Reading books aloud to children expands their understanding of the world.
It provides them with background knowledge which helps to make sense of what they see, hear and eventually read themselves.
It prompts a conversation, it helps children to connect what is in a story to their own lives.
Listening to you read, helps them develop their language and listening skills.
It prepares them to understand the written word, before they begin reading words on the page themselves.
When you read daily to a toddler, no matter how big the words or how complex the material, in a matter of minutes, thousands of cells are turned on, existing connections are strengthened and new cells are formed. The complexity and the intricacy of these actions will remain in place for the rest of the child’s life.
The more you read out aloud with expression and the more you encourage the child’s imagination the larger the vocabulary will grow, the more they will understand about the world, about their place in the world and in turn the growth of their cognitive development and academic success becomes a true reality.
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