By LISA NEWMAN
K-State Research and Extension – Central Kansas District Family and Community Wellness Extension Agent
November marks the annual Kansas Reads to Preschoolers event, a statewide initiative dedicated to fostering a love of reading in children from birth to five years old. This year’s chosen title is How Do You Hug a Porcupine/¿Cómo abrazas a un puercoespín? by Laurie Isop.
By encouraging parents, librarians, and caregivers to read aloud, Kansas Reads to Preschoolers aims to ignite a passion for learning and literacy in young children. Reading aloud offers numerous benefits, including language development, as children are exposed to a wide range of vocabulary and sentence structures that help them develop strong language skills. It also fosters cognitive development, as reading aloud stimulates imagination, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.
Reading to young children supports social and emotional development, helping them learn important skills like empathy, compassion, and problem-solving.
Tips for reading to young children include starting early, as even newborns benefit from hearing stories. Choosing engaging books with colorful illustrations, simple language, and themes that interest your child can also make reading more enjoyable. Making reading interactive by asking questions, pointing to pictures, and encouraging your child to make predictions and share their thoughts further enriches the experience. Reading with expression by using different voices and tones helps bring characters to life.
Reading for children under five is not just about decoding words; it’s a multi-faceted process. Print awareness involves understanding that print carries meaning and recognizing letters and words. Phonological awareness includes recognizing sounds in words and understanding how they blend together. Vocabulary development happens as children build a strong vocabulary through exposure to new words. Comprehension involves understanding the meaning of what is read. By providing children with rich language experiences, parents and caregivers can lay the foundation for a lifetime of learning and literacy.
For more information about Kansas Reads to Preschoolers, please visit Kansas Reads to Preschoolers.
For developmentally appropriate literacy approaches, visit NAEYC Literacy Resources.
To learn more about resources from K-State Research and Extension – Central Kansas District, check out their website here.