Reading Opens Doors!
Author: Barbara Freedman-De Vito
Bio Note:
Barbara Freedman-De Vito, artist, writer, professional storyteller, children's librarian, and teacher, offers children's clothing, baby clothes, family clothing and gift items decorated with her artwork on her website, Children's Clothing and Baby Clothes from Baby Bird Productions. She also writes and illustrates colorful, animated children's stories which are available as CDs or downloads, and provides free games and educational activities for children, teachers and parents.
For more information on Barbara Freedman-De Vito:
http://www.babybirdproductions.com
As mentioned above, reading opens doors - doors to factual information about any subject on earth, practical or theoretical.
Given the wealth of available resources such as Internet, libraries,
schools and bookstores, if children can read well and if they see
reading as a source of information, then for the rest of their lives
they will have access to all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind,
access to all of the great minds and ideas of the past and present.
It truly is magic !
Through books, children can also learn about people and places from
other parts of the world, improving their understanding of and concern
for all of humanity. This, in turn, contributes towards our sense that we
truly live in a "global village" and may help us bring about a more
peaceful future for everyone.This can happen through nonfiction but,
perhaps even more importantly, reading novels that are set in other
places and time periods can give children a deeper understanding of
others through identification with individual characters and their plights.
Through stories and novels children can vicariously try out new
experiences and test new ideas, with no negative consequences in
their real lives. They can meet characters who they'll enjoy returning
to for comforting and satisfying visits when they reread a cherished
book or discover a sequel. Books also give kids the opportunity to flex
their critical thinking skills in such areas as problem solving, the concepts
of cause and effect, conflict resolution, and acceptance of responsibility
for one's actions. Mysteries allow children to follow clues to their logical
conclusions and to try to outguess the author. Even for very young
children, a simple story with a repetitive refrain or a simple mystery to
solve gives a confidence boost. Children can predict the patterns and
successfully solve the riddles.
Children are influenced by and imitate the world around them. While
a steady diet of violent cartoons may have a detrimental effect on
children's development, carefully chosen stories and books can have
a positive influence on children, sensitizing them to the needs of others.
For example, books can encourage children to be more cooperative, to
share with others, to be kind to animals, or to respect the natural
environment.
Although reading is thought of as the quintessential solitary activity, in
certain circumstances reading can be a socializing activity. For example,
a parent or grandparent reading a story aloud, whether from a traditional
printed book or from an ebook, can be a great opportunity for adult and
child to share some quiet, relaxed quality time together away from the
rush and stresses of the business of daily living. They share a few minutes
of precious time, plus they share the ideas that are contained in the story.
In addition, older children can be encouraged to read aloud to younger
ones as a means of enhancing their relationship.
At school or at a library story hour, books can bring children together
and can be part of a positive shared experience. For some preschoolers
this may be their primary opportunity to socialize and to learn how to
behave around other children or how to sit quietly for a group activity.
Make the most of this experience by encouraging children to talk about
what they've read or heard.
It may sound funny, but ebooks can be a way for children to improve
their fine motor skills and their hand-eye coordination, as they click
around a childfriendly website or click the backward and forward buttons
of online story pages. They may also be picking up valuable computer
skills that they'll need in school and later in life.
I've saved the most important point for last. Reading can provide
children with endless hours of fun and entertainment. All of the
pragmatic reasons above aren't at all necessary to justify reading's
place in children's lives. Stories can free up imaginations and
open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality. They allow children
to dream and may give them a good start on the road to viewing
reading as a lifelong source of pleasure, so read to your young
children every day.
Inspire your older children to read. Give them access to plenty of
reading material that they'll enjoy and discuss it with them. Sample
everything - traditional printed books and ebooks on Internet, classic
children's novels and fairy tales, as well as more modern stories.
If a child wants to hear the same story over and over again, don't
worry about it. Children take comfort from the familiarity and
predictability of a beloved story that they know by heart. There's no
harm in that. Reread old favorites and, at the same time, introduce
your children to new stories. Your child's mind and heart have room
for both.