“While children have a strong innate propensity for oral language development, literacy development is more dependent on experience. That is one of the important reasons why every child need to experience stories.” (Center for Community Child Health, 2004)
In the video Loving Literacy – Zero to Three Magic of Everyday Moments we hear that reading to babies at birth can help foster strong reading skills and growing vocabulary. For the parent who may not truly understand the importance of this, why should they be reading to their child? How will you explain the benefits of reading to those parents?
Typically, in an infant / toddler classroom we find “touch and feel” discovery books, hardcover books with pages that cannot tear, or soft, cushiony books all ranging in topics, from nursery rhymes to animals to cars, trucks, trains, boats and planes. Some are about ocean life, life on a farm, colors and shapes, and numbers. Imagine you needed to begin your own library of books. Choose a theme and list 5 books that you would include. Explain why you would add them to your own collection. (Be sure to include the exact title, author and illustrator.)
As a child do you recall your favorite children’s book? What can you recall about that book that made it so special?
