The Gift of Reading for Children of All Ages

One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is the gift of literacy and art. It’s no secret that early childhood literacy has made its way into our homes and schools, yet some of us are still lacking this small, yet important detail in our children’s everyday lives. We are the ones who will mold our children into what they will be in the future. We cannot wait for our child’s teachers or caregivers to be the ones to take on that role of their early childhood education, that’s our job. Teachers are there to help us lead them in the right direction and this all needs to begin in the home at their earliest age, even beginning in the womb.I began reading to my 8-year-old daughter before she was born, whether it was a children’s book or a magazine I was reading, I made it a point to read out loud. When she was born I read to her every single day, this was part of our routine at bedtime and I’ve done this with every one of my children.  My eldest daughter began talking at 9 months, she was reading by 4 years old and is now at a sixth grade reading level and loves to read.  She’s even starting her own blog on book reviews.  My 5-year-old daughter is now reading and writing as well, she draws what she hears and makes up her own stories, my 4 month old is read to every morning by her sisters and every evening by myself or my husband.  When a child is read to at an early age it’s often easier for them to learn to read later on.

When I stumbled upon a particular publishing company, Barefoot Books, I immediately fell in love with their mission and what they stood for. Bringing art and story into your child’s life, this is what I stood for and I was so excited to find books published in this way. I’ve been given the opportunity to share these specialized books with parents, educators and those alike.  It comes natural to me to discuss bringing art and literature into the lives of all children. Opening the door to other cultures, letting a child’s mind explore, imagine and learn all at the same time is such an important role of developmental growth.

As an art instructor, I use story time to open the minds of the children before an art lesson, for my independent reading students we take turns reading before and after an art lesson. It’s so easy to turn reading into something fun and meaningful and to incorporate it into any task or activity.  Early childhood literacy doesn’t just mean reading books, its walking to the store and reading signs together, or taking those dusty old refrigerator alphabet magnets and creating words.   Children who fall in love with reading at an early age are more likely to enjoy and be successful at reading at a later age. I look forward to sharing ideas with parents and educators on different literacy techniques everyday in different ways.