455. PRIMARIA SBS. A love for reading

La lettura è un’esperienza preziosa che stimola la creatività, il pensiero critico e il desiderio di scoperta nei bambini. Ma come possiamo nutrire e sostenere questa passione fin dai primi anni di vita? Questo articolo propone strategie pratiche ed efficaci per aiutare i più piccoli a sviluppare l’amore per i libri in modo naturale e coinvolgente.

“Miss, may I ask you a favour?” One of my students in the second grade asked as I came into class early one morning. “Of course,” I said, “what is it?”. She lowered her voice and asked,  “Is it okay if you make me a list of books to read? So I can read more books at home because I love to read!” She said gushingly.

Reading is good for kids. It stimulates creative and critical thinking, and is considered to be one of the good ways to relax.

Here are some ways to integrate and support a child’s love for reading:

• Start early. Developing a love for reading at an early age is vital. Children learn to love books even before they start to learn to read. Early reading impacts positively on cognitive brain development, most especially during these formative years enhancing language literacy skills and increasing their vocabularies and critical thinking.
• Creating a literacy rich environment. If there's always a book within reach, a child will be more likely to pick one up and read. All reading is good reading, even for a few minutes at a time, depending on the child’s interest. The ranges could be from nutritional facts from a pasta packet, newspapers, recipes, game instruction and so on.
• Modelling. Children are sponges. They replicate what is demonstrated to them. So if our children see us grab and read a book, they are more likely to pick up a book by themselves too. Reading out loud, retelling the story and asking questions are some suggestions that make reading time a fun family affair!
• Building a habit. Finding a regular time of the day and creating a routine foster a child’s love for reading. It could be after school, or before bed time! Making reading and story time can turn into a cosy and a pleasant shared experience that a child can look forward too.

There are a lot more ways to encourage reading. As adults, we should be reminded that establishing a solid reading journey for a child takes dedication, creativity, and patience.