How to tell children about picture books? Read aloud
to your child, and pay attention to the way, time and content of reading. There are many scenes in Hollywood movies: parents sit on the edge of the bed, read bedtime stories to their babies, the babies slowly fall asleep, parents kiss their babies, and then tiptoe quietly away.
This kind of scene is very warm and makes people yearn for it, but it makes countless parents mistakenly think that reading aloud is just reading children’s books to the little ones who can’t speak before going to bed.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with tucking your child in and reading a storybook before bedtime. On the contrary, it’s a good habit. In
the 1980s, the U.S. Department of Education invited a panel of experts to analyze 10,000 reading survey items. The panel found that the only important activity affecting the development of reading ability was reading aloud.
The panel also said parents should continue to read to their children after they begin to learn to read.
Expanding the way of reading aloud, making the time of reading aloud more flexible and enriching the content of reading aloud can increase children’s fun and bring them life-changing experience. It is also beneficial to children in the following aspects: love of books and reading, IQ and EQ, reading ability, vocabulary, abstract thinking ability, academic performance, cognition of the world, empathy, creativity and parents’emotional communication. A slight change in the way of reading will not make parents spend extra time, but will improve their children’s emotional, intellectual and social aspects, and increase the pleasure of reading. It is a win-win for parents and children to enhance parent-child relationship.
First of all, from the point of view of the way of reading, children sit quietly and listen to their parents read a fluent text, which can certainly benefit their children.
However, the speaker is always the parent, and we don’t know what the child has gained in the process. Is
he listening or is he dreaming? Does
he understand the story or is he confused? Can he understand the
main character’s motives? Can he understand the
new vocabulary? Can he understand the meaning of the
illustration?
If parents stop from time to time and communicate with their children about the content of the reading, it will deepen their children’s impression and make the whole process more pleasant. When reading aloud,
parents can stop to talk with their children about illustrations and characters, ask a question, clarify the plot development, explain the meaning of a word, or connect a plot in the story with their children’s real life.
In other words, books can be used as a starting point for parents to start a conversation with their children about any topic you are interested in.
Moreover, let the child lead the conversation, let the child speak as much as possible, and the parents become the audience.
This kind of interactive reading can be used not only to read picture books to infants or toddlers, but also to read novels and stories to older children who can already read.
Parents have only one goal, to bring their children into the reading materials, to arouse thinking, feeling and dialogue.
When the process of reading aloud changes from a parent’s voice to a dialogue interaction, the following changes will take place: when discussing the reading material, the child will hear and use more words. When
parents ask questions that trigger thinking, they will exercise their children’s abstract thinking ability. Children will often use abstract thinking in school, and then they will be more comfortable. When parents explain the meaning of words, their children’s vocabulary will increase.
When the contents of stories, books and pictures are connected with children’s daily life, children will increase their understanding of the world, deepen their understanding of human nature, and develop empathy. When
parents analyze the meaning of sentences or illustrations, children learn how to reason and judge, that is, to understand “the implication between the lines.”. When
parents express their curiosity about something, they will also stimulate their children’s curiosity. When
parents share their thoughts and feelings, they establish an emotional connection with their children.
Interactive reading promotes parent-child relationship. Living under the same roof with children does not mean that they can enter their inner world at any time.
Especially if the parent asks the child a direct question when he or she comes home from school ( “How was school today?”? When communicating
with a child, the child may simply answer with one or two words ( “good” or “bad”).
Even if the child reveals a little information, if the parents continue to ask for details, the child is likely to remain silent.
For children, they do not understand the things and problems that parents struggle with every day.
Although a certain amount of privacy is important for both parents and children, if they lose mutual understanding, they may eventually become familiar strangers who just happen to live in the same place.
Interactive reading is a simple way to maintain the relationship between parents and children without violating their privacy.
Interactive reading is a simple way to maintain the relationship between parents and children without preventing both sides from keeping their privacy. When you read books
with your children, you will know different characters and experience various emotions.
