I can’t emphasize how important reading is to your child. Every parent is a child’s first teacher. Reading to your child and having your child read on their own (even if it is just flipping the pages and looking at the pictures) is so important to increase language and literacy development. Frequently reading to your child will also increase memory, vocabulary, communication skills, and academic skills. Reading early on to your child will also help with overall school success later in childhood. Your child will also gain social and emotional benefits!
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, 26% of young children who were read to 3-4 times a day by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet compared to 14% of children who were read to less frequently. More than 50% of children who were read to more frequently could also count to 20 or higher, write their own names, and read or at least pretend read. The greater opportunity a child has to read or be read to, including having more books readily available to them in their home, the higher the children are in reading proficiency. Reading even improves math scores!
An added bonus to reading to your child at a young age is you grow a stronger emotional attachment between you and child. I recommend starting to read to your child while they are still in the womb. Your growing child can start to hear sounds from the outside world as early as 23 weeks. According to childtrends.org, “children develop literacy skills and an awareness of language long before they are able to read.”
And now there is a book available to parents that utilizes a child’s imagination and helps them learn to how to read! What’s Making Walter C. Laugh is a new children’s book written by Ginny Jordan that is all about fun! The author is a former teacher turned author from New York. This is her first book and is inspired by her own family. Each page is covered in colorful illustrations that could be the things making Walter C. laugh and then there are a few blank pages at the end for a child to use their own imagination and create their own pages of fun! Children have the option to be expressive and creative and can either draw or write their own addition to the story. This funny, colorful, fascinating book is available in hardcover, paperback, and as an ebook on Amazon.com by following this link https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Making-Walter-C-Laugh/dp/1483464636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503352647&sr=8-1&keywords=what%27s+making+walter+c+laugh or Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/whats-making-walter-c-laugh-ginny-jordan/1126169704;jsessionid=1F96B80B08E0E42EDABEC24C1A5B651A.prodny_store02-atgap09?ean=9781483464633 and Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/shop/ginny-jordan/whats-making-walter-c-laugh/hardcover/product-23085333.html.
You can follow this author on Instagram https://webgram.co/walterclaughs and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WalterC.Laughs7 and can be reached via email at walterc.laughs@gmail.com!
Happy reading!!
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