Explore n' Play
Sharing Favourite Books...
Children begin to use language to express themselves, their thoughts and their needs from around 2-3 years of age.
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One of the best ways to support children through this period is by sharing of books and related activities. Make a book story bag with objects, toys or puppets related to the story is a great idea to encourage interest and involvement in the the story. Before you read the story bring out the bag and let the children take out and play with the objects inside, talk and discuss what is in there... for example if there was a mouse in the story and you could have a toy mouse in the bag opening the up the opportunity to talk about what a mouse does, how it moves , and the sounds it makes, sharing some of the vocabulary and language you want to encourage. After this period of play bring out the book and look through the pictures if a shortish book, to help to further encourage more connections and ideas and understanding before finally when the child is ready and excited about the book read the story to them.
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When choosing a new book to read and share it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the story, vocabulary, characters and flow first. This helps you to maybe prepare voices for some of the characters this will help with child's understanding of the books tone and expressions...is the character talking in a whisper, shouting, or excited?
Of course one of the most important things is that the book is enjoyable to both you and the child, and this will show in the way you read the story and keep the child's interest.
To help you choose a book the "Explore n' Play' team are preparing a list of favorite books for you to share and add to with your comments and ideas.
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