Reading
to Jacob
Story
Time. We love it. Whether it is story time at home, in a library,
at a park or in the middle of the mall, story time is great. Before
Jacob was born, I was in my local library and saw a notice in the
events calendar about a class called “Babygarten”. It said there
would be songs, rhymes and activities to help babies with language
acquisition and preliteracy skills. OK, sold. I will be
doing that, I thought.
After
I had Jacob, I missed the registration for the first session. Highly
disappointed, I signed up for the waiting list, and... waited. This
is long before I began any of the research that has filled the pages
of this blog today. Had I known then what I know now, we could have
been going to other story times all along. Not that I wasn't reading
to him, but I could have used some of those great techniques a little
earlier.
When
Jacob was 5 months, we made it into Babygarten. I was so excited
about the first 'class'. As it was winter, and too cold for the
park, our outings had been limited to visits to the grocery story and
my mother's house. I was ready for some social interaction!!
My
first experience with Babygarten made me fall in love with story
time. It was wonderful and I talked about it all week until we went
back. When we first arrived, I noticed mats set out in a big circle.
We were to get name tags for our babies (of course the
mommies/daddies/caregivers wore them), pick up our song and rhyme
sheets, and grab our spots around the circle. My heart was pounding,
and it makes me laugh now to think back at how excited I was about
this. Like a little kid, really. Jacob looked all around the room
with his little wide-eyed gaze, seemingly interested in the other
babies there.
The
storyteller came to the front of the room and introduced herself.
She talked about what Babyarten is and about the importance of
reading to your child. I learned that your babies do not have to sit
still and in your lap to benefit from being read to. That simply
hearing the words, sounds and inflection is beneficial. That
implementing songs, instruments, puppets and so forth will engage the
child and enhance the story time experience. That playtime and story
time can become one. Story times at home were never the same after
that.
We
went around the room and introduced ourselves and our little ones,
then time for a welcome song. The songs and rhymes were designed for
the caregiver to interact with the child, so we bounced our babies on
our legs when we sang about horsies, we lifted them up high and spun
around and dropped low during the rhyme about being an airplane, you
get the idea. Jingle bells rattles were passed out for everyone to
shake along to some of the rhymes, and books were passed out (all the
same one) so that we could all read to the babies in unison. Some of
the kids sat in laps, some crawled/walked around, others went over to
another kid/mom and tried to play, and some got fussy. I noticed
that one of the moms seemed embarrassed that her daughter wouldn't
sit and instead rolled around in the middle of the carpet. The
storyteller laughed and said, “We don't expect that the babies will
sit still or be quiet, it's perfectly fine”. That was nice to
hear, because the whole week before my first Babygarten class I was
worried how Jacob would act. Before I knew it, story time was over.
We sang our good-bye song, and then soft toys were brought out for
the children to play with while the parents did a craft and
socialized.
I
don't know who liked Babygarten more, Jacob or myself. I was so
excited talking about it that my family laughed (in a good way) at
how enthusiastic I was about this little story time we went to. We
went every week, and I looked forward to it. The final week came and
it was time to sign up for the next session which would be 6 weeks
away. 6 WEEKS?!? I can't make it that long! Yes,
story time at my house is great now, much better than before, but I
really like going to story time and I don't want to wait 6 long weeks
until the next one!!! I signed up of course, but that night I went
home and searched for other story times in my area. That is how this
blog got started actually. I found more story times, and in the
process, a few other things to do that were also free and nearby.
No
two story times are alike. I signed up for a Babygarden (different
spelling at this one) at another local library, and while it had
songs and rhymes as well, the set up was totally different. After
visiting over 13 different story times, I have learned that there is
so much to take from each one. A new idea on how to engage your
child, a new song that is fun to sing, a new dance to teach a new
skill, too many things to list.
I
will list below some of the reasons why it is beneficial to read to
your child, along with some helpful links. Take your child to a
story time every once in a while, you can visit this page in my blog
for more information on story times in your area. (Soon to be much
more organized) Do our future generations a favor and pass this
information along!
Benefit
Parent – Child Relationship: This is a bonding experience. A
time for building memories and enjoying snuggles. Every activity you
engage in with your child strengthens your bond with them. Promotes
increased communication with Parent.
Enhanced
Speech and Communication Skills: Almost 80% of a child's brain
develops before the age of 5. They are literally little sponges
soaking up every piece of information that comes to them. Reading to
them, especially during these first years enriches their vocabulary
and teaches them about critical language skills.
Preparation
for Independent Reading: The more written words your child is
exposed to, the better prepared he/she will be to read on his/her own
when the time comes. The child will also learn the basics of reading
books, left to right, words are individual and have spaces, etc.
Learning
About the World Around Them: Shapes, colors, numbers, animals,
body parts, etc. There are books to help teach your child just about
everything.
Attention
Span and Concentration: Reading helps children channel physical
energy and as such, enhances self-discipline and memory retention,
both of which affect attention span and the ability to concentrate.
Logical
Thinking: As the child gets older, he/she will be able to grasp
and recognize cause/effect and abstract concepts. Stories often
follow a specific scenario, and your child will be able to relate as
they experience more of the world around them.
And
one of my absolute favorites:
Learning
that Reading is a fun activity and not a chore
I
have included some links here for more information on why reading to
your child is important, and also helpful techniques on how to read to your child:
Reading is fundamental: Great info and lots of tips
Raise Smart Kid : Info and Tips
Kids Health: GREAT page with lots of info and tips from reading to babies to toddlers to preschoolers
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