Hello Dear Friends of DragonBunny Books,
As it is our 4th wedding anniversary and we are so happy and excited about the occasion, we wanted to celebrate with a little pre book launch freebie / giveaway!!
We created this week's blog just for parents and educators on the benefits on the joys of reading to kids, along with a few helpful dos and don’ts!
PLUS A FREE DRAGONBUNNY BOOKS ORIGINAL COLORING SHEEEEEEET! Hot off the presses! Designed just for youuuuuu (great for home or classroom)
OK, so Why read aloud to your kids?
Let's start by sharing our own personal struggles with this….
"As an educator, I Sometimes fall into the misguided belief trap that reading is not a “productive” use of time… or worse still that reading aloud to those who can read, of all ages and abilities, is somehow not impactful or beneficial.
I’m not sure what informs this misconception but I have to use logic and rational thinking to talk myself out of it. Is it because we are conditioned to question how something as pleasurable as reading can actually be beneficial? Sometimes we have to challenge our perceptions and thoughts because they aren’t always accurate!" (Bunny)
"Actually, prior to this blog, I had already made a commitment to reading aloud as a regular and consistent practice in my classroom. Because I often found myself running out of time after doing the “real” work of a busy, energetic kindergarten class, I would often have to omit story time. As a way of addressing this problem, I will dedicate the beginning of my lesson to reading aloud so that I don’t run out of time! Honestly, all of the important academic benefits aside, I truly love the performance and engagement of story time. It is such a bonding and dynamic way of teaching!" (Dragon)
““READING ALOUD OR LISTENING TO A STORY BEING TOLD IS ONE OF THE MOST “CEREBRALLY” ENGAGING EXPERIENCES A KID CAN HAVE””
““ONE OF THE GREATEST GIFTS ADULTS CAN GIVE - TO THEIR OFFSPRING AND TO SOCIETY - IS TO READ TO CHILDREN” ”
Here are a few more reasons to read aloud to your kids….
Improves Vocabulary
Makes connections between spoken and written word
The pure enjoyment of reading
Improves Attention span
Improves cognition
Is a safe and healthy way to explore emotions
Promotes bonding
Stimulates imagination
Dos and Don’ts … (always more Dos than Don'ts)
Do Read every day!
Do Read favourites over and over again (especially if it's a DragonBunny Book!)
Do Choose a space that is distraction free (ie technology free and interruption free)
Do allow yourselves Enough time to enjoy thoroughly
Do Ask wondering questions to encourage your child to reflect and process
Do use your voice to express the flavour and tone to animate the story
Don’t read if your child is not in the right frame of mind
Don’t read books that aren’t interesting to your child.
Don’t get off track - Do try to stay focused if a distraction occurs redirect and refocus but be willing to stop if necessary. Tomorrow is another day.
Do have fun and be playful!