Reading is FUN!

Pinkalicious Princess Party March 16, 2008

We had a blast! All of the girls dressed up in pink costumes, had their nails polished pink, enjoyed the book Pinkalicious, modelled on stage, drank pink lemonade and ate

cupcakes of course!

Given all the fun we had, the girls had no idea that we had a party with a PURPOSE! Reading is very important and reading to children aloud helps to lay a great foundation for educational success!
According to Jim Trelease, author of The New Read-Aloud Handbook, reading aloud to children benefits them in numerous ways. Listed below are only some of the benefits a child receives from being read to:
Reading aloud provides a positive reading role model.
Reading aloud creates a bond between the reader and the child.
Reading aloud improves the child's listening comprehension.
Reading aloud expands the child's attention span.
Reading aloud helps develop the child's language skills.
Reading aloud helps develop critical thinking skills and effective communication skills.
Reading aloud exposes the child to rich vocabulary.
Reading aloud exposes the child to good grammar.
Reading aloud stimulates the child's imagination, creativity and curiosity.
Reading aloud establishes the reading-writing connection.
Reading aloud provides the child with a lot of background knowledge. The more a child is read to now, the more he/she will learn for use in reading later.
Reading aloud nurtures the child's emotional development, raising his/her self esteem.
Reading aloud is FUN, providing the child with the pleasures of reading!

For more information visit: http://www.readtomeintl.org/display.cfm?sid=6