Storybook Time

While I was pregnant with our son, I read many studies, online articles and had a plethora of conversations with other momma's that all unanimously stated the exact same thing...that it was very important for us to begin reading to Josiah as a young infant. Now, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical, I mean, really, how much assistance in development could reading to our newborn have? Would sitting and holding our 2 month old and reading him story books seriously help him to begin loving books as a young child? I'd have to say that the answer is a resounding, "Yes"!    

He loves the green frog in this book.

At the beginning, I'd describe what we were doing as reading "to" Josiah, but within the past couple of months it's begun to transition into reading "with" Josiah.  He is 9 months old, and is increasingly showing interest and enthusiasm when we read with him, not to mention his attention span has increased in leaps and bounds compared to even a few months ago.  Which is so exciting, especially for two parents who are avid book worms and dream of someday winning the Lottery so we can have an entire room in our home devoted to floor to ceiling bookshelves stuffed with what? Well books of course! 

Learning a key component of reading, page turning.

So fast forward to just yesterday, when our son had his 9 month check-up at his doctors, the Nurse Practitioner spoke to me about the importance of reading to Josiah not just one or two books a day for 5 minutes, but more like 2x/day for up to 20 minutes each time.  Gulp! We can do this! A new challenge has been placed in the lap of this momma and beginning yesterday we started increasing our Storybook Time.  I know that patience and just having fun is the key.  So we will start out slow and see how it goes.

As you may know, reading with a 9 month old is a fun adventure! Josiah and I take turns holding the book, when momma holds it, it gets read, when Josiah holds it, it gets eaten.  However, what is so amazing is that even at his tender young age he  has a favorite book, some of you may already be able to tell which one, just by the pictures shown. His current favorite book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle.

 So, go grab a book off that shelf and snuggle up with your little one(s) and help them develop and peak their interest for reading and using their imagination. If you have more than one child, use your imagination and creativity and begin a family reading time.  Reading together is not only productive, but it helps in creating a healthy bond with our children.