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Wyatt loves books and as a temporarily retired teacher, I love that he loves them. We started reading to Wyatt from birth and although it seems silly to read to a baby who can’t even really see yet, we knew that babies learn skills that are important for speech, language, and literacy development from the day they are born. Building emergent literacy skills is something we try to foster in our home, so I’ve partnered with Random House Books to talk about how we provide Wyatt with those opportunities.
Allowing Him to be Hands-On
Even at 10 months I am noticing things about how Wyatt listens to, interacts, and reacts to books. I want to make reading a fun experience for him from the beginning and part of that is letting him manipulate the books. We have a lot of board books for exactly that purpose, he can open them, chew on them, and turn the pages with his developing fine motor skills. (One of my favorite videos of him is when he’s 8 months old and is trying to open a board book and gets so frustrated because it keeps closing on him, he goes on for 5 minutes trying to open it and turn the pages..talk about perseverance!) We also have soft books and crinkly books. 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 eating the pages). I also put board books in his toy bin and a bookshelf is in his toy area so he can access and explore books whenever he wants.
Reading Aloud Like We Mean It
Even though Wyatt doesn’t quite understand all the intricacies of inflection, tone, and emotion, reading to him in an animated way exposes him to feelings through the different sounds I use when reading. It helps him recognize that certain words and sounds have meaning. If I use funny voices or sounds when I read I can usually get a giggle out of him…it also makes reading more fun…sometimes you need to spice it up when you’ve read Goodnight Moon 1 billion times.
One of our favorite books to read with emotion recently is Hey, Duck! by Carin Bramsen. It is the sweetest book about a duckling who thinks he found a new duck to play with, but it’s actually a seemingly “grumpy” cat- the two are conversing the entire book and the font is manipulated to match their tone. It has the best message about friendship and the illustrations are adorable! There’s also another book in the series called Just a Duck.
Reading at Certain Times
Reading stories before bed give Wyatt a chance to wind down and relax his body before getting into his crib. We read before every nap and before bedtime, it’s (a big) part of our routine. I usually let Wyatt pick out the books by walking him over to the bookshelf and letting him pull one or spreading a few out on the floor. When Wyatt’s done nursing in the evening, he sits up and tries to grab the book we chose because he knows that’s next. And I swear, he is excited about it, he squawks and reaches for the book, practically jumping out of my lap…every night.
Even Superheros Have to Sleep by Sara Crow, is one of our favs to read before a nap or getting ready for bed. It’s a rhyming story that assures kids that their heroes have to sleep just like them. I love it because the vocabulary is elevated and there is a character for any kid to relate or aspire to. There’s also a sleep sticker reward chart at the end that helps little ones track their own progress with their nighttime routine if your kid is old enough! This one just came out a few months ago!
Exposure to Other Concepts
Reading is also a helpful way to introduce Wyatt 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. Exposure is clearly super important at this age, Wyatt is picking up on new things everyday from everywhere. Goodnight, Numbers, by Danica McKellar (yes, that’s Winnie of The Wonder Years fame, she graduated summa cum laude from UCLA and is a mathematics writer…who knew?!) sneaks some math into a bedtime story. The sweet rhymes and beautiful watercolor illustrations help us count simple objects that I point out for Wyatt now, but someday soon he’ll be able to find on his own! This book also just came out, I’ll definitely be gifting this to other moms in the future!
Bonding Time
Reading also gives Wyatt and I (or Tim) some bonding time. We snuggle up in his chair or I bring him onto my lap on the floor. It’s one-on-one time that is (usually) calm and connected…what’s better than a baby in your lap and his head on your chest?! (I think this time will be even more important to me when Wyatt stops nursing and we don’t have that one-on-one time together anymore.) Ahh baby snuggles…stop growing up, Wyatt!
Random House Children’s Books has so many classics and new releases that help keep reading fresh and fun for Wyatt (and me, let’s be honest here). 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!
This post is in partnership with Random House Books.
What do you think?