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Let's Make "I Love to Read" month "We Love to Read" month
by Monica Gustafson
February is "I Love to Read" month and children will learn to love to read, and be more successful in their academics, if they are brought up in a print rich environment.
In a study done by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University it was determined that "Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates, and enhanced productivity in adult life."
So this month I suggest that everyone try to give their children an advantage that watching TV cannot provide...Let's all get reading, and not just to your children, read with them and around them. Make reading a family affair. Children whose parents are readers, and model reading as something that is done as part of a regular routine, are more likely to become readers themselves. Adults can make their homes a print rich environment with newspapers, magazines and books of all kinds. Demonstrate to you children that you can obtain all kinds of information from all forms of print.
Discuss something out of the newspaper that would be of interest to your children. The recent proposal on the ban on the use of personal vehicles to transport children to school events is a good example of news issue that might a direct effect on our children. What do they think? How would a rule like that affect them?
Find a children's magazine version of what you read and share it with them. There are now Children's versions of Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Time and People magazine on the market. Many Canadian based magazines offer titles for varying age groups such as Owl, Chick-a-Dee, and The Science Magazine for Adventurous Minds. Remember that reading is reading and it doesn't just have to be a book!
The computer can also offer many reading opportunities for children. If you are going to a family movie, try searching the reviews for that movie on line. If they find something in another source they are interested in, help them research it further on the internet and make a print copy for them to read and keep.
For the month of February try to have "No TV Night". Take a trip to the library and pick out a chapter book the whole family can enjoy. Make some hot chocolate and cookies and cuddle up and read. Take turns reading the chapters and predicting what might happen in the next one. If it is a book without pictures, have your children draw some illustrations to go with it. If they are old enough to write have them write a caption or scribe it for them if they are younger.
If your child is too young for chapter books, select an author and check out some books at their level. Try to extend the book with an activity to compliment it. For example reading Robert Munsch's book More Pies could lead to pie making, or read Paper Bag Princess and get out some brown paper and make outfits.
So this February let's make the month "WE LOVE TO READ MONTH'... immerse your whole family in print and knowing that it can only enhance your child's chances at academic success and lead to a lifetime of reading enjoyment.
Monica Gustafson is a Speech Language Pathologist and Author who has written 23 programs for the remediation of speech and language disorders. In addition to her 32 years of experience in working in the school system, she also provides private practice session to Preschool and School-aged children. For more information on Private Sessions: Call: 896-3964 or email Monica. Evening appointments are available.
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