“If children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old,
they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.”
—Mem Fox
One of the greatest gifts you can share with your babies and toddlers is your love of learning. That love often begins with the love of books shared during those quiet, precious moments reading to your child. When you open a book, you open the door to a lifelong love of learning.
Writing is also an integral part of a child’s early learning process. Showing your child how much fun it is to turn their spoken words into written words is a joy shared by the child and the parent. Reading and writing help children:
- Realize that the written word is as natural as the spoken word.
- Identify their thoughts and put them into more logical sequences.
- Think about things in new and imaginative ways.
- Discover themselves and the world around them.
- “See” their world more clearly and closely.
- Peak their interest and curiosity.
- Appreciate the written word not only of their own making, but of the writings of others in books and magazines.
- Build self-confidence in expressing themselves.
Children who learn to express themselves in clear and meaningful ways are more likely to interact with their peers and adults. It all begins with the joy of reading!
A great place to start sharing your love of reading with your babies and toddlers is with the award-winning magazines from Cricket Media: Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, and Cricket!
“My Quiet Time” by Charles Ghigna from LADYBUG, Jan. 2016
Charles Ghigna – Father Goose® lives in a tree house in the middle of Alabama.
He is the author of more than 100 award-winning books from Random House, Disney,
Hyperion, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Abrams, Charlesbridge, Orca and Capstone.
His poems appear in magazines from The New Yorker and Harper’s to Cricket and Highlights.
For more information, please visit: FatherGoose.com
