During the cold winter months, cozying up with a book is always a good idea. Cozying up with a book and your little one, even better!
Reading with your child is not only a wonderful experience, it also has proven benefits. Improving language skills, helping your child to develop a lifelong love of reading, and bonding time are just a few of the many benefits of reading to your little one.
You know why you should read, now where, what and when should you read?
Where: Create a cozy reading nook.
Set up a cozy space in your home for reading. Add pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and other comfort items to encourage your little one to want to spend time in the space. Adding a canopy or blanket over top of the space or moving furniture to surround the space can help to create a nook.
Consider adding literacy-rich materials to the reading area. A felt board with movable felt pieces that correspond to the stories you’re reading can encourage story retelling and understanding of characters and the plot.
Add alphabet puzzles (like our Montessori Alphabet Puzzle) or baking trays with magnetic letters. This will encourage your child to develop letter knowledge and letter sound correspondence. Learning the sounds that letters make and recognizing letters in a text is the first step to becoming an independent reader!
Create an opportunity for. Your child to practice writing their letters. Our Magic Copy Book allows your child to practice writing with disappearing ink. Not only is this a fun experiment to see what happens to the letters that they write, but your child can work in their copy book over and over again (eco-friendly and educational!)
Add a bookshelf or wall shelves into the space. A shelf that allows you to display the front cover of the books is ideal. This allows your child to be able select books that they’d like to read more easily.
What: A list of winter-themed books.
Focusing on books that correspond with the current season will help your child to develop a better understanding of the world around them as it is right now. Choosing a mixture of fiction and nonfiction books can expose your child to various reading material.
5 Popular winter-themed fiction books:
- The Mitten (Jan Brett)
- A Snowy Day (Ezra Jack Keats)
- How to Catch a Snowman (Adam Wallace)
- Snowmen at Night (Caralyn Buehner)
- The Snow Child (Freya Littledale)
5 Popular winter-themed non-fiction books:
- What Can You See in Winter? (Sian Smith)
- Hello Winter! (Shelley Rotner)
- Winter (Tanya Thayer)
- How Do You Know It’s Winter? (Allan Fowler)
- Winter is Fun! (Walt K. Moon)
When: Dedicate time to read to your child.
Add reading into your daily routine. Before nap time or bedtime is a great way to wind your child down for sleep. During waking hours, try to dedicate at least 20-30 minutes each day to sitting down with your little one and diving into a good book.
By reading together, you’re helping your child to develop a lifelong love of reading while also giving them the one-on-one attention that they need.
