Early Reading Development 🌱

6/9/20

Reading

There is nothing more important that having your child listen to and enjoy stories! This is a buy one get ten free pass for parents. This one activity does tons to boost your child’s development and future success.

Where to start?

While pregnant, start collecting books (the goodwill, yard sales, and eBay have tons of books). Read a short story (board book) each day whenever it is convenient for you. Another option is listening to an Audible book. This can be a book for older children or a classic like The Chronicles of Narnia. The goal is just to expose baby to lots of language!

While nursing or feeding your baby, keep a basket of really short baby board books nearby. Keep one in your diaper bag. Read one of them while you are feeding. You’ve now associated reading with something awesome for your baby. The same applies to snack time or lunch time for your toddlers/ preschoolers- they are relatively quiet while they have some finger foods to snack on (cheerios, fruit… anything healthy) and they are hungry. Kids love to pretend to read on their own as littles. Give books to infants- try these Indestructibles Books- your baby can bite them (they don’t rip or tear) and you can throw them in the washing machine!

Reading hacks…

If you don’t feel like reading, have a professional do it for you! I downloaded tons of books on Audible. I play those stories all night long from an iPad so my kiddo can listen as he sleeps and in the car (captive audience… hahaha). I also do the same with Bible Stories- we love The Jesus Storybook Bible. A great idea also is to buy a compilation of audio stories that come with a book- when kids are in early elementary school they can grow as readers by listening and following along with the text..

You can also borrow audiobooks from your public library online for 20 or so days for free. If they have a subscription to TumbleBooks (online storybook collection), you can access that for free as well! Tumblebooks are idea for playing on an iPad or in the car (listen to the stories for kids first grade and under, and follow along with the story for kids that are older).

Another option is to listen to stories read online on YouTube. This is a free and extremely convenient option that provides lots of variety. My kids like listening at bedtime, in the car, when they want to hear a book they herd about, and when they need to catch up on their reading goals for school!

My Favorite Audiobooks for Young Children

Beatrix Pottery Audio Treasury (Peter Rabbit)

The Chronicles of Narnia

Dr. Suess Collection

The Family Bedtime Treasury

The Family Storybook Treasury

The Jesus Storybook Bible

The Magic Treehouse Collection by Mary Pope Osborne

TumbleBooks Library

The digital collection of your local library