First page... first shock!
Have you ever looked at a library with shelves filled to the brim with a variety of colorful books, both long and short, including stories and encyclopedias? I wonder if you prepared this wonderful library especially for your newborn child, and after you chose the book and sat down with him, he looked at you, focused on you for less than 30 seconds, then got out and started his battery-powered train? Your child's reaction shocked you... but did you know that you were the one who started the shock?!
Yes, but first, to understand the trauma you've caused your child, let's introduce you to the world of reading to children and its secrets, and how reading time with your child can be a time of enjoyment and benefit.
What is reading?
Choose the correct answer from the following options:
In your opinion, reading is:
- Memorization and study
- Quick reading
- Attention
Whatever your answer, we will give you the correct answer to learn more about the world of reading.
Reading is an interactive process between the reader and the book. Yes, interactive; reading is not just browsing, and it's certainly not memorizing. Reading is a unique experience, in which the adult reader narrates the text. As for the young reader, he or she perceives and understands the written text using their own language and the skills of understanding words, meanings, and cues to obtain various information, through the interaction provided by the adult reader.
Therefore, it is necessary to be creative in your interaction methods during the reading session with your child, to transform the reading process into an experience full of emotions and benefits. This is where the benefits of reading with a child come in.
Have you ever said to yourself, "But how do I interact with my child while reading? Nothing attracts him more than his toy, and my face and the words of the book mean nothing to him."
Dear mother, this article will change your mind.
Interact before reacting!
1- Shhhh... quiet!
Before you begin reading with your child, you should practice silent reading, or pre-reading. This is a mental process using only the eyes, allowing your child to quickly move through the words. This is exactly what your child needs from you first before introducing them to the story. You should read the stories carefully and imagine the story's events and characters.
2- Guess what's behind my back?
It's time to storytell or read aloud with your child. Reading aloud isn't just about reading aloud; it's also an imaginative reading experience that mimics reality. But is your child ready? If your child isn't engaged in anything, you can grab their attention by hiding the book behind your back. Call out, "Guess what's behind my back!" Their interest will surely increase if you describe what you're hiding and let them imagine. If the hidden story is about a kind and noble elephant, you can use phrases like, "Behind my back is an elephant. Its trunk is long. Is any part of its trunk visible? Can you see its ear flapping like a wing?"
Notice the gleam in your child's eye when they hear about this amazing thing. They'll come running to you, and you'll know your child is completely ready for read- aloud time. Reading aloud is one of the best types of reading for infants and children because it builds a love of reading, especially when you use illustrated children's stories to teach reading and use different voice tones to express the story's events and characters. It will be sweeter, more enjoyable, and more beneficial to them than their favorite cartoons. Your voice is warmer to them, and your performance while reading will spark their passion and transport them to other worlds.
The first seed
So, you've planted the first seed of a love of reading in your child, and helped him change his perception of reading as something boring and annoying. This will pave the way for you, over time, to choose other types of books. The more creative you are in presenting the book and reading it aloud in a distinctive way, the more enjoyable and beneficial it will be. The world of stories and tales is full of new and beautiful ideas that can help you engage your child in interactive, aloud reading. All you have to do is always present books worth reading, ones that appeal to his imagination and arouse his curiosity.
The challenge is big... and the sparkle in your child's eyes doesn't lie.
Children's passion and curiosity never lie; reading is a joyful experience, a renewed journey of imagination, learning, and travel through time and space. However, our children these days are exposed to prolonged periods of electronic screens and cartoons, which can take them away from you and the world of reading if you become distracted. But how do we rekindle their love of reading stories and tales? This is your role and your greatest challenge.
Latest releases
Keeping up with everything that publishing houses are publishing is really great, and reading your child's requirements is even more wonderful. After the interactive reading sessions you've spent with your child, and after he's started waiting for a new story from you, he'll definitely ask you for a story whose topic isn't among the topics of those stories on his little library shelf.
Many Arabic publishing houses and libraries now offer Arabic children's stories, children's tales, and picture books, helping you spend a productive, enjoyable, and uninterrupted reading time that develops your child's skills and keeps them asking for more books.
A+B = AB.. A+M = M
Letters are the vocabulary of any language. Beyond the language of letters that your child is trying to master, they also have another language that manifests in their eyes and body language. You will read this as you read to them. This will increase the level of communication between you through visual language, and your child will also connect with the book through storytelling. This improves language skills and expands the child's vocabulary.