Talking about these “journeys” allows children to express their fears, wishes, dreams, and difficulties in a comfortable way, and allows parents to gain insight into their children’s feelings and lives.
For example, a child may feel uncomfortable because of the way a friend treats him, but will not tell his parents because he does not want to be the one who likes to complain to his parents.
If they encounter similar plots while reading, their children may be willing to share them.
Sharing a book provides a safe environment for children and parents that is both intimate and open, which is difficult to achieve in other environments.
From parents’point of view, reading together also enables parents to express their feelings and attitudes easily and freely, which affects the formation of children’s personality.
This does not refer to parents’usual requirements for children’s behavior, such as kindness, hygiene and courtesy, but to the driving force and values behind parents’ choices and actions, that is, the so-called philosophy of life.
For example, if parents believe that perseverance is the key to success, they can read the picture book “Brave Little Locomotive” with their one-year-old and two-year-old children, and read the “Chronicles of Narnia” series with their eight-year-old children (in which there is a brave and determined mouse named Reepicheep). Read The Hobbit with a 12-year-old (discussing Bilbo’s determination to complete his journey).
Parents weave their life beliefs into the daily dialogue of reading and establish a moral framework for their children, which makes it easier for them to understand the reasons behind their parents’actions.
At the same time, when children learn some words, they will begin to establish their own values.
In my own experience, I have been reading to my children before and after they learn to read, so we have established a special connection that continues from childhood to the present. If I ask them now, now that
they are grown up, if something looks funny on them, they will say, “They will laugh at you.”.
This is a sentence from the picture book “Yila Goes to Stay” that we read decades ago.
If I was angry, they would call me “Mother Baxter”, which comes from the novel “Deer Park Changchun”, which is about a mother who has been tempered by the wind and frost for a long time. When
I give them health advice, they call me “Matron Ratched,” a character from the adult novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
To describe a man who sacrifices himself for others, I need only say that he is like Sully (the hero of Richard Russo’s novel “Great Wisdom Like a Fool”), and my sons know what I mean. The characters
we discussed and met in the book are still part of our parent-child relationship. In the
classic film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart’s Brian famously said to Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa, “We’ll always have Paris.”. To read
with a child is to have a common literary world and many “friends,” which will last until the child grows up. Nothing
can erase these memories. To read
with a child is to have a common literary world and many “friends,” which will last until the child grows up. Nothing
can erase these memories.
Keep in mind that fun is the key. It’s good to stop and discuss the content of reading with your child from time to time, but remember that children’s fun should be the first priority, so that children can associate reading with fun.
Don’t turn every exchange into educational time.
If parents always interrupt the fluency of the story and keep asking questions, the pleasure of reading and children’s interest will be destroyed.
Pay attention to your child’s reaction.
In the process of reading aloud, if the child is restless, parents can change the reading material or stop to do something else.
If the child is not interested in a certain paragraph (my child does not like the description of nature, which we collectively refer to as animals and plants), parents can skip that paragraph and continue reading.
If the child is eager to know the ending of a suspense story, parents should not pause and keep reading.
If the child wants to do something else while listening, parents can let him draw, color, play quietly with toys or dolls, etc.
If the child wants to listen to the same book over and over again, even if the parents are bored, they can continue to read it to the child.
If the child wants to play more, the parents should put down the book and not let the child feel guilty.
This is not a school, and parents are not the role of teachers, who should put their children’s fun first. As a
final reminder, interactive reading slows down compared to reading a book from beginning to end, but it’s important to get children involved in the reading experience, not to finish a specified number of pages or books. Reading aloud
to children is not to sprint to the finish line, but to help children grow up.
Therefore, children should be given enough time to ask questions and express their opinions. The more thoughts and feelings
children have, the richer the reading experience will be. Ways
to get your child involved in reading 1. Comment on an illustration or ask, “See the three white rabbits hiding behind the bushes?”?
