The National Children’s Reading Foundation is a great source of reliable information about reading to children and its benefits. “It takes hundreds of hours of ‘lap time’ for a child to gain the pre-literacy skills necessary to learn to read early and well,” according to the Foundation. They recommend spending just 20 minutes a day — and not necessarily all at once.
The wonderful poem below comes from their website.
20 Minutes A Day
Read to your children
Twenty minutes a day;
You have the time,
And so do they.
Read while the laundry is in the machine;
Read while dinner cooks;
Tuck a child in the crook of your arm
And reach for the library books.
Hide the remote,
Let the computer games cool,
For one day your child will be off to school;
Remedial? Gifted? You have the choice.
Let them hear their first tales,
In the sound of your voice.
Read in the morning,
Read over noon,
Read by the light of
Goodnight Moon.
Turn the pages together,
Sitting close as you’ll fit,
Till a small voice beside you says,
“Hey, don’t quit.”
– Author Unknown
A Storybook Quilt is a great way to achieve at least half the daily goal! Each story takes about 10-15 minutes to read; each also provides an additional opportunity for building language and visual skills by matching the events in the story to the fabrics in the quilt.
Mom reading Maggie the Dog theme Storybook Quilt to her daughters
Remember, you can win Maggie the Dog or any of the Storybook Quilt themes by entering the Name the Turtle Contest!
Tags: 20_minutes_a_day, reading
