Educator has taught me anything, it's how to make each story, rhyme, song or dance jump off the page and into a magical place that captures the attention of parents and children! You can always read through a story with nice inflection in your voice without asking questions (or jumping up and down and counting to 4) like a book is suggesting you do, and if you only have a quick 3 minutes, that is still better than nothing! But, I encourage parents and childcare providers alike to really get into story time. Why? Because it's darn-tootin' fun; that's why! Including FUN into learning is extremely important for all ages, but especially for the 0-7 year olds, who learn primarily through play! When we actually stand up and hop up and down, or repeat silly phrases in books and play echo games during story time, we are growing our child's language development and the movement is encouraging their little memories to remember these new words and ideas they are learning! It is truly amazing how much play can do for the mind, body and soul.
Let's recap, shall we?
Vocal inflection, vocal play and movement lead to FUN, which leads to connecting with your child, which leads to learning and memory. Now that's what I call a win! Oh, and you might find that YOU have a little extra fun yourself! I hope you feel inspired to adding a little pep to your reading time today and everyday!
Love,
Anna
sources and further reading:
Scholastic Parents: Time To Play
American Pshychological Association- How Laughing Leads to Learning
NCAC Children Learn Through Play
Wikipedia Scaffolding
http://www.kindermusik.com/
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