Observe the words your child uses skillfully, and reinforce them with other stories that contain the same vocabulary. Choose stories with diverse themes to introduce new vocabulary. The variety of stories and tales presented to your child helps them develop new vocabulary and understand the characteristics of language in reading and writing.
You can read children's picture books to teach reading, such as the book "Which Letter Did the Monster Eat?" It will be a fun time reading when the child uses the scout to identify the eaten letter in the word, practicing the skill of reading stories, and learning the Arabic letters.
Brain exercise...or swimming exercise?
Just as your child goes to swimming and karate exercises, and you make sure to keep their muscles fit, you should also exercise their brain muscles. While reading, a child engages in more complex brain and neural processes than while watching screens. While reading stories, they use their different senses, which strengthens the child's neural connections and improves their mental performance. This is available in songbooks, as the child reads the written words and listens to the song at the same time, which helps them develop their reading skills and activate their auditory skills.
"The dinosaur and the dragon played with Dima's doll, then dived into the sea of Nino's planet!"
Have you ever heard phrases like these as a child while reading about the ability to imagine and anticipate, the use of analytical and critical thinking skills, and the skill of problem-solving, especially when reading fantasy and adventure stories, and reading animal stories, such as the story "70 Kilo" , as there are many obstacles to reaching the other side of the world, but with effort and striving, friends meet after a long struggle.
Your child is confident
Reading boosts a child's self-confidence and satiates their love of exploration. Every time they read a new story, they get to know different characters, travel with the story to faraway places, and encounter strange situations in their imagination, which gives them experience in communicating with others. In Egypt, we have a large number of governorates, and different styles of dress, food, and dialect. You will learn more about Nubian life by reading the story "Korea J Nalawe . "
Reading a child's feelings
You've read your child's language, now it's time to read their feelings, which they may not be able to express well. Books will help your child understand different emotions, the most important of which is empathy. When they identify with the story's characters, they feel compassion and a desire to help others. We recommend reading the story "Carrot Cheesecake" with your child. When they find the rabbits tasting Adam's cake, they insist on calling out to Adam every time they see rabbits in the room.
Wider imagination for your child
While reading, children use their imagination to anticipate the appearance of characters and the setting and timing of events. This enhances their capacity for imagination and creative thinking. Reading a fictional story like "There Was Not a Drop of Water" prompts a child to press on the drop of water, which transforms into a vast ocean filled with fish. Through this, they learn about the lives of marine creatures, and thus, they now live in the ocean with their imagination.
My child has poor concentration
This changes over time as your child begins to develop a love for reading and different stories. Reading requires a child to pay attention and follow the story's events, which increases their ability to focus on words and pictures and improves their memory, especially when reading picture stories. Through the story "Aaahhhhhh," the child learns that time management is responsible for the success and organization of their day. They create a daily to-do list to help them organize their day, using simple words that are easy to read to children.
Encyclopedia
There is no book without information; reading is a continuous source of information and knowledge, and the more time a child spends reading, the more they learn about the world, civilizations, sciences, and inventions. This includes reading scientific and historical stories, as well as short, meaningful stories for children, such as "Balura," which reveals to children the world of eyeglasses and that they are, in essence, the discovery of a great Arab scientist. This gives them a sense of authenticity and pride in their Arab identity.
We became owners
Reading builds a strong relationship between mother and child when the child feels the mother's interest and enjoyment, and opens up a dialogue about the story, such as imagining different endings, acting out the story's events, and imitating the characters. The mother appears in many of Alia's stories, such as "Once Upon a Time," in which the mother accepts the child's weight and deals with it wisely, with the help of the grandfather.
Toota Toota..the story is over
This friendly phrase is always said after looking into your child's eyes as he falls into a deep sleep, after listening to a bedtime story. Bedtime is one of the most important reading times between mother and child. Bedtime stories are short stories that help your child relax, unwind, and quickly drift off to sleep. Here, your interactive performance, which you used to do while reading stories during the day, transforms into a tender and calm performance while reading a bedtime story, making your child feel safe and happy. Sleep is delicious yet precious, and it requires simple solutions, like "Falafel" did in the story "Simple" , who helped his friends fall asleep, but was the last to go to sleep.
Follow the upcoming articles, as we will provide you with ways to encourage your child to read, ways to acquire reading skills, and how to choose the right book.
