As a new school year begins for most students, I believe it’s a good time to renew our commitment to our children. This includes ways to include daily literacy activities for our youngest children. This month on Literacy Toolbox, I will share ways parents and educators can work to create their own little bookworms.
I went to my daughter’s Pre-K open house yesterday. I always love to see how teachers set up their classrooms and make them open and inviting for children. I can tell my daughter is going to have a great year based on her teacher’s classroom set up. She has various centers all over including blocks, dramatic play, art, and most importantly (to me, anyway!) a great reading center. Her books change with the themes and they are in a front facing shelf so that the children can see the covers of the books and not the spines. But that’s not what got me. What I really liked was the comfortable seating area she had set up. She had four mini-papasan chairs set up around the books as well as a comfy rug and some pillows for students to sit on. What an inviting environment!
Of course, that got me to think about ways we can set up our own homes to invite our children to want to sit down and read. It’s important for teachers and schools to provide open and inviting reading environments for students, but it’s equally important at home. Just as we create individual spaces for our children in the form of their bedrooms, we must consider creating individual reading spaces for our children. A space in their bedroom or even in a more open part of our homes (family rooms, basements, etc.) is a perfect place to start. When I was a child, I could read anywhere, the couch, the chair, the bed, you name it. But, if I had a special reading place I could have called all my own? Well, I wonder if I would have read more – and I read a lot as a child to begin with!
So, today, I ask, do you have a special reading spot set up for your children? If not, would you consider making one? I’m going to make good on my word, and set up special reading nooks for my children. I’ve realized that we revamped our home library, but we don’t have special reading nooks and that may make all the difference in creating bookworms out of my children – and yours!
What does your child’s reading nook look like? Do you have special chairs, pillows, etc. set up? If you have pictures, please email them to me at dlittle {at} linkstoliteracy {dot} com. If I receive enough photos, I will do a special post of Reader’s Reading Nooks!
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