Reading...but not

Liz McGrath and I run a playgroup on a Wednesday morning. We spend equal time doing music and art together and then have a snack before we say our goodbyes. Liz, a wonderful educator and artist (click here for Liz’s latest Little Bluebirds blog post), plans a number of engaging art activities and I lead the families in music time. Big and little people participate together.

We start every session with 15 minutes of reading time. We have a big basket of books and a few rugs laid out, and we ask the grown ups (usually Mums in this instance) to read to their little people. Imagine a serene morning scene, with children perched in their Mums’ laps fully engaged in beautiful picture books. Then throw that image out! Seriously, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Scooter time

Families often wander in half-way through reading time and they’ll find children intermittently sitting quietly, running around or flipping through a book without allowing anyone time to read the words. A toddler may be taking books from people actively reading them and offering them another. Another may hand me a book, listen for 20 seconds then grab another book, listen for 20 seconds…and so on. During this mayhem, in between slices of time reading, parents are greeting each other and sharing news and, again, intermittently reading a book.

These switched on kids are reading each other

Reading time is a wonderful time and was designed to encourage behaviours useful for early literacy learning. And guess what?!? It really does. Children can see others enjoying books and that they bring joy. They can see how books are valued and shared. They can learn the print conventions we need to know in order to make sense of a book, such as which way to turn the page. Honestly, whether it’s a 20 second glance or 20 minutes listening to a pile of stories, time spent with a book is never wasted.

Wild and Young! Having fun during reading time.