In Focus - Reading

So far on IN FOCUS: Reading, we have bough you information on how to structure your storytime and choosing age appropriate book features and themes. This week we will be sharing reading aloud secrets from talented author, Mem Fox, as well as sharing Australia’s top 10 picture books and some handy hints on how to make your own books at home.

Mem Fox’s Ten Read Aloud Commandments:-

• Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
• Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read.
• Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
• Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.
• Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.
• Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
• Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.
• Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
• Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
• Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.

For more in-depth advice on how to read aloud to your children please visit Mem Fox‘s own website

www.memfox.com

,where you will have the opportunity to listen to Mem reading from her own stories such as Koala Lou and Wombat Divine.

There are many different types of reading material that we have in our home. Making our own books can be a fun and exciting activity to do with your child. Cutting pictures, chosen by your child, from magazines and catalogues and labeling them give your child ownership over this and show them very simple book features; front cover, pages and back cover. For older children choose a theme such as animals, toys, food etc and get them to draw the pictures and ‘label’ them (with assistance), your child will love to show their own book off to family and friends.

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