How to Read with Your Child

Demonstrate how to read with your child that includes cuddling child, arms around him/her; pronouncing the words and enunciating them, using expression, speaking slowly, pausing for emphasis. The way we speak the first line in a story is important. The aim is to grab the audience. If anything can be more important than the first line of a story, it is the last line (Fox, 2001). Train yourself to drag out the last line. What if your child doesn’t want to cuddle? What if the parent isn’t comfortable cuddling? How can parents still make that connection and read? Encourage families to sit at opposite ends of the couch with their feet touching, sit side by side in an armchair all squished together, lie together in a made up tent in the living room, sit under the kitchen table together and hide out to read their books. They need to find some way to create that special family reading time for kids who aren’t cuddly or for parents and kids who aren’t normally cuddly until being cuddly feels better and becomes more a part of that relationship.

When you demonstrate how to read a book, it is often effective to start reading the book without any expression and do not look at the parents. Show no emotion on face and do not enunciate the words. Ask them if they are enjoying the experience? Why or why not? Then demonstrate or have them explain how to make the story time more interesting.

Have parents refer to their parent book “Ten Great Reasons to Read with your Child.” Discuss these reasons and ask for parent feedback. Ie. Do they agree with these reasons?

Literacy Activity

• Parents “read” to a partner from a picture-only book or use photo from last class with entire group. The purpose is to show parents that no words are needed to be read in order to be able to connect with kids and share stories (A Boy, a dog and a frog by Mercer Meyer. Alex. Day, Carl books