As parents and caregivers, we encourage children to develop healthy habits, like eating nutritious foods, washing hands, and getting exercise and enough sleep. That’s care for the body. There’s care for the mind and getting exercise for the brain. I like to think of stories as Vitamin Book and a daily dose of a few minutes reading is best. It’s good nutrition for kindergarten readiness.

Adults need a dose of Vitamin Book, too. Plus, it’s important for kids to see that adults read–magazines, papers, novels, and  ebooks all count, even maps! Modelling that we read, too, is not just for show; otherwise children get the idea that only kids read. Today, share something that you are reading with your child. You may comment that grownups can read small print and lots of words on a page because they have had lots of practice. Your child might be happy just to hear your voice as you read outloud, not minding if it’s hard to understand. Vitamin Book–is this something you can swallow?

If you think of the brain as a ‘clues closet’, books have lots of clues in all kinds of styles. Even very young children listening to adults read to them can use clues. Pictures are an obvious set of clues. Children can often figure out the basic action of a story just by looking at the pictures. More clues are the usual pattern of beginning, middle and end often  that are in many, if not most, stories. The kind of vocabulary is another clue, for instance, books that start out telling about a color on one page, are followed by pages of other colors. Counting books have words and numbers. Problems presented at the start have a solution at the end. The same people or characters continue from page to page. All these are parts of books that we take for granted but they all help develop the thinking and learning and kindergarten readiness of kids. But these clues will never need washing, ironing and don’t wear out! What’s in yours?

No matter if your child is starting kindergarten this year or even 3 or 4 years down the road, reading a story several times a week is one of the best kindergarten readiness activities. It’s a fun resolution to keep, too. Books that have a repetitive pattern–such as the Gingerbread man who says ” I can … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Resolution to Read #5 →

Reading a book to a little one is such a wonderful way to spend a few minutes. And it has tremendous benefits for brain development and kindergarten readiness. When either you or your child have picked out a book to read, look at the front cover. Comment on the picture and ask your child what … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Resolution to Read #3 →

Some people make New Year’s resolutions, some set New Year’s goals. No matter what it’s called, a very powerful New Year’s (and kindergarten readiness) strategy is to read and share books and stories with kids for a few minutes every day. Some children have bedtime stories, some have wake-up stories before a parent or caregiver … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – New Year’s Goals →