Let’s count together, one, two, three rabbits. Why do
you think the elk is frowning in that picture?
2. Combing the plot: Bobby is mopping the floor in his room because his best friend has moved away and he feels lonely now.
Sarah is running after the dog, and her brother is running after her.
3. Relate the events or characters in the book to real life: How would you feel if your favorite stuffed animal broke into pieces?
Do you remember the time we got lost and ended up in another town altogether?
4. Ask thought-provoking questions and avoid questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”: “Why is Pete unhappy about going to a new school? What would you do
if you were locked in a museum?
5. Express your curiosity: Do you think birds know how to fly when they are born?
Why are zebras not easy to domesticate? Don’t
they just have more stripes than average horse?
6. Encourage your child’s curiosity: That’s a good question.
Let’s look down together and find out why snakes need to hibernate.
Pepper makes people sneeze. Why do you think?
Ask the child to guess the meaning of the illustration and think about the deeper meaning of the plot or the thoughts of the characters: Why did the king frown at this court jester? What do you think
these boys will think when they get lost in the cave?
“8. Let the child guess the plot development:” If the little dog steals the bone from the big dog, guess what will happen?
Do you think the prince will stay in the wizard’s castle or go home?
9. Ask your child for his opinion on one aspect of the story: How can William help his companion out of trouble?
Do you think the racer should continue racing or quit?
“10. Discuss the character’s personality traits and motivation for doing things:” Why do you think this new girl in the class is so arrogant? Does
the shopkeeper want to make some extra money, or does he really want to help Jack?
11. Repeat the child’s answer before extending: I also think the goose looks stupid in a Santa Claus costume, but it would be even stupider if it were dressed as a vampire.
Yes, I also think the detective acted rather foolishly, but it’s also possible that he pretended to do so on purpose, and he wanted to confuse the public.
12. Express your personal values and beliefs through reading material: Snicket feels pressure to do whatever his friends do. He doesn’t need to imitate anyone. That’s silly.
You just have to follow your own way.
Huck was essentially a man of moral sentiment, so he broke the rules of the time to help the slave Jim escape.
Sometimes we need to listen to the voice of conscience. It’s nice to have a lot of time to read to your child before you go to bed
at night, and it will end your child’s day in a sweet and happy way.
I enjoy this form very much, and my children are also addicted to it.
But the adult world is complex and full of time-consuming and laborious things. Parents may not have the right time, mood and energy in the evening. They may not be able to go home early because of overtime and social activities.
Some parents have time to read for their children in the evening, but they hope that their children can spend more time in contact with books.
In either case, parents don’t have to confine reading to the evening or other specific times.
Reading can be like a snack that parents can provide for their children throughout the day, as the motto of the Boy Scouts of America says, “Always be ready.”.
Parents should put some books for reading in various places in the home, such as kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room, in case of emergency.
In this way, as long as there is the right time, parents can pick up the book and read it to their children. A small book or a few pages of reading material can also be placed
in a handbag, briefcase, coat pocket, car or trolley to take advantage of the gap in daily activities. When the
baby is held on the parents’lap, lying on the bed, sitting on the floor and sucking the bottle, the parents can pick up a book and read it to the child for a few minutes. Parents can also read to
one or two-year-old children when they are bathing, eating snacks or eating. When
children go to kindergarten, parents can read to their children on buses, trains and in food stores while waiting for pizza. When a
child goes to elementary school, parents can read to him while they take him to pick up his siblings from school or a party. Parents can also read to their children while waiting
in the hospital.
When these short periods are added together, the more books parents read for their children, the better their children grow up. The extra time
I give my children to read is squeezed out like this: every morning when I send them downstairs to wait for the school bus, I will put a book in my coat pocket and read it to them while waiting for the school bus to come.
Sometimes, boys run around like monkeys. Sometimes, we are too sleepy or in a bad mood to read.
