early childhood fun

The little Red Hen was in the farmyard with her chickens, when she found a grain of wheat.

"Who will plant this wheat?" she said. "Not I," said the Goose. "Not I," said the Duck. "I will, then," said the little Red Hen, and she planted the grain of wheat.

When the wheat was ripe she said, "Who will take this wheat to the mill?" "Not I," said the Goose. "Not I," said the Duck. "I will, then," said the little Red Hen, and she took the wheat to the mill.

When she brought the flour home she said, "Who will make some bread with this flour?" "Not I," said the Goose. "Not I," said the Duck. "I will, then," said the little Red Hen.

When the bread was baked, she said, "Who will eat this bread?" "I will," said the Goose. "I will," said the Duck. "No, you won’t," said the little Red Hen. "I shall eat it myself. Cluck! cluck!" And she called her chickens to help her.

Picture books leave a lot to the imagination. That’s why they are so great for preschoolers and toddlers. Even better, almost all books to them are picture books. This could be great for you. Why? Well, first thing off the top of my head, we don’t have to read the same story over and over again. How many times has your little one done this to you? They love a book so much they just want you to read it again and again, and again. Well… no more. We get to change things around, and here’s how:

- let them tell you the story, this is from their memory, or they make it up as they go, this inspires their imagination, and the more the can imagine the better

- you can change the story, think of what else could be going on in the pictures that your child would like to hear about

- focus on other things in the book, what else is going on while the story is being read? discuss this with your preschooler

- (my favorite) take a book you haven’t read in awhile and completely ignore the words, even better use a book you have never read, say from the weekly library trip, and make up a story based on what is going on in the pictures, your child won’t know the difference, and tomorrow you will have a completely different story to tell them, thus again teaching them to stretch their imaginations.

One thing that is very common is reading programs for kids in school. This is a great idea, as they get prizes for keeping track of all the reading they do. Well, preschoolers are no different in this area, and many would argue that they need just as much reading as other kids, so why not do a program for your preschooler?

For each book you read you can mark it down on a chart. There are ways to make this fun too. You can make each day be a different book. This would cause some awesome trips to the library. You could let the kids use a sticker for each day to mark it off (might cause them to be happier about reading and encouraging you to read with them). Don’t worry though most little kids love reading.

At the end of the month you can take them out for ice cream or pizza, and make them feel special for completing their month of reading. Maybe make them a bookmark for next months reading, something like 1 month of reading and going strong. Let them decorate by coloring the bookmark and putting stickers on it.