We celebrated World Book Day this month and fun was had by all. This is the perfect opportunity to highlight why reading aloud is an important activity we encourage at our nursery.
Reading, sharing stories and singing is an important part of a child’s early learning and promotes brain development and imagination, develops language and emotions, improves listening skills, and encourages a lifelong love of reading. Continue reading to learn more about the top benefits of reading to young children.
Supports Cognitive Development
Babies and young children’s brains work in a very different way than an adult’s brain. From birth up to about age 5, a child’s mind is like a sponge absorbing information from their surroundings. Most part of a child’s learning and development, about 85%, is done with in the first 5 years of life.
Reading to young children is proven to improve cognitive skills and helps cognitive development and the ability to think, understand and make sense of the world around them. It enables children to problem solve, process information and improves memory.
A 2013 study showed that children who are regularly read and spoken to score higher in language skills and cognitive development, like problem solving.
Improved Imagination and Creativity
During story time, children’s minds are at work, taking in all the language they hear and lessons the characters learn. Reading aloud helps children to use their imaginations to explore people, places, times, and events beyond their own experiences. Reading as an imaginative activity opens doors to all kinds of new worlds for children and widens their imagination.
Improved Language Skills
Daily reading activities helps with a child’s language acquisition, communication skills, social skills, and literacy skills. As reading to children in the early years stimulates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language and helps build key language, literacy, and social skills.
Improves Listening Skills and Vocabulary
Children acquire language primarily through listening. Hearing a story read aloud requires a great deal of comprehension, which is dependent on paying attention and concentration— in other words, listening skills.
Reading aloud also lets children regularly hear new words in new contexts, which builds their vocabulary and helps them develop stronger language skills.
Cultivating a Lifelong Love of Reading
Reading aloud to children is an important activity for building the essential skills needed for early years development and future success. We encourage a love for reading at an early age, as we know that reading is the key for lifelong learning and is a source of pleasant, happy exciting experiences.
Reading to young children contributes to the development of their growing brains and gives them a good start towards a lifelong love of reading and good literature.
When it comes to reading the benefits speak for themselves, and reading does not always mean it has to be a story book. Looking at picture books, singing songs or telling stories are all beneficial especially for babies and very young children who often enjoy books, songs and stories with good rhyme, rhythm, and repetition.
Anytime is a good time for a book, a story or a nursery rhyme! We share at least one book or story each day at Step By Step Nursery and we enjoy singing songs and nursery rhymes too!
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