First 5 Years: Reading: Set Your Child Up for Success

The Benefits of Reading to Your Child

“A book is a gift you can open again and again.” – Garrison Keillor Why not give your child such an amazing gift? Reading to your child every day is such a precious gift for you and your child. Consistency produces amazing results.

1. It establishes a bond between you and your child.

2. It improves cognitive skills, boosting their IQ.

3. It helps their speech development.

4. It boosts their vocabulary.

5. It shows them the fun and joy of reading.

WWhen to Start Reading to Your Child

The best time to start reading to your child is right now. Whether your baby is 2 weeks old, 6 months, or a year, it can only help them. Even if they do not understand the words, they understand the feeling of comfort and security. Statistics show that babies with books read to them daily improved their speaking, comprehension, and vocabulary skills to a great extent more than those babies that were not so privileged to have a book read to them daily.

The Best Books for the 1^st Year

The first year of a baby’s life is full of learning and growing. Their brain is making thousands of neural connections and we should take advantage of that precious time. Different books coincide with each stage of development:

Approximately 0-3 months

· In the first few months of your baby’s life, the best books are books with great contrast like black and white graphics. Board books, cards, or soft and crinkly books with high-contrasting colors will stimulate their visual skills. Here are my favorites:

Black on White

My First Soft Books set

Visual Quiet Book

Approximately 3-6 months

· When your baby begins to bat and grasp at things and everything goes to their mouth, the next books to add to your library are the soft and crinkly books as well as vinyl or bath books. Here are some favorites:

Real Photo Vinyl Book Set by Kaplan

Personalized Soft Book

Approximately 6-9 months

· Then as your baby learns to sit up, crawl, and explore the world around them, you can add the sensory books and board books to your library. Again, here are some favorites:

Touch & Feel: Adorable Animals

Touch & Feel: Farm Animals

Touch & Feel: Trucks

Baby Touch and Feel: Animals

Baby Touch and Feel: Trucks

Baby Touch and Feel: Colors and Shapes

Baby Touch and Feel: Bedtime

Priddy Books: On the Farm

Priddy Books: Baby Animals

Shake, Touch, Play

See, Touch, Feel: A Creative Play Book

Approximately 9-12 months

· When your baby is pulling up to furniture and attempting to imitate words and sounds, it's time for books with some action. Look for books with buttons to push, sounds to hear, and are entertaining. And here are some favorites for this stage:

My First: Noisy Animals

My First: Noisy First Words

My First: Noisy ABC

My First: Noisy Baby Animals

My First: Noisy Farm

My First: Noisy Things That Go

My First: Noisy Trucks

Wheelie Books: Sports Car

Wheelie Books: Dump Truck

Wheelie Books: Fire Truck

Wheelie Books: Farm Tractor

Wheelie Books: Motorcycle

Wheelie Books: Bus

Wheelie Books: Digger

Tabbed Board Books: My First Words

World of Eric Carle: My First Library

The Best Books for the 2^nd Year

The 2^nd year of a baby’s life is fun as they begin to walk, talk, and express themselves more. But their little brain is still making all those neural connections and it’s a good time for them to learn about the world around them. Find board books, books with easy-to-turn pages and short sentences to satisfy their short attention span. Here is a collection of my favorites for the 2^nd year that you can add to your growing library:

My First Library

1, 2, 3, What Do You See

My First Book of Airplanes

My First Book of Trains

My First Book of Earth

My First Book of Colors and Shapes

My First Trucks and Diggers

Baby’s First Book of Prayers

Let’s Say Our Colors

Let's Say Our Numbers

Go, Go, Cars

Go, Go, Fire Trucks

Go, Go, Construction Trucks

Shapes in the Sky

Ten Little Ladybugs

The Everything Book of Horses and Ponies

The Everything Book of Cats and Kittens

The Everything Book of Dogs and Puppies

The Best Books for the 3^rd Year

Now it’s time to get serious about getting your child ready for school and see how fun learning can be. Good books to add to your library are books about letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. Get books to keep those little fingers busy. Here are my favorite books to read and do with your 2-year-old:

Trace and Flip: 123 Count With Me

Trace and Flip: A is for Apple

Lift-and-Trace: Shapes

The Big Book of Letter Tracing

Bedtime Prayers

My First Bedtime Prayers

Busy Board Quiet Book

Montessori Quiet Book

I Spy: Animals

I Spy: Letters

I Spy: Numbers

Sticker Early Learning: Colors

Sticker Early Learning: Numbers

Sticker Early Learning: Shapes

Ultimate Sticker Book: Diggers and Dumpers

A Good Reading Environment

One important thing to remember when it comes to reading to your child is the environment you create for your child. It needs to be a fun and exciting thing they can look forward to in their daily routine. Set up a comfortable and cozy setting and make it fun. Make the noises and expressions as you read. Don’t worry about reading the same books every day over and over. You’ll get sick of it long before they do, but do your best to make it fun for them each time and enjoy these precious moments. Here are some great options for your reading corner sorted by price.

Keeping your books organized and accessible to your child is important. Here are some different options:

Furinno Pasir 3-Tier Bookshelf

Delta Children Sling Book Rack

Panana Wooden Bookcase

ECR4Kids Single-Sided Book Display

Comfy seating options can be quite vast, but here are my favorite ways to cuddle with my baby and a book:

Bean Bags

Air Candy Faux Fur Inflatable chair

Chill Sack Bean Bag chair

ULTIMATE SACK Bean Bag Chair w/Footstool

Rocking Chairs

TIMBER RIDGE Folding Rocking Chair