The Crucial Role of Parents
A love of reading is developed at an early age even babies love books! Sharing a book and snuggling up together to read a favourite story is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. Not only is it great for developing healthy relationships, well-being, and creating special memories reading is also the best way of ensuring your child has the best start to their educational journey.
Reading in the Early Years
Reading is so important. Enjoying books and reading stories from a very early age is crucial in the development of a child. Not only does it help with their ability to understand words, but it encourages them to begin to and develop their imagination – to see things and imagine things all by themselves – and to develop their speech, it improves concentration and introduces children to new concepts and the world around them.
Children develop more in the first 5 years of their life than at any other time (hence why these are called the foundation years), and during these years’ children start building the blocks for the rest of their life.
How We Share Books in the Early Years
As well as the books that we read as part of our main curriculum from the school reading spine. We also have books available in our everyday provision. We link texts and books to the different areas of our learning environment. Children can then use these to further their understanding. For instance, in the small world area near the dinosaurs, you will find books about dinosaurs. These will often be above the reading age of the child however an adult can share the information with the child. This allows the child to access extra information and for the adult to model reading.
Reading Corners and Nooks
In Pre-School, Nursery, and Reception you will find inviting areas for the children to read in or share a book with a friend or adult. These obviously not the only place you will find a child reading in EYFS but they are designed to shine a light on books and spark excitement around reading.