One of my favourite times of day, is when we all sit down and share a story as a family. We’ve been reading to both of our boys since they were in utero. Not for any reason other than the fact that we love stories, and wanted to chat and share with them.
It’s been an amazing journey so far, before he could even speak, Master 2 knew the titles of his favorite story books. We’d say “Go get mommy the little red hen” and off he’d tottle and get the book. Every night, before bedtime, master 2 and his daddy would hunker down and read a big stack of story books. Favorites being ‘Old MacDonald’, ‘Koala Lou’, ‘Mr McGee Goes to Sea’, ‘Where is the Green Sheep’ and most of all ‘Kisses for Daddy’.
We now know our favorite titles by heart, and can recite them without the book. I know Linley Dodd’s Hairy Mclairy series like the back of my hand, and do all the voices for him.
Master 9 months prefers to eat books, so we let him rifle through the pages of board books, pointing out pictures and talking about them. ’Where is the Green Sheep’ is the most flavorsome apparently.
Story time is a chance for us all to either unwind, or engage in a big game of chasey, depending on the story we’re reading. The characters come to life through the voices that Daddy reads as.
We had a magical moment yesterday, when Master 2 brought ‘Where is the Green Sheep’ out to read, and proceeded to recite the rhyme, page by page. Ending on “Here’s our Green sheep, FASSSSSSSSSSST asweeep”. It was a very proud moment, witnessing the beginnings of his literacy.
Authors like Mem Fox and Paul Jennings attest to the fun and importance of reading aloud to your children, as they absorb everything – and the whole language approach is an enjoyable and easy start to learning to read. Other literary tools such as phonics and alphabets can be learnt down the track to assist with understanding words. We’re living proof that the “Whole Language” approach works, and is lots of fun.
We didn’t begin to read to our children to “teach” them to read, we began to read simply for fun. Some of my own favorite childhood memories are of my stepdad reading ‘The Secret Garden’ to me, putting on the voices of Dicken and Mary. A chapter each night, while I sat in the top bunk of my bed.
Literacy is an important life skill, and it begins in infancy, but reading should never ever be a chore. Reading is a gift and the world of books and stories is an unlimited playground for the imagination.
So, without further ado, here are our five favorite read-aloud books for toddlers:
- Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox
- Hairy Mclairy from Donaldson’s Dairy by Linley Dodd
- Mr McGee Goes to See by Pamela Allen
- Green Eggs and Ham by Doctor Seuss
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
