Reading is one of the most important skills we could ever learn. I tell this to the children most days! The main thing for me is to share and enjoy the huge range of books that are available to us. Books entertain and inform, they can connect us with others and teach us so much. In all my years of teaching, reading a story to my class is still my absolutely favourite thing to do and children love it too. It is a wonderful experience to share and escape into a story.
I am very happy to see the children choosing books to read, sharing stories, connecting with each other when reading, laughing or even inventing games whilst looking at the pictures. Books often teach about life problems, our feelings, different situations in life and can help us name our emotions and cope with these varying emotions when they get out of hand. We use them to learn more about each other and the world around us- but to access this wonderful world, we do need to learn to read and keep doing this every day to extend our vocabulary and strengthen our skill. Much of our school work and daily lives involve reading so, please, help me keep this skill developing by encouraging daily reading in books, on Razkids and by working on the Nessy app.
Our photos this week show the children in our wonderful Library which also serves as a perfect example of a community space having a positive effect on us- connecting to our Unit’s Central Idea. Children were showing what they do in the Library and how they feel- as we consider 2 line of inquiry this week: the different purposes of community spaces and how they can help us feel happy and stay healthy.
In our Library, we are fortunate to have a wide selection of fiction and non- fiction which the children have access to. Whilst we do try to monitor appropriate books for children, I do allow them free choice of most books, not just books they can read by themselves, as they can be read to by another person. They may wish to read a difficult book by themselves one day so it also provides a challenge or goal! Every week I choose at least ten books and we always find five or ten minutes in our day to have at least two shared stories.
If you are reading this, as teachers we like to say: “Thank a teacher!” but we know that parents contribute everything to this important process by encouraging, supporting and reading with their children before they even start school. The best readers are those who started from an early age, at home and have been regularly reading with their parents.
So, please, open your child’s bag and sit down together with their library book, if possible. Thank you.
Happy Reading this weekend!