Library

The children visit our library each week with their teacher. While at the library the children enjoy a story, borrow a book, and learn about how libraries work and book knowledge such as authors and illustrators, front cover, words and pictures. The children get to borrow their books in their library bag for a week, they then return it the following week before borrowing another one. The children have been enjoying borrowing a fiction and non-fiction book to learn about the different genre.

Why reading is important for young        children ....

Research has found that reading to children at age 4-5 every day has a significant positive effect on their reading skills and cognitive skills (i.e language and literacy, numeracy and cognition) later in life.

Reading can:

• introduce your child to the value of books and stories.
• spark your child's imagination and curiosity.
• promote your child's brain development and ability to focus and concentrate.
• help your child get to know sounds, words and language, and develop early literacy skills.
• help your child build social, communication and emotional skills.
• help your child learn about the world, their own culture and cultures.
• Reading stories with children has benefits for you too. The special time you spend reading together promotes bonding and builds your relationship with your child.

Tips for sharing books with your child ....

Looking at the book

Before you start, briefly ask your child some questions about the book:

• What do you think this story is about?
• Who might be in it?
• What do you think will happen?

Reading the story

• Vary the pace of your reading, as well as how loud you read. Changing your voice and expression for different characters and using gestures can also be fun.
• Let your child turn the pages of the book.
• Ask your child some questions about the story. For example, "What do you think happens next?", or "Who has the ball?" 
• Ask your child questions that help them relate to the story.  For example, "How would you feel if this was you?" or "What would you do if this happened to you?".
• Chant or sing repetitive phrases and words together. For exapmple, "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and i'll blow your house in".
• Add information when your child asks a question. For example, you childmight point to a bear and ask, "What' that?' You could say, "That's a bear. It's sleeping in it's cave. Bears sleep all winter long".

Looking at letters and words

Older preschoolers might start to notice letters. For example, they might notice the letter that starts with their name. Here are ways to build on this interest:

• Point out the differences between letters and words and the difference between a lower-case and capital letter. For example, "There is a capital M. Can you see how it's bigger than this lower-case m?"
• When you see words printed in bold or large font, point these out and explain how this changes the way we say those words,. For example, "look at how big the word BOOHOO is. The baby must be crying very loudly".
• Ask questions about the names and sounds of letters.
• Play "find the letters and words" games, especially with the letters in yourchild's name.
• Explain the meaning of any unusual words.