Reading. As adults, we take for granted the ability to read and what we learn from reading. Those of us who love books know that nothing is a better escape than a good one — reality flies away and we inhabit an entirely different world.
Reading, and literacy in general, is an essential component of everyday life. Anyone who’s traveled to a country where the language is unfamiliar is suddenly struck by the importance of reading.
Passing this skill and love of reading on to children is not just a good idea, it’s essential to their development. Brain cells are turned on when a toddler is read to; reading aloud to children is essential to the development of literacy; and learning to read English, a recent study showed, requires “a rich home literacy environment” and that reading “lots of books to children. . . is absolutely necessary.”
Reading the Luna the Turtle Storybook Quilt
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.
Oh — one last thing. Do you know why Read Across American is celebrated in March 2nd? Why, it’s Dr. Seuss’s birthday, of course!
Read, read, read!
