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IN THE PRESS
Nov 16, 2022
CEO Paul Lamoureux interviewed by Comcast Newsmakers on reading gaps
Read to a Child CEO Paul Lamoureux interviewed with the Greater Boston Comcast Newsmakers. They discussed how critical it is for children to be reading at grade level by the 4th grade. Studies have shown that this benchmark is crucial for a child’s ability to learn and have success in school. Then, Paul Lamoureux discusses how the Read Aloud Mentoring Program is addressing the achievement gap in under-resourced communities, that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated. Below you can watch the interview, or follow the link!
Nov 1, 2022
Read to a Child opens the Read Aloud Mentoring Program at the Parkville Community School
In October, Read to a Child opened the Read Aloud Mentoring Program at the Parkville Community School in Hartford, CT.
Fox 61 reported on our launch and the benefits that the program will bring to the students at Parkville! You can watch the video here!
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Reading with Your Child | Reading Rockets
By: Bernice Cullinan, Brod Bagert
There is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.
It's no secret that activities at home are an important supplement to the classroom, but there's more to it than that. There are things that parents can give children at home that the classrooms cannot give.
Start young and stay with it
At just a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing to the pictures, and say the names of the various objects. By drawing attention to pictures and associating the words with both pictures and the real-world objects, your child will learn the importance of language.
Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page.
Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child's life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.
Even after children learn to read by themselves, it's still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers' understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.
It’s part of life
Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a regularly scheduled time. But don't be discouraged if you skip a day or don't always keep to your schedule. Just read to your child as often as you possibly can.
If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they're more than two years apart.
However, it's also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same time. Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these "old friends" and may even help in the reading.
Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile.
One more time
You may go through a period when your child favors one book and wants it read night after night. It is not unusual for children to favor a particular story, and this can be boring for parents. Keep in mind, however, that a favorite story may speak to your child's interests or emotional needs. Be patient. Continue to expose your children to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories.
Talking about stories
It's often a good idea to talk about a story you are reading, but you need not feel compelled to talk about every story.
Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. And sometimes children need time to think about stories they have read. A day or so later, don't be surprised if your child mentions something from a story you've read together.
Remember when you were very young
It will help, however, if we open our eyes to some things adult readers tend to take for granted. It's easier to be patient when we remember how much children do not know. Here are a few concepts we adults know so well we forget sometimes we ever learned them.
- There's a difference between words and pictures. Point to the print as you read aloud.
- Words on a page have meaning, and that is what we learn to read.
- Words go across the page from left to right. Follow with your finger as you read.
- Words on a page are made up of letters and are separated by a space.
- Each letter has at least two forms: one for capital letters and and one for small letters.
These are examples of hieroglyphics.
Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to interpret a book full of such symbols. That's how young readers feel. But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into a puzzle you can solve together) is certain to build confidence.
Advertise the joy of reading!
Our goal is to motivate children to want to read so they will practice reading independently and, thus, become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We parents can do for reading what fast food chains do for hamburgers? ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories and poems to children.
We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge is power, and books are full of it. But reading is more than just a practical tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we can also relax and enjoy some precious leisure moments.
With your help, your children can begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, so they grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for business, knowledge, or pleasure.
When to start reading books to your child
So when, when should you start reading books to your child? With all due respect to psychologists, it is hardly worth attacking a newborn baby with a book. That does not negate the need and benefit of communication. Talk to the child so that the child will speak to you as soon as possible, tell poems and fairy tales, sing songs. But let's be honest, how many of them do you remember? Poems and fairy tales?
If you are a storehouse of folk wisdom, then, of course, you can do without a book for now. Otherwise, books will be a great help to you. Fairy tales, poems, fables, stories, counting rhymes, nursery rhymes - there is everything in the books. Children are very receptive to rhyme, poetry will appeal to almost any kid.
But you can even read novels to him, children not only like to hear the voice of loved ones, loving people, they need it.
Intending to make a child friends with a book seriously, you should take into account both the general stages of development of children and the individual characteristics of your baby. To help you figure out at what age to start reading books, we offer a small cheat sheet by age.
Age 3 - 6 months
The baby begins to crawl, study objects, babble. Read to him or tell him, that is the question? Tell me! At this stage, the best book for him is you. Tell what you remember by heart, fairy tales familiar from childhood, favorite poems. Learn new ones: nursery rhymes, songs, boring tales (a hit for all time is a fairy tale about a white bull, but there are actually a lot of them).
Children love repetition (you will have time to make sure of this). And, for the future, if the baby asks, do not refuse to read the tale of the chicken Ryaba for the five hundredth time, do not be angry with him.
Repetitions help children learn not only new words, but also speech turns, phrase construction.
You can read a book before going to bed, and during the day tell: while you are going for a walk, play with your little one, dress or bathe him. He will respond, answer you (even if for now only boo-boo and ha-ha), and you address him by name. It is a good idea to insert the name of your baby, on occasion, into rhymes (for example, the gate creaks and creaks, and our Petya / Olya sleeps and sleeps).
As for the interaction with the book, then, let's be honest: at this age, children most of all like to nibble on them. Therefore, it is better to buy a rattle or a teether for a baby, but for yourself - a good collection of baby rhymes, it will come in handy for you.
Age 6 – 9 months
The kid takes the first steps, plays with other children, actively interacts with objects, repeats syllables and simple words after adults. It's time to introduce him to the book! But we must understand that at first the book will be more of a toy.
There is no need to be afraid of this, it is useful and correct.