But there were also many mornings when we huddled on a bench and read together until the school bus showed up. Sometimes the
school bus comes in time, but it will be 10 to 15 minutes late in rainy and snowy days.
No matter how long or short this fun reading session is, it is a good start to a day of heavy learning for children.
When the children were in primary school, they were familiar with thousands of words through listening to books during this period.
It’s easy for us to spend our spare time reading text messages, sending emails, chatting with friends, or playing mobile games.
You know, we have the rest of our lives to talk on our cell phones, but we only have one chance to raise a child.
Once the child grows up, you will never have the opportunity to go back and accompany him through his childhood.
Inviting others to read to your child Reading to your child is not necessarily just for mom or dad.
You can invite other people to contribute, such as your child’s siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nannies, or your friends. You can also invite older neighborhood children to come and read to your child for a while while you are busy with housework or have guests at home who need to be entertained. Explain the importance of reading
to these “reading helpers” so that they understand what their help means.
If your child is going to kindergarten during the day, make sure that the teacher or assistant will spend some time reading to the child.
Children learn to speak and read by interacting and sharing with others, not by watching so-called “educational programs” on TV or computers.
Nowadays, video images are very popular, and it is easy for parents to ignore that children like to listen to stories as well as watching videos.
Audio books and podcasts can’t completely replace human reading, because machines can’t snuggle, ask thoughtful questions, chat and explain the meaning of certain words.
But from the perspective of listening alone, audio books, audio stories, or other programs can bring joy to children, expose them to thousands of new words, and enhance their ability to process language. At the
beginning, parents can use their children’s time to drink water, play quietly with dolls or other toys, draw and color, or sit in the car to listen to programs with their children.
If parents can often participate in sharing this fun, children will gradually develop the habit of listening to stories, whether parents are around or not.
Parents can download the audio from the Internet, borrow the CD from the local library, or buy the CD online, in bookstores, or at the market.
Learning Ally, formerly Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, is a national nonprofit organization that provides a vast collection of online audio material.
Audio equipment can be installed in children’s bedrooms or other places where children can easily reach. Audio equipment and audio materials can also be carried with you
in cars, airports, or trains. The more words a
child hears, the easier it will be to read. At the
beginning, parents can accompany their children to listen to the program.
If parents can often participate in sharing this fun, children will gradually develop the habit of listening to stories, whether parents are around or not. Interspersing
reading with daily life is what children need to know about good health, the need to eat well, the need for a healthy mind and the need to read more books. It is not enough to tell children that reading is beneficial in
general terms. Parents need to emphasize the importance of reading. Here are four practical ways to do this: Keep books or other reading materials around the house.
Parents need to personally demonstrate reading paper books, e-books, magazines and newspapers, so that children can see from their parents that reading is a happy thing and often take their children to the library or bookstore (research shows that children who like reading are often taken to the library).
Encourage children to satisfy their curiosity through reading.
If a child comes back from school on this day and asks a question about President Lincoln, parents can find a book about Lincoln’s life from the library or bookstore, or download some materials from the Internet and read them to their children.
If the child is curious about why onions stimulate tears in his eyes, parents can take the child with them to find answers in popular science books or on the Internet, and then read the relevant information to him.
If the child is curious about how the plane stays in the air, parents can find a biography of the Wright brothers and read it to the child.
Every holiday, read your child a book about the holiday or a character associated with the holiday.
If your child asks for the meaning of a word, help your child consult a dictionary or e-book, and then read the definition to your child.
When reading becomes a part of daily life, children will gradually develop the habit of reading as leisure and entertainment, and books as a treasure house of knowledge.
Books will nourish children’s hearts, minds and souls. There are thousands of excellent books written
for children, but children’s literature should not be the only choice for parents.
Children have great curiosity about the unknown world, and the number of words they can understand far exceeds the number of words they can read (about the eighth grade, children’s reading ability will be equal to listening).
