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Read to me
When you read to toddlers the emphasis is on fun rather than teaching. A lot of learning will take place but don't spoil it by putting pressure on your child to read. Some children pick up the skill through experiencing lots of books and talking about them, others will read once they get to school - there's seldom a reason to panic and it's better that they develop at their own pace.
Don't expect reading time to be quiet. Encourage your child to respond to, and talk about the story. In this way children learn how books work and how words and pictures can tell stories.
Choose books with pattern in the language
A good book invites children to join in and participation is an important part of the 'reading' business. Try Duck in the Truck, by Jez Alborough (Collins 0 00 664717 0). It's full of humour and told in the style of the traditional House That Jack Built or the now classic, Each Peach Pear Plum, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (Puffin 0 14 050919 4) that invites participation in a game of I Spy…. It gives you the opportunity to tell other stories including Mother Hubbard, Cinderella and more. The book has a great rhyming text and pictures that will enchant children - and they have to concentrate to keep abreast of it all.
Concentration is important as children develop pre-reading skills
It can be encouraged by those wonderful picture books in which the pictures tell as much, or more of the story than the words. Pat Hutchins' Rosie's Walk (Red Fox 0 09 941399 X) is a perfect example as it invites the child to talk about what's happening and to tell the story as the pictures reveal it. Handa's Surprise, by Eileen Browne (Walker 0 7445 36340), works in the same way and includes wonderful images of Africa - another talking point. As children look at pictures and hear the rhythm of words they learn another important pre-reading skill, that of prediction.
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