“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr Seuss
What better time than the present to promote the love of reading and learning with children. Research has shown that children who have one book read to them each day from birth to Year 6 will have greater success in all areas of learning.
There are clear cognitive benefits. Brain scans show that when children hear stories, it strengthens the part of the brain associated with visual imagery, story comprehension, and word meaning.
One study found that kindergarten children who were read to at least three times a week had a “significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often.”
Reading also strengthens children’s social, emotional, and character development. According to a recently published study, reading to very young children is linked to decreased levels of aggression, hyperactivity, and attention difficulties.
The study’s lead author shared the following insight with The New York Times:
“When parents read with their children more , they learn to use words to describe feelings that are otherwise difficult and this enables them to better control their behaviour when they have challenging feelings like anger or sadness.”
The same can be applied to teachers. Educators play such a crucial role when it comes to reading to children. It should be part of every educator's daily routine. If it isn’t already, begin tomorrow to make it so.
If your education centre lacks the proper resources, or you feel you have read every book in the centre, join the local library and borrow a few different ones each week. Or better still, contact our Imagineland team to access the highest quality content, tailor made for young children.
To engage children further in the reading process, you can ask them to bring in a favourite book from home to read aloud, or even start a book exchange with the families at your centre so that everyone can access different books on a regular basis.
As technology shapes our lives, the online world of new and exciting stories and books, an array of resources are accessible at your fingertips.
Imagineland is a platform full of exceptional stories, accessible via the web, that nurture creativity and inspire young people across a variety of diverse characters.
Children can explore these stories with their classmates and with their families - sharing the adventures of the Imagineland kids. They can easily apply these stories to real situations and people they experience, both at kindy and home.
It's time to start enjoying the power of reading and stories, feeling the magic of words come to life. Embrace quality time together, boost your child's brainpower, help improve their overall self esteem and build their language and communication skills.
Above all, you can help inspire a love of reading that will last a lifetime.
Be sure to check ongoing stories and learning with Imagineland at www.imagineland.com.au