Compared with children’s literature, reading materials for adults cover a lot of information, with more complex syntax and a wider range of vocabulary.
Therefore, choosing rich content to read aloud for children can expand their understanding of the world and arouse their interest in reading and learning.
Parents can pay attention when reading all kinds of materials, books, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, mail may have a sentence, a paragraph, a page of content that children are interested in.
For example, newspaper reports of someone wearing a funny hat at a wedding, interviews with a sports star, criticism of a public figure, witty emails from friends, vivid descriptions of a character in a mystery novel, or even obituaries appearing in newspapers.. (I know that last one sounds scary, but an obituary is a short biography of someone, and it’s often interesting.).
If you don’t want to, you can not tell the child that the person has died. Tear
them out of a newspaper or magazine, or mark them in a book and put them away for a rainy day. You can read it to your child when you
eat, when you wait in the checkout line at the store, when you sit in the restaurant waiting for hamburgers and fries.
Parents can also walk directly into their child’s room and tell him, “Ha, listen to this part. The camels in Australia are so crazy. These camels attack the air conditioner to find water to drink.”.
(Yes, this is a real event.
The following is my personal experience.
I was reading Mark Saltzman’s “Iron and Silk,” which chronicles the author’s experience teaching English and learning martial arts in China in the 1980s, and there is a particularly fascinating description of the martial arts teacher’s invincible iron fist.
My son was 8 years old, dyslexic, and learning karate, so I read him this passage.
He was completely obsessed and kept begging me to read more about the teacher.
Later, he asked me to go back and read it to him from the beginning. Of course, I skipped some difficult and inappropriate chapters. What did
my son learn from it?
In the process of listening, he came into contact with dozens of interesting new words, such as embarrassment, restraint, simplicity and mediocrity, learned about Chinese customs, culture and eating habits, learned how small acts of goodwill can affect people, and showed a new desire for reading. Although he had a lot of reading setbacks in school at that time.
Parents don’t have to worry about the difficulty of reading. Parents can try to read to any book that their children may be interested in. For another
example, there was a time when my children and I were very interested in the theme of anti-bullying in literary works-how a gentle person can defend himself and protect others in the face of bullying. The subject comes up again and again in books
we read, such as C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Brian Jacques’s Redwall.
So when I saw a damaged copy of Jack Scheffer’s “Shane” at a garage sale, I bought it to read to my children. The plot of this
book is not complicated. It tells the story of a sharpshooter who wants to retire and stay away from disputes, but has to pick up his gun again to protect his friends who are threatened by bullies. As we
read the book, we talked about the bullying we have experienced, the importance of standing up when we see others being bullied, and the courage and wisdom we should have when facing bullies. The
children loved the book so much that I didn’t hesitate to buy the cassette of the book and play it for them before they went to bed.
Later, we watched the 1953 version of the movie (starring Alan Rudd and written by A. B Jr.) And compared it to the book. After the
children learned to read, they read the book again by themselves. I’m going to read it again because
recently, the book of “The Man of the Wilderness” has been turned out at home.
If my son comes to visit one day and happens to see this book on my bedside table, maybe he will read it again.
Parents don’t have to worry about the difficulty of reading. Parents can try to read to any book that their children may be interested in.
Whether parents or children, as long as they feel that the content of the book they are reading is boring or difficult to understand, they can abandon it and read other books, which will not cause any loss.
Some classic novels, such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, are simple in language but profound in thought. Parents can read such books to children of several years old or teenagers, and children of all ages will like them very much.
Even if some adult books are not suitable for children in general, there are always some passages that are moving, exciting and fascinating.
In the case of Don Quixote by Cervantes, although children may not like the whole book, a few funny moments in the book are also very interesting.
Some mystery novels are a little scary for young children, but the vivid description of a strange character may interest him. It doesn’t matter if several children
in the family are of different ages. Ideally, parents have enough time to read to each child separately every day, but in the face of fast-paced modern life, this can only be a luxury.
