My girls are four and two, and we have been reading since day one. When they were born, I pledged to read them a different book each day throughout the year. This process was a way for us to spend time with each other and have fun while learning. Over the years, I have come to realize that I enjoy reading with my littles a lot more than I thought I would.
Here are some ideas to make reading fun for you and your kids:
1. Relate a book to an event or someplace you will be going. For example, read a book about the zoo before you go to the zoo.
2. In my household, we play a I Spy with all the books when we read.
3. Ask kids questions as you read. And make sure you wait for an answer. You can learn so much about your child by the answers she gives.
4. If your kids enjoy a book, read it, again, and again – until you both get tired of the book. I have read Baa, Baa, Black Sheep by Jane Cabrera twelve times in one sitting. When you read the same book over and over, kids learn the words quickly. It can expand a toddler’s attention span and build enthusiasm for reading.
The Perrault Family’s Five Favorite Books
- Baa, Baa, Black Sheep by Jane Cabrera A new twist on an old classic rhyme with illustrations on each page that will have you examining for every detail.
- The Bunny Rabbit Show! By Sandra Boynton Interactive book, that has us hopping everywhere.
- Down by The Bay by Raffi We like the cadence of this book, we even started to make our own rhymes when we read it.
- Girl of Mine by Jabari Asim A wonderful bedtime story.
- The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems A cute story about sharing.
Look for father-and-daughter book reviews from DadurdayRVA on YouTube, like this one on a book about library etiquette.
