Take a Break, Read!

Are you looking for a reason to sit down, take a break and pick up a book?

Below are 9 great reasons why doing just that, is one of the best things, you can do for a child today and every day!

1. Begin reading to your child at birth.  90% of a child’s brain growth occurs between birth and 4 years of age.
2. Reading aloud introduces the patterns of language and develops vocabulary.
3. Reading to a child 20 minutes each day will enable him or her to hear one million words in a year and will expand his or her vocabulary by 1,000 words.
4. Research indicates a connection between the development of language competence and motor skills.
5. Reading aloud helps a child develop a longer attention span and encourages the art of listening.
6. Reading aloud together will develop a special bond between you and your child.  Touch between parent and child is very important to the development of the brain and the child’s emotions.
7. Children who are ready to become readers are more likely to succeed in school.
8. Reading aloud provides cognitive, emotional, and social development.  Sharing stories introduces and keeps alive the cultural heritage of our own traditional tales and those of other cultures.
9. Lewis Carroll, the author of the famed Alice in Wonderland, called stories “love gifts.”  Sharing a story is giving a gift.  It is a shared experience that produces a relaxed, peaceful feeling.