Talking and Connecting on Valentine’s Day: Part Two
You didn’t think we’d only do ONE Valentine’s Day book round up, did you?? 🤓📚💘 It was tough enough to narrow it down to only two bog posts…
While we believe that all types of books can be beneficial at any age (see our free resources for book reading here and here), these are geared more towards toddlers and preschoolers vs the earliest readers. With that being said, if you have a little one that is not yet sitting to listen to more than 2-3 words at a time, read the pictures and don’t read the words. Follow your child’s gaze and comment on what they’re eyes are showing you they are interested in.
For next reading steps with kids, I love to use pausing for predictions and wonderings to build speech and language while connecting. Research has shown us that this type of shared reading helps kids to use more words, and the authors of the above research study theorize that adult uncertainty helps children to attach more importance to their ideas. How cool is that?!
Okay ya, it’s cool, but how do I do that?
Here are some ideas:
When reading Just One You! you can notice items that each character has and wonder and pause for your child to fill in the pause. You say “I see paper, and a green crayon, I wonder what Abby likes” or “I see a watering can and flowers, I wonder what Elmo likes”.
When reading In My Heart, you can notice colors and actions in the pictures and wonder how the character is feeling before you read the words. You say “I see a big explosion and her eyebrows are all scrunched up and her arms are crossed. I wonder how she feels”.
**Notice the wondering and that there is no direct asking “How does she feel?” or “what does he like?”. The magic and connection is in the pause, not direct asking.
Speaking of connection, we hope the above tips and thoughts serve as a guide and the biggest priority for you and your child is enjoying time together. We hope you and your little loves enjoy our list of books as much as we do. Happy reading and Happy Vday!
