I remember one of my favorite TV shows growing up was Jackanory. The whole show was someone sitting in a chair and reading a book to me. An illustration from the book was also occasionally shown on the screen. I loved hearing those stories. I was lucky that my mother also read to me every night and I’m sure that developed my love of books. In today’s high-tech cyber world, has the book taken a backseat? Do children crave the stimulation of television or online computer games instead of enjoying the pleasures that a book can develop?
Numerous studies have shown that reading to our children more and having them read more increases literacy rates and improves vocabulary. Statistics show that to be on grade level, a 5-year-old should have had 1,000 hours of reading exposure before arriving at school—that’s half an hour every day every year for every year they’ve been reading! been alive! Even if we love sharing books with our children, this is a great goal to achieve with a restless toddler! However, there are other ways we can increase your reading exposure. There are a number of TV shows that are based on concepts of letters, spelling, counting, etc.
There is educational software that can engage children in the game while they learn. There are eBooks that read the story to children while highlighting the words to teach children about fluency, reading from left to right, and improve sound/word recognition. These eBooks can be used later as your child learns to read by allowing them to click on any unfamiliar words. Children love familiar things, so these eBooks can be used to read their favorite stories over and over again.
It’s funny how life comes full circle. Instead of a child watching TV and reading the story to her, she can interact with the available technology to help develop her love of books and reading. So if he discovers that he hasn’t reached his quota of reading hours, why doesn’t he explore how technology has the ability to bring the magic of books to the next generation?