In fact, parents often have no time to read aloud to their children.
But parenting does not mean that everything should be perfect, but that parents should try their best to do their best even if the environment is imperfect.
Therefore, even if time is limited and there is more than one child, parents should not give up the idea of reading for their children, and it is feasible to read for children of different ages at the same time.
Parenting does not mean that everything should be perfect, but that parents should try their best to do their best even if the environment is imperfect.
I have thought deeply about this because my own three children are very different in age (the youngest was born when the other two were 7 and 11 years old).
I try to read to them, partly because I like it, and they all like to listen to me, and partly because I want to convey my love for reading. I
don’t have three kids at the same time, but most of the time, I have to take care of at least two at the same time, so I have to find ways to make the reading process interesting to all three of them at the same time. My strength
as a writer, and my previous experience as an English teacher, is that I know that there are three important things about books, and I tell children this: a good work is a good work, no matter what form it takes.
Interesting points worth exploring in depth.
Books are the toys of the mind and are used in a variety of ways.
From the very beginning, I have clearly told the children that there are excellent works in all forms, including children’s picture books, novels, cartoons, brochures, magazines, and even instructions.
As a result, older children don’t feel embarrassed when they share picture books with their youngest brother.
At home, we don’t have a bias against “childish” books or comics, we just get rid of the bad ones, the ones that are boring, the ones that promote cliches, the ones that are stereotyped. We like to read
good books, and we give up bad books (not excluding the possibility that a “bad” book may be interesting to read later, but we can’t appreciate it at that time).
In my family, the older children are not embarrassed by the fact that they like children’s books, and the youngest is used to listening to “big kids.”.
This allows me to read to them a wide variety of content: children’s picture books, storybooks with different levels of difficulty, and sections of adult novels.
How can we make older children interested in picture books and one or two-year-old children interested in novels?
We can use interactive reading methods, such as stopping from time to time to comment on an illustration, discuss a character, plot, and explore interesting or unrealistic ideas in the book.
For children who are one or two years old or just beginning to learn to read, my interaction with them is naturally different from that with older children.
But regardless of the difficulty level of the book under discussion, the interactive dialogue between me and each child was genuine and age-appropriate.
Interesting ideas are worth exploring in depth. When an interesting idea appears in the book, I encourage children to think, discuss and dig deeply. Once
, I read Dr. Seuss’s children’s picture book “It’s so troublesome to go to Sun City” to my three children. After
reading a page or two, I would stop and point out an interesting illustration to my youngest son, who was only one or two years old, and then discuss the meaning behind the illustration with my two older children.
The book tells the story of a small animal who runs away from home because of trouble and flees to Sun City ( “a place where there will never be trouble, at least very, very little trouble”), but encounters new problems on the way to Sun City.
After several unfortunate encounters, the hero begins to understand that trouble is everywhere, so he decides to go home. He takes a racket as a “weapon” and announces, “Now my trouble is going to be my big trouble. The
three children all loved the unique illustrations in the book. The story has a profound meaning. We discussed many topics with each other: courage, timidity, self-protection, the pursuit of perfection, and the fact that everyone will encounter the tricks of fate.
On another occasion, I read an illustrated version of The Hobbit to my older children, with my youngest son sitting on my lap.
Every few pages, I stopped to explain a new word, then pointed out the interesting part of the illustration, or explained the plot to my youngest son, who was only one or two years old.
He was too young to understand the whole story, but he loved being next to me, loved being with his brothers, and was fascinated by the colorful illustrations in the book. When
my youngest son can’t sit still, I divert his attention with toys and snacks, and then continue to read.
If he starts to get impatient and keeps interrupting, I’ll stop.
Even if the final reading time is only a few minutes, it’s worth it for us.
Books are the toys of the soul, and there are many ways to use them. When I read to my youngest son, in order to make my eldest sons interested, I will use some methods to make the reading process lively and interesting.