You will still have time to introduce your child to the masterpieces of world literature, and now you are starting to teach him to use a book as you teach him to use a spoon or other everyday item. While playing, children learn the simplest actions - turn pages, understand where to look, where the beginning and where the end of the book is.
Many excellent children's books are now being published:- ⚫ soft sensory books,
- ⚫ bathing books,
- ⚫ transformers with moving valves,
- ⚫ folding pictures.
Looking at illustrations, repeating words after you, touching textured inserts, your baby develops fine motor skills, coordination, sensory abilities and communication skills. And, of course, learns to love the book, because it brings so much joy!
Age 9 – 12 months
This age can be described in two words - all by yourself! The kid tries to walk without support, sit, eat on his own, pronounce the first words, initiate communication with his parents, listen with pleasure as his mother (or father) reads to him, examines the pictures.
It is with looking at the pictures that the meaningful interaction of the child with the book begins. The book is not just an object, but a source of information about the real world and the world of imagination, and he learns to discover these worlds for himself.
Sit with your baby in an embrace so that it is convenient for you to hold and read a book, and for him to watch. Pictures are better to choose bright, but as simple as possible, with the image of one or two characters or objects. Colorfully designed fairy tales, illustrated dictionaries of the first words will do. Parents will also have to try: memorized rhymes are no longer enough, it's time to improvise. Choose a book with illustrations, according to which you yourself can tell a story, for a start it’s quite simple - who is shown in the picture? What are you wearing? What is he doing? What does he say?
Be ready to read expressively, in faces, depicting characters, croak and meow, squeak and growl - this will help the baby to distinguish and better remember the characters, and, of course, he will like it! Try it, you will like it too.
Sometimes it is also useful for serious, adult people to fool around. But, of course, for reading before bed, it is better to choose something rhythmic, read or hum in a calm manner.
Age from one to two
By the age of one and a half, a kid usually already utters short phrases, dances, sings along, begins to draw (goodbye, wallpaper!), Recognizes images in pictures, understands a short story or a fairy tale. Pictures are still very important, they help very young children build a plot sequence for themselves, but this is the beginning of real, real reading. Sit your child on your lap (so it will be easier for him to concentrate), and start reading!
When rereading your favorite fairy tale, pause so that the baby can finish the phrase, insert a familiar word, but if it doesn’t work out yet, it doesn’t matter - tell me, offer to repeat after you. The same with pictures. Ask who is pictured, what they are doing, or ask them to show you where a certain character is drawn.
This is an important stage of development, your little listener slowly becomes an interlocutor. But, if it is difficult for him to sit still, do not force him. At this age, children have a lot to do: they learn new movements, learn to jump, like to sculpt, assemble a designer (by the way, the development of fine motor skills is directly related to the development of speech).
From the age of one, children begin to form their own taste. Perhaps your child just doesn't like a certain book. In this case, give him the opportunity to choose for himself (for this, a shelf with children's books should be in a place accessible to the child).
Two to three years of age
The child independently performs the main actions, actively communicates with adults, with other children, he develops self-esteem (most often he evaluates himself as “good” - and you can’t argue!), He not only listens with pleasure to poems, fairy tales, stories, but already and tells himself.
Teremok, Gingerbread Man, Chicken Ryaba - a great choice for this age. You can also start reading children's encyclopedias, stories about animals, long poems. Showing the baby pictures, ask them to tell what is drawn there, this contributes to the development of speech and imagination. Discuss the heroes of the fairy tale, their actions (for example, where did the Bear go, is he good or bad). And, if you are not reading a fairy tale for the first time, offer to continue it from some point to train memory and attention.
But these are all pretty general guidelines. We hope that they will be useful, but you should not take them as an unconditional guide to action. You need to focus solely on the abilities and needs of your child. It happens that even at three months, a baby listens to fairy tales with bated breath, but if your one-year-old is still trying to nibble on a book and likes to play patties more, do not force him to sit and listen. Everything has its turn.
There is no need to turn reading together into a heavy duty, either for yourself or for the child. Your little one has a long road of knowledge ahead, let him walk it with joy. Even the stern samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo, in his treatise Hidden in the Leaves, strongly recommended not to punish children under four years old - so that the baby, not knowing fear, would grow up inquisitive and courageous.
Where to start reading?
Little white fish.
Age recommendation 1+.
A series of books by Belgian author Guido Van Genechten about the adventures of a small white fish and its friends: red crab, blue whale, green turtle and many others. The illustrations are bright, colorful characters are easier to recognize and remember. The paper is thick enough not to tear or wrinkle, so the books are suitable for younger children as well. Simple but captivating stories are sure to please both your baby and you.
Bunny Styopa and a pot.
Age recommendation 2+.
An excellent series of educational help books from Andrian Hayman. The illustrations are large and colorful, the book is in a convenient format, on thick cardboard. The text will help to explain to the child in a fun and intelligible way how to dress, use the potty, go to the doctor. The books in the series will also be useful for older children, and kids who are still too early to potty will surely love pictures with the cutest bunny Styopa.
Crocodile, I have to go - I'm leaving in the morning!
Age recommendation 3+.
A funny book in verse by Sally Hopgood about a sluggish baby turtle who decides to leave the zoo, but first to say goodbye to all his friends. Wonderful illustrations that will introduce your baby to animals: there is a crocodile, and an antelope, and a snail, and a cat. The lyrics are simple, funny and easy to memorize.
The cover is soft, the paper is coated. The book will be interesting even for the smallest, but, unfortunately, the pages are easy to tear.
Fairy tales for children to read online, the best works from children's authors
For you, we have collected the most famous and time-tested fairy tales for children. Here are Russian folk tales and author's stories that are definitely worth reading to a child.
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