Little readers, big adventures!
Explore books with your baby or child every day if you can; this is a special time where you can have have a shared moment of interest. Babies love hearing you read even if they don’t understand the story!
Children often enjoy hearing the same book over and over again; this is because it becomes familiar to them and they know what is going to happen next.
Repetition can build anticipation and excitement, and helps your child to eventually join in with you. It’s also great for helping your child to learn words and understand rhymes!
Top tips:
- Get cosy together: make a den or cuddle up on the sofa to explore your books
- Have a look at the covers together: is the same illustration featured inside the book too? See if you can spot it!
- Share a variety of different styles with your child: Fiction and non-fiction, poetry and rhyme books
- Spark conversation with your child: ask them who their favourite character is and what they like about them
- Bring the story to life: use funny voices and make sounds such as splashing or animal noises
- Keep costs down: borrow books from your local Essex Library and childcares settings, and buy second-hand books from charity shops and boot sales
- If English isn’t your first language: read to your child/talk about pictures in your home language: The Importance of Home Language – TLC
- If you’re not a confident reader: please don’t worry – simply looking at pictures and talking about what you see helps your child to enjoy a story, and you can even invent your own version of it!
