Children’s Books and Reading Aloud to Children
My children grew up with lots of children’s books. We have read everything from fairy tale stories to the Velveteen Rabbit to children’s edition of the Bible to Winnie the Pooh stories. Reading aloud to my children gives me the opportunity to spend a relaxed atmosphere with them before they go to sleep.
We have a lot of fun during our reading aloud sessions. We get entangled with the characters. We get to discuss the values learned from the story. It is one thing that I always look forward too. However hectic my schedule is, I always make it a point to read children’s books to them.
It is not only fun, reading aloud to children is also scientifically proven to help in the fast development of the children’s language skills. It also nurtures their imagination and their love for books and for reading.
I read a few pages to them every night and I stop when there’s something that’s exciting that going to happen next in the story. This way, we will be excited to open the books the next night for our next reading aloud session.
These sessions keep my children away from too much TV and video games. I still allow them to watch TV and play video games but I don’t let them stay on TV or PSP for more than an hour every weekend. They don’t complain about it because they are more excited with my reading aloud to them.
It is important to nurture the love for reading very early. They will bring that love and attitude towards children’s books, reading and new knowledge until they grow old. Before you go home, buy a children’s book and try reading aloud to your children.