I would put one of the kids in charge of the reading or have them take turns.
I would also go directly to the last page of the book and ask them to look at the illustrations in order from back to front and make up a new story accordingly.
Or, I can imitate the accent of the foreigner to do strange, let children imitate the same accent to read out, or think of another strange accent.
Once they get bored, I will stop and find something else to do separately from them, or find something to participate in together.
Sharing work content and hobbies Parents can build a better emotional connection with their children by reading materials related to their work or hobbies.
This does not mean reading textbooks or instruction manuals, but sharing with children what they are interested in, so that children can better understand their parents’thoughts, ways of making a living and entertainment hobbies.
Reading is not hereditary, it is an acquired habit.
I know many parents who love reading, but their children are not interested in reading at all.
Parents who are lawyers or political enthusiasts can read newspaper articles about hot topics for their children and discuss them with them, such as immigration, abortion and affirmative action. If
parents are chefs or are obsessed with cooking, they can read restaurant introductions or novel menus to their children. If
parents are bird lovers, they can read interesting articles from National Geographic magazine for their children, or choose a few passages from Jonathan Franzen’s novel Freedom to read about birds.
Parents who are teachers and have recently received a happy letter from a former student can also read it to their children. The
love of reading is not hereditary, it is an acquired habit.
I know many parents who love reading, but their children are not interested in reading at all.
Parents should not only set an example and store more books at home, but also share some interesting and funny content when their children are reading and reading, so as to strengthen their children’s love for books.
If parents share their enthusiasm with their children, they will also love books and develop the habit of lifelong reading.
Key points review ● Expanding the way of reading, making the time of reading more flexible and enriching the content of reading can increase children’s fun and bring them life-changing experience. It is also beneficial to children in the following aspects: interest in books and reading, IQ and EQ, reading ability, vocabulary, abstract thinking ability, ability to improve academic performance, cognition of the world, empathy, creativity, and emotional communication with parents.
● In the process of reading aloud, if parents stop from time to time and communicate with their children about the content of reading aloud, it will deepen their children’s impression and make the whole process more pleasant.
● Interactive reading is a simple way to maintain the relationship between parents and children without interfering with each other’s privacy.
● It’s good to stop and discuss what you’re reading from time to time, but remember that your child’s enjoyment is the most important thing, so that your child can associate reading with enjoyment.
Don’t turn every exchange into educational time.
If parents always interrupt the fluency of the story and keep asking questions, the pleasure of reading and children’s interest will be destroyed.
● It doesn’t matter if several children in the family are of different ages.
Even if time is limited and there is more than one child, don’t give up the idea of reading for children. It is feasible to read to children of different ages at the same time.
● As a writer, and with my previous experience as an English teacher, I have the advantage of knowing that there are three important things about books that I tell children: a good book is a good book in any form; an interesting idea is worth exploring; and a book is a toy for the soul and can be used in a variety of ways.
● Compared with children’s literature, reading materials for adults cover a lot of information, with more complex syntax and a wider range of vocabulary.
Therefore, choosing rich content to read aloud for children can expand their understanding of the world and arouse their interest in reading and learning.
Action suggestions ► When reading aloud, you can stop to talk about the illustrations, ask a question, briefly talk about the characters in the book, clarify the plot development, explain the meaning of a word, or connect a point in the story to the child’s real life.
In other words, books can be used as a starting point for parents to start a conversation with their children about any topic you are interested in.
► Ask thought-provoking questions and avoid questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”.
► Encourage your child’s curiosity and express your own.
► Ask the child to guess the meaning of the illustration, think about the deeper meaning of the plot or the idea of the characters; ask the child to guess the plot development; ask the child’s opinion about an aspect of the story.
► Discuss the character’s personality traits and motivations.
► Express your personal values and beliefs through reading materials.
► Intersperse reading into your child’s daily life.
► Share your work and interests with your child.
► Take your children to the library often.
. Focus on not getting lost ~
