Written by Jo Padgham for National Literacy and Numeracy Week when principal of Turner School, 2016
Time
- Every child loves special time with the significant adults in their lives, so make a regular time in your family routine to talk, read and write with your child.
- Make this time cosy and privilege the bond and relationship that develop between the book, the child and the adult.
- Consider how you will sit with your child. Is it side-by-side so the child can see the illustrations? If it is a shared picture book, the book should be shared and held between the adult and the child.
Vocabulary
- Building your child's oral language and vocabulary is a cornerstone to their success as a literate young person equipped to manage the complex language landscape operating in their world today and tomorrow.
- Read books with rich literary language and talk about the words, have fun with the language and linger over the wonderful words writers have chosen. These are an 'author's gifts' and worth collecting with your child.
Choice
- Let your child follow their interests and passions through books, magazines, comics, websites, writing and reading.
- Talk with your school's teacher librarian and get suggestions of books your child might enjoy.
- Join your public library; ensure a book is always a part of a birthday or Christmas present for your child. Allow your child to select and give books to others as presents.
- Consider 'managed choice' of what they read too. Just as we provide a balanced diet of food for our children, so too should we provide a balanced diet of reading, exposing children to different genres, authors and fiction and non-fiction.
Play
- Puppets, drama, poetry and games are all ways to ignite a child's interest in reading and to build their vocabulary and deepen their understanding of characters and stories. All members of the family can act out a story and you can make your own puppets too!
Space
- Provide a bookshelf or a special box or basket for your child's collection of books and a writing desk/space with stationery. Allow children to decorate and organise this space to make it special.
Model
- Parents and carers are the most significant adults in a child's life. Model reading and writing and curiosity about language at every opportunity.
- Read aloud to your child well into their teens. Having a novel that is especially selected for shared parent/child reading can keep you connected to your teenager and be an ideal way to discuss themes and sophisticated vocabulary. They might not tell their friends you read to them, but they will love it!