March is Reading Month!

Do you remember the excitement of turning the bright and colorful pages of your favorite book? Or reciting from memory every word on the page even before you were able to read? That excitement is what reading is all about and it is the feeling that we hope to instill within the hearts of our preschoolers this month. With reading month upon us, do not forget to fill out shamrocks with the titles of the books that you and your child are reading at home. We hope to see our “Reading Rainbow” overflowing with shamrocks soon!
To help you out this month, we decided to compile a list of tips and tricks for reading to your children in order to help promote their language and literacy development. First, try to read to your child on a daily basis. If you have a lack of confidence about your own reading ability, have no worries. Children are more than satisfied to hear a story that matches the pictures; their concern is not about whether or not the words have been read correctly. When you read do not be afraid to use expression and emotion to portray the words or situation within the story; changing your voice when a character is speaking adds interest as well. Pause during the story to ask questions that will get your child thinking more critically about the story. Prompts and questions that are helpful to ask include: “I wonder what will happen next”, “How do you think (a specific character) is feeling?” “I wonder why that character made that choice.”
If the story you are reading is familiar or repetitive you can stop at words or phrases and allow your child to fill in the missing pieces. While reading, make note of the letters on the page, words that rhyme or begin with the same sound, or words that may be unfamiliar to your child. It is also helpful to follow the words across the page to encourage your child to notice the top to bottom, left to right pattern in the way we read. Most importantly, have fun when you read to your child. When they see you having fun while reading they will learn that books are fun and strive to be better readers themselves!

Here is a list of books that we love to read in our class:
-Anything written by Dr. Seuss
-Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
-The Very Hungry Caterpillar
-Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type
-Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”
-The Cow That Laid an Egg
-Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
-Dr. Ted
-The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear
-Never Ever Shout at a Zoo
-Go Away Big Green Monster
-Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
*Add a comment below and let us know what you are reading at home!

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

~ Emilie Buchwald ~