Thread's Stories Through the Generations

I was very excited to be invited to be a guest reader at Thread’s Stories through the Generations event. This even was part of Thread’s ongoing 25th anniversary celebration and offered an opportunity for children and their families to come and enjoy class stories being read aloud. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, Thread is Alaska's statewide child care resource and referral network, including professionals who work individually with families and early educators to ensure that they are knowledgeable and supported in guiding children to lifelong success.

It was great to be a part of this event not only because of how much I value Thread’s mission and enjoy collaborating with them in promoting my platform, but also because I got to dress up as Cinderella! Since the event’s focus was on stories that have been shared through the generations, I thought sharing my favorite fairy tale would be perfect. And what better way to share in than as Cinderella herself? (Plus, the added bonus was that I got a little more use out of the Halloween costume I’d spent 4 days sewing for myself!)

The children sat, enraptured as I read and the story unfolded. Some were nestled on parent’s laps, some sitting on blankets criss-cross-apllesauce, some just sidled right up and made themselves comfortable with me. As I read aloud the well-known tale, I posed questions to my audience and pointed out details in the illustrations, skills I learned in my early teaching years. The kids loved the story, even though the all knew it well, I’m sure, and begged for me to read more when it was over. So I did. I read through a few other books they picked out and enjoyed visiting and talking with children and parents alike while we enjoyed some casual snacks.

There are many benefits to reading aloud to young children and I was delighted to be able to help promote and demonstrate the practice at this event. Studies prove that the most important thing adults can do in preparing young children for success in school and reading is to read aloud with them. Reading aloud with children regularly is an extremely effective medium to build relationships and communicate with children. Children's self-esteem grows as they experience the security of having a parent or other caring person read aloud with them. Reading aloud allows children to experience increased communication with parents and other family members. Children are introduced to new concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, and alphabet, in a fun, age appropriate way. Children build listening skills, vocabulary, memory and language skills and develop imagination and creativity. Children learn information about the world around them and develop individual interests in special subjects like dinosaurs, cats, or cars. They learn positive behavior patterns and social values as well as positive attitudes towards themselves and others.

It’s important that we read to children early and often. Infants will delight in being cuddled and hearing the calming voices of their parents even though they don't understand the words. Soon they'll associate reading with attention, love, and colorful pictures. As children get older, parents can introduce them to picture books and nursery rhymes. Even at a young age, they will be starting to learn a lot about reading. They'll discover that books are read from front to back and that pictures stand for real objects. As you continue to read to them and introduce them to stories, they'll find out that the print on the pages stands for words and that pages are read from top-to-bottom and left-to-right. Reading to young children is excellent preparation for formal reading instruction in school.

So much of the intelligence children will ultimately have is developed before they even get to kindergarten. When you read to them, you are building pathways in their brains needed for successful reading experiences. They will be developing auditory perception that allows them to think about how words sound. Furthermore, reading stimulates children's language development as they are like little sponges imitating everything they hear. Listening to stories will enhance their vocabularies and help them use longer sentences. Another wonderful plus in reading to children is that it increases their attention spans and ability to focus to what is being said. In addition, reading makes children more curious - a trait that must be fostered in young children or they will never acquire it. And of course, their knowledge of the world will expand.

More than anything else, reading to young children gives them a desire to read. Many children who are read to begin reading on their own without any formal instruction.