1) Sometimes she asks me to read to her. I love allowing her to communicate so I fulfill her request and let her know I understand her.
2) She is at a stage where she’s learning 10 new words everyday! What better way to help her language development than by reading a fresh variation of words from a book.
3) She has pretty much memorized her favorite books. As I’m reading, I pause at some words and she will fill in what I leave out. I love how her voice sounds as she’s testing out words she understands but has never spoken.
4) My parents saved all the books I had as a kid and now I’m reading them to Little H. I enjoy the stories as much as she does sometimes!
5) It’s fun to extend the story and talk about the pictures. I’ll ask her to point out “where is the balloon?” and she giggles as she does it – sometimes repeating “boo-in!”
6) Reading has become the cornerstone of her bedtime routine. It lets her know it’s time to relax, cuddle with mommy and get ready to go to bed.
7) I read to her everyday. She sees me reading my own book (almost) everyday. She is learning that reading is a normal thing people are supposed to do. And sometimes she will sit down and entertain herself with a book – it’s a much appreciated break for me!
8 ) Sometimes I’ll play a game where I say the wrong thing. “A cow says meow” then I’ll look at her and wait. She knows exactly what I’m up to and her face lights up. “No, MOOOOO!” she’ll say. This is another cute side effect to her having memorized some books and a fun way to make them new again. It also allows for more discussion about the pictures.
9) I really enjoy the cuddles – it’s pretty much the only time she will sit still and happy on my lap, or beside me on the couch.
10) I know that in reading to my daughter, I’m playing a large role in her development. I can be secure in the fact that I’m helping her communicate, learn, and grow into a creative little person! Why wouldn’t I love it?
Recommended reading for Toddlers (Little H’s Favorites!)
written by H.E.Eigler
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A love of books is a treasure you are giving your child! My son always had to hear Time For Bed (by Meme Fox) after Goodnight Moon.
Sounds lovely. I always find it quite hard going, reading to my kids, because they’re so impatient! I stumble over the words in my rush to get them out before they want to go to the next page.
It’s funny we never had the Goodnight Moon book, we have ‘Goodnight Gorilla’ and Jake always loved it and now Abby is getting into it.
Both my kids love books, it’s amazing the way they are drawn to them. Abby’s favorite thing it to point to a picture in a book and say “dis” “dis” (she means what’s this?)
It’s nice to hear about your routine for bedtime and how it involves reading…we actually stopped doing that after Abby was born and need to start back up again.
Now that my son is eleven and refuses to be read to, I look back fondly at those days.
I think if you instill a love of reading, art and music, you’ve given your child a lifetime gift.
What a great post!
I love reading to Gracie, too. It’s such a nice time to spend with her, and the habits we’re building will last her a lifetime.
I’m going to include this in Things to Write Home About next week.
E loves Goodnight Moon and Moo Ba too! I totally agree about vocabulary and reading-it exposes them to so many new words. We read about 10 books before bed and a zillion other throughout the day. I adore reading with her!
Thank you!