Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom.

12. Activate their imagination by having them guess what’s coming next. Check out the delightful Overboard!