The Power of Stories

My mom always read to my brother and me when we were little. I know she firmly believed that reading to her kids would help us become smart kids and now that I am a parent I completely agree.

And, now, this article indicates that pediatricians are confirming the importance of reading and recommend reading to children from the time they are born. I always joke that Baby Sneaker is so smart because she did Kindergarten twice while she was in my belly. Clearly, this news is not new to us, but I think it's great if pediatricians encourage parents to read to their young children. 

NPR also covered this topic yesterday in talking with Professor Susan Neuman who is an expert in literacy development from New York University.

Now that Baby Sneaker is 2, she truly understands stories and loves to read. She is constantly bringing me books and asking me to read to her and I LOVE that. She loves to hear the same stories over and over and amazes us by filling in the missing words when we stop short and let her finish the sentences. Her vocabulary is incredible and she sometimes acts out events that happen in her stories when she is doing imaginative play. She even pretends to read the stories to her stuffed animals. 

Check her out...

Blue Hat, Green Hat

We are participating in the summer reading program through the library and she loves to put stickers on her reading chart for every 15 minutes we spend reading together. Each night before bed, both Mr. Sneaker and I read stories to her.

 Her current favorites are:

I think one of the most rewarding parts of being a Kindergarten teacher is seeing children enjoy stories and grow into readers. My class this year would beg me to read more whenever I did read alouds. Not the stories from the reading programs, but the stories that I picked out of my own personal collection. 

Sadly, some kids don't get read to at home. It's hard for me to imagine, but for some of the kiddos in our classrooms, the stories we read at school are the only stories they hear. Not only were they not read to as babies, but they weren't read to as toddlers or preschoolers either. Maybe a book here and there, but their parents don't build reading into their daily routine in order to establish an appreciation for books and stories and reading. When we read big books, we are supposedly recreating the experience of lap reading, but do we really achieve that? When I read to Baby Sneaker she interrupts all the time to ask "what's that?" as she points to various things in the illustrations. She repeats some of the words and tells me what comes next. I don't admonish her for interrupting because it's only her little voice and it's just the two of us. That's not the same experience kiddos have in my class when I am reading to 28 children at once. 

I can't judge parents for not reading to their kids because I don't know what their situation is. Not all parents have the resources that I do to fill my child's bookshelves with books. Maybe they don't have a car and it's too far to walk to the library. Maybe they can't read in English. Maybe they can't read at all. But, I think it's great if pediatricians begin emphasizing the importance of reading from day 1 so that hopefully families who experience barriers can also share the special experience of reading with their children.

What are your favorite stories to read with your kids or your students? 
Were you read to as a child?