Wednesday, February 16, 2011

My Toddler Loves Books


I love seeing my daughter's love of books develop. I wrote an earlier post about how she came to love books (My Baby Loves Books), but I've noticed so many changes since then - as with anything in the time between growing from a baby to a toddler (Abbey is now just shy of two-and-a-half).

Aside from encouraging her to sit down and listen to stories, and teaching her to be gentle with them, I haven't given Abbey any 'instruction' about books. It's interesting, then, to sit and observe the natural steps she's taken in learning how to appreciate them.

I'm no literacy expert - just someone who loves books - but to me these steps seem so logical and important in a future reader's development.

Here's what I've noticed as the first steps in a child's reading life:

1. As a baby, Abbey would sit and listen to stories, although it took some persistence before she would sit and listen (read some tips here).

2. Then came the page-turning and touching (and chewing!) of pages - a baby's first interaction with these funny objects.

3. The stories got a little longer, and she asked for them again and again. Repetition has been the name of the game ever since, and she started having her clear favourites and those she just wouldn't - and won't - sit through.

4. The next thing I noticed was her beginning to interact with the telling of the story. This started with her talking about what was happening in the pictures and pointing to things as we read about them.

5. The next level of interaction was when I started leaving little gaps in the story; just little silences with the last word or a key word in the story - and she'd say it herself. Kids have such great memories. This is especially good with rhyming stories, as children start to sense a pattern and preempt what type of word is coming up (isn't it amazing how early they pick up on these things?!).

6. At about this point I started noticing (and it could have happened before this stage, but this is when it clicked for me) a real comprehension in storylines and phrases. For example, we'd read Oliver Jeffer's How to Catch a Star and the next time Abbey couldn't reach something she'd talk about wanting to 'jump up and grab it' (a line from the book). Or she'd take a word from a book that's not commonly used in day-to-day language and use it in the right context.

7. Another step towards longer books came, with her being ready for stories that are even longer again. She's now happy to sit through more detailed picture books and some longer books with less pictures (some Dr Seuss and Beatrix Potter books, for example).

8. And recently, another leap. She's begun taking a book and sitting either by herself or next to her dad or me, and insisting on 'reading' the story herself. She'll turn the pages and either make up little stories based on the pictures, or repeat a phrase that she knows (from repetitive reading of that story) comes on that particular page. It's so beautiful to watch - she puts on different voices, laughs, introduces the characters to each other and describes the things she sees in the pictures.

All of this has been prompted by Abbey; I'm purely going along with her lead and using nothing but instinct (although I've read books and articles on literacy, none of them talk about these steps; instead simply saying to read to young children lots, and leaving a blank between that and the formal process of learning to read). And Abbey seems to be developing a love of books in her own way and, even more importantly, at a point when she is ready for the next step.

It really is amazing.

15 comments:

  1. I love how passionate you are about reading and books! And this is such a great insight into Abbey's reading journey and how to encourage a joy of reading.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great list post! We're up to No. 8 now. Ella loves `reading' to me. It's a great insight into what's going on in their li'l heads. Totally relate to your list!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love reading books to my kids, even though they are all now at the stage reading to me. This list is great, i'm sure it will encourage new parents to read to their children :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is really sweet, Megan! I love reading to my boy and he loves to pull out the books, bring them to me, point to pictures in them. Your post made me really look forward to the next steps!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. If only all children grew up within such a literacy loving home.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love your list. I pictured my now 5 year old book lover going through all those phases. I started reading Enid Blyton at bedtime when she was about 3 and a half, and we are currently working our way through Roald Dahl stories.

    ReplyDelete
  7. All of my kids love books. We've always read to them from when they were very young. With seven kids, we have quite a large library. The best thing now is that the older kids will read to the young ones. It makes me feel happy inside to know that they have a love for reading.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great list Megan! My daughter & I are bookworms too. I think exposing children to books from a VERY early stage is so important! It not only develops their basic reading skills, but it allows them to develop decoding skills, language & speech, writing conventions, word meaning, fine motor skills & higher level thinking. As a Primary Teacher, I see a big difference in kids who are familiar with {and enjoy} texts, to those who have hardly looked at a book before entering the school system.
    I could really sense your passion & dedication in this post!!!
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh Megan, love this! We are HUGE book people too and absolutely LOVE seeing how Bliss has developed her own love of reading -in much the same fashion as Abbey. I find it amazing that reading to Bear who is still only a few months old, he just loves them and the whole experience of reading with us. Just great! x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such a sweet list! I love reading to my baby girl, she looks so intently, makes my heart melt. I'm looking forward to watching her move through the leaps.

    ReplyDelete
  11. In our house, we have kids who also make books "because mum has" which is totally awesome :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. They are fantastic first steps to reading. Now you'll want to introduce what our speech therapist called 'w questions'. Start asking "what do you think happens next?" "Who was doing xyz?" "When were they going to abc?" "why do you think he did that?" "How do you think the little girl felt?" Or things like that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can not tell you how exciting this post is to me! These are the first steps to reading. This is how it begins, these are the pre-literacy skills I look for at the start of a new school year with my class.
    Also, Abbey sees you and her dad read. She knows it's something of value and importance. You have already set her up for success in literacy... I could go on and on... but I won't!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gah left a comment but it disappeared. I love this and it's exactly the same at our place even to the point of it being the same books. Yay for book love. Xxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. It's so beautiful that she wants to read all by herself and wants to read things over and over. Such a great sign of a bookworm in years to come! xx

    ReplyDelete