BORN TO READ

Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read.
 — Marilyn Jager Adams

The Altrusa International Club of Lawrence welcomes your baby to the world of reading!

• A parent is a baby's first and most important teacher.
  
• It is never too early to share the joys of reading.  Begin reading from day one!
  
• Babies enjoy the rhythm of songs and nursery rhymes.
  

Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.
— Emilie Buchwald

Here are some additional reading tips from the website Kids' Health sponsored by the Nemours Foundation at http://kidshealth.org

• Cuddling while you read helps your baby feel safe, warm, and connected to you.
  
• Read with expression, pitching your voice higher or lower where it's appropriate or using different voices for different characters.
  
• Don't worry about following the text exactly. Stop once in a while and ask questions or make comments on the pictures or text. ("Where's the kitty? There he is! What a cute black kitty.") Your child might not be able to respond yet, but this lays the groundwork for doing so later on.
  
• Sing nursery rhymes, make funny animal sounds, or bounce your baby on your knee — anything that shows that reading is fun.
  
• Babies love — and learn from — repetition, so don't be afraid of reading the same books over and over. When you do so, repeat the same emphasis each time as you would with a familiar song.
  
• As your baby gets older, encourage him or her to touch the book or even to hold sturdier board books. You don't want to encourage chewing on books, but by putting them in his or her mouth, your baby is learning about them, finding out how books feel and taste — and discovering that they're not edible!
  
  Child Literacy Center: Reading to Babies, Toddlers and Young Children The Why? The What? The How?
  
  Reading is Fundamental-
  RIF- Tips and Resources About Reading to Babies
  
  PBS About My Baby: Reading and Language
  
  Reading Rockets: Tips for Reading to Toddlers and Much, Much More
  
  National Education Association: Tips for Reading to Infants and Toddlers