Reading doesn't have to be quiet!

Reading, playing, learning and exercising: How do we fit it all in?   One way is to make reading time with your young children part of their play and movement time. You don’t always have to make reading time a quiet activity.

Research has shown that children learn through moving. I think it is best said by Confucius: “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I know!” By giving your child an opportunity to experience fun new ways to move while reading, you provide crucial connections between his/her cognitive, social, emotional and physical domains.

• For every action word, have your child perform the movement.  Act like the animal mentioned; pretend to play the instruments or move like the sounds.
• Have your child act out Mother Goose rhymes.  An example:
  Hey! diddle, diddle,
  The cat and the fiddle,
  The cow jumped over the moon;
  The little dog laughed
  To see such sport,
  And the dish ran away with the spoon.
• Check out the library, they have lots of good books that your children can move to.  Dr. Seuss books are great for moving around.
• Look for those prepositions when you read. Over, under, around, through, beside and near.
• When they act these words out they take on a greater meaning to children.
• They can even act out descriptive words. Such as: strong, big, small and loud. Ask them “What do these words look or sound like?”
• Young children love to move and read so why not bring the two together and have FUN!

Martha Swirzinski, M.A.