National Storytelling Week 2017

To celebrate National Storytelling Week 2017, Mrs Still, Prep School Literacy Coordinator, has put together some top tips for encouraging your child to engage in reading and share in the love of books:

• At home it is beneficial to create an atmosphere where books and stories can be shared and enjoyed. Taking time to hear children read aloud and joining in with character voices is vitally important to give children a positive message about communication skills. Children also enjoy listening to words spoken and this helps them hear intonation and expressive speech.
• Every story or book should be an experience that leaves the child wanting more, motivated to discover outcomes or excited about the next part.
• Reading can enhance confidence, build vocabulary and extend knowledge. We should provide a range of reading materials in the home so that the children appreciate the importance of variety and that reading gives us access to different areas of culture.
• Reading in unusual places can be fun. Children love to read in the supermarkets, stations or on the road network. Finding the ingredients on a packet, a recipe to bake a cake or the signposts on the day trip can all be valuable experiences.
• Never show disappointment at a child’s inability to decode a word and accept some contextual guesses. The best way to support your child is to provide missing words and encourage breaking difficult words down into manageable sounds.
• Joining a library is an adventure for children and one that engenders a love reading.
• Always give praise and understand that learning to read is a difficult process that needs practise.
• We should provide a range of reading materials in the home so that the children appreciate the importance of variety and that reading gives us access to widen cultural awareness.