Home & Lifestyle winter 2018

FOCUS ON CHILDREN

Reading and storytelling with your child

Reading aloud and sharing stories with your child is a great way to spend time together. Reading and storytelling also helps promote language, literacy and brain development. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and helps them develop and improve literacy skills --reading, writing, speaking,andlistening,andaschildrenlistenon a higher level than they read, listening to other readers stimulates growth and understanding of vocabulary and language patterns. In the early months, hold your baby close and read, talk and sing to them. By 3-6 months of age, your baby will start to enjoy looking at mirrors and pictures of faces, shapes, colours. They will begin to make sounds, reach out and touch the pictures. Choose books with interesting pictures and textures. Just by looking at books with your child, you can be a great storyteller and a good model for using language and books. Your child will learn by watching you hold a book the right way and seeing how you move through the book by gently turning the pages. Reading isn’t the only way to help with your child’s language and literacy development. Telling stories, singing songs and saying rhymes together are also great activities for

the cot, when you’re in the GP’s waiting room ... any time is a good time for a story! You can make books part of your daily routine – take them with you to share and enjoy everywhere. Knowing when to stop can be just as important as finding the time to share a story in the first place. Pay attention to your child’s reaction to the story, and stop if their not enjoying it this time. You can always try a book, song or story at another time.

early literacy skills – and your childwill probably have a lot of fun at the same time. Sometimes your child might enjoy these activities more than reading. You might like to make up your own stories or share family stories. Your child will learn words and develop language skills from the songs, stories and conversations you share together. Bedtime, bath time, potty time, on the train, on the bus, in the car, in the park, in the pram, in

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T-Rex costumes, Amscan’s party ware, FUNKO Pop! Vinyl Figures, Designworks’ kids and adult clothing range, games & digital releases, fashion and more. Retailers - Big W, Kmart, Target, Toys ‘R Us, Myer

& Lifestyle Magazine | Winter 2018 37

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