Time to add "Pie" to Your Child's Literary Diet

Reading is an important and necessary ingredient in every child's diet.  The "Read Aloud 15 Minutes per Day" campaign perfectly identifies how reading enhances your daily dose of Literary Nutrition.  Take a look!

Six Slices of Pie

Vocabulary - Introduce new words to your child by reading difference types of books.  Select a variety of stories to expand on the repertoire of styles, genres, and tones.  Play up your child's current interests and go from there.

• Fiction/Action/Character Development
• Non-Fiction/Facts and Educational Topics/Biographies
• Humorous/Riddles
• Special Interest/Cultural Topics

Bonding Time - Reading doesn't have to be a sedentary activity.  Take reading to the park, in the car (if you are good at memorizing a short story), to the doctor's office, or anyplace where waiting may be a challenge.  You can also read while going for a walk.  Take a factual book as you embark on a nature hunt.  Fall is the perfect time to explore the changing colors of leaves, the differences in the sky at sunset, and the feel of crisp, cool breezes as the weather transitions from a Summer Heat to the chill of Fall.

Knowledge Building -  Imagine learning something new with your child.  Explore a topic that fascinates you and find a book about that interest.  Always wanted to know how play-doh is made? Maybe your child has asked you a question like, "How does a pumpkin grow?"  Find out about these things together.  Then take a trip to a factory or farm to discover the inside secrets.  (I once took a group of school age children to the Capri-Sonne factory in Germany during summer break.)  They got to watch a video, sampled the juices, and saw how the straws were added to the boxes.  Write about your experiences after the event and create your own "book" about your adventures.

Love of Reading - Demonstrate the impact of reading by showing your child the many ways we need and use this skill.  Read out loud to yourself.  Show your child how many things can be read:

• Labels on food containers
• Newspapers, Books, Magazines, Journals
• "How to" Directions, Instructions for assembling toys, Following recipes
• Road Signs, Maps, Building Signs

Pre-Literacy Skills - When we begin to read to children from birth, we encourage infants to pay attention, point to items in a book, and see that words are attached to these items as we label them.  We can point to the words as we read so children see there is a pattern from left to right and top to bottom.  Most important, children feel comforted by the presence of a parent or caregiver and gain a sense of value that we are spending time with them.  Reading books together initiates children into the magical world of communication and prepares them to enter school. 

Empathy - Children need to see how and why it is important to read.  Best of all, reading can be a source of entertainment, fun, and a path toward opening new and exciting points of view.  Children can learn about cultures and languages.  They can begin to gain an understanding for individuals around the world.  This enhanced understanding may lead to improved methods of communication and facilitate outreach that may not otherwise occur if we remain in the dark about the needs of our global community.

Happy Reading!

Now pass this along so others can enjoy a "Piece of the Pie!"