Reading to your child is the best way to jump start her reading, writing and communication skills. Select books that will challenge your child's intellect and stimulate his senses. Get your child involved in helping you read the book. Ask questions while you are reading to check for comprehension and create a love for stories and learning.
Learn Rhyme and Rhythm
Learning to rhyme sets your child up for a strong reading foundation. Rhyming and learning rhythm during the early years is important for developing sound and listening skills which gets him ready for preschool.
The Brooklyn Library recommends several rhyme and rhythm books for toddlers which include "Hush! A Thai Lullaby" by Minfong Ho; "How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?" by Jane Yolen an"d I Went Walking" by Sue Williams. Through rhyme, these books teach culture, provide information on dinosaurs and offer questions about a walk in the woods.
Interactive Stories
Interactive stories teach your child everyday sounds and noises such as a dog's bark or a car's horn. Toddlers also love the cause and effect opportunity to shout answers to questions, push buttons and play with sounds.
Some of the Weber County Library's recommendations include "Clap Your Hands" by Lorinda Cauley which encourages children to clap, jump and pat along with the book. In "From Head to Toe" by Eric Carle, kids are invited to copy the movements of different animals.
Books to Help with Fears
The toddler years are prime time for monsters hiding in the closet, being afraid of thunder storms and those terrible toddler tantrums. Books can help alleviate your toddler's worries and anxieties and Scholastic Books has a few recommendations that may help with those bumps in the night.
"Five Ugly Monsters" by Tedd Arnold tells a story about five monsters who get into trouble when they are jumping on the bed.
Anna Dewdney's "Llama Llama Mad at Mama" allows children to journey through the toddler's temper tantrum and find out what happens.
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