We had a great week last week celebrating World Book Day and loved sharing even more stories than usual with the children and finding out all about their favourite books.
But we don’t want it to stop there, we are absolutely passionate about the importance of books and after sharing our ‘Muddy Boots Top 20’ last week, we would love to share with you some of our top tips for fostering that love of books at home too.
- Make use of local libraries and our Nursery Lending Libraries – Libraries are a great resource, we know that books can be expensive but you can borrow 10 books at a time with a children’s library card and swap these as often as you like. This is a great way of finding books you love before choosing which books to buy. We also have our Lending Libraries at each nursery which are stocked up with some of our favourite books as well.
- Share books at bedtime as part of your regular routine – bedtime is a great opportunity for sharing books. It makes a lovely part of a calming bedtime routine and can often be one of the few moments of the day where there are no other distractions. Snuggle up under the duvet together and it often helps with settling to children to get to sleep as well.
- Offer a range of reading material – fiction and nonfiction, magazines, catalogues etc – it’s great, especially as children get older, for them to experience a range of printed materials. Story books are fab but it’s great to add in non fiction books too or magazines, even newspapers and catalogues can make a great addition to your book shelves!
- You don’t necessarily need a book! Children love it when we make up our own stories – especially when we can include the children in this as well. You could tell your favourite fairytale but ask children to change the ending? Can you makeup a story together using your children’s toys? Or what about an adventure involving your family?
- Allow time – Stories shouldn’t be rushed, whether it’s bedtime or another time of day, turn of the TV, put your phone to one side and give yourselves time to really enjoy the book together. Don’t just read it, talk about the pictures on the pages, think about what might happen next, how are the characters feeling, how would you feel if you were in the story?
Most importantly though – make it a time you both enjoy. Reading shouldn’t be a chore, find time when you can switch off from everything else and just focus on spending that time together.
Happy Reading! We’ll leave you with some of our favourite quotes about books.
“There are many little ways to enlarge your world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jacqueline Kennedy
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King
“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax all you need is a book!” – Dr. Seuss
