“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you’ll learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
Read Across America Day is on Dr. Seuss’s birthday every year, March 2nd. As a teacher of elementary and preschool kids, this was always such a special day. I’ve worked with kids that loved reading, kids that struggled with reading, and kids that hadn’t yet found the magic of books. From day one, babies learn skills that are important for speech, language, and literacy development, and building emergent literacy skills is something we try to foster in our home. As a mom, it has been one of my goals to try to instill a love of reading in Wyatt and we consciously do things in our household to foster that and make reading part of Wyatt’s everyday life. Below are three easy ways to make reading a cornerstone activity in your house.
1. Have Books Easily Accessible Everywhere for Baby
One of the biggest and simplest ways I encourage reading in our house is to have books in all play spaces for Wyatt. That means in the family room, in the playroom, in his room and in our diaper bag or the car. I make sure the books are at a level he can reach and that they are books I want him to reach (see #2: Have a Strong Selection, below). So many times throughout the day I’ll find Wyatt “reading” a book on his own, and it melts my heart every time. In areas that allow, I like to set up a little book nook or book area where he can sit on his chair or lounge against a pillow while we reads.
2. Have A Strong Selection of Books
It’s important to me that Wyatt has books that he can be hands-on with. Right now that means board books and crinkle books. He’s getting better with real book pages, but still enjoys ripping them a little too much. I want to make reading a fun experience for Wyatt and part of that is letting him manipulate the books. With board books, he can open them, chew on them, and turn the pages with his developing fine motor skills. Making reading a sensory experience allows Wyatt to interact with books in a positive way (instead of me taking away a hardcover book because he’s ripping the pages).
The books I have out in his play spaces are board books, and in his room on a higher shelf is where I keep hardcover and paperback books that I read to him during our more routine reading times. I was lucky enough to be gifted so many board books from my preschool class, so we have a ton. PRO-TIP: One way mamas-to-be can get a good selection of books in their home library is to request that attendees of their baby shower bring a board book instead of a card (they’re about the same price). The library is another great resource to get new books into your house, whether you need to freshen your selection for YOU or for your child. Many of them also offer free story time sessions that is a great option for additional exposure.
I also like making sure I have books that give Wyatt exposure to other concepts. I love anytime there is an opportunity in a book to highlight what sound an animal makes or gives us a chance to count, and when he’s older to address tricky issues like lying or loss. Exposure is super important at this age, Wyatt is picking up on new things everyday from everywhere.
3. Do Scheduled AND Spontaneous Read-Alouds
It’s super easy to make sure you read to your baby if you just make it part of your routines. We always read to Wyatt before every nap and at bedtime. (Read about our whole bedtime routine HERE.) I usually let Wyatt pick out the book(s) we read to give him a little ownership in the process. Whether we read one story or more, we know Wyatt is getting read to at least twice a day (he’d down to one nap now). If it’s feeling like a chore, try mixing up your book selection or just reading one book versus a bunch, and make reading aloud fun for you too! Use silly voices, get into the characters, and make those animal sounds!
Now that Wyatt’s a little older, he often requests to be read to during playtimes by bringing me a book. He does this because we have books easily accessible to him (#1) and because we’ve offered this option of spontaneous read-alouds from the beginning. I love the bonding time we get when Wyatt snuggles up on my lap and we read in the middle of all the chaos that playtime usually entails. 
I am so happy that Wyatt loves books right now and I want to encourage that as a lifelong love. I try to give Wyatt as much exposure to literacy as I can and make reading a joyful experience so that when the time comes for him to start reading on his own, he feels ready, confident and excited to do it!
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What do you think?