As I waited for my little one's turn for his 3 month vaccination at one of the NHS centres, I saw a few mums carrying a neat cloth bag, with a lovely picture of a Mommy Bear reading to her cub. 'Bookstart' was written under it.
Bookstart is an initiative to instil the love of books and reading into little ones - as early as possible. They encourage parents to read to their little ones - not only does it give them an early start into reading, its a wonderful bonding activity as well.
Pretty soon, I had this lovely bag hanging off my little one's pram. I started reading these books to him that very night. He held his gaze at the brightly coloured pages - and I would like to believe that he was hooked to books from that day! I myself enjoy books immensely, so was more than glad to see this new development.
He is 4 yrs old now, and reading books is his favourite pastime and bedtime routine. He has a good collection of books - and growing!
Our time and attention is the best gift we can give to our little ones. Reading to them is one way of doing it.
I would like to share reviews of a few books I have read to my little one over these years.
One of the earliest books I have read to him is 'Happy Dog Sad Dog', by Sam Lloyd.
Its a board book with 16 pages, with just large pictures of different kinds of simple dog cartoons.
Each page has just 2 words - like 'Happy Dog - Sad Dog', 'Big Dog - Small Dog', 'Clean Dog - Dirty Dog' etc.
The colors are bright and catchy, the images simple and bold.
Very small kids (below 6 mnths) enjoy the colors and pictures, where as kids older than 6 mnths can do hand gestures ( big and small) and facial expressions (happy, sad). The concept of opposites can also be introduced through the book.
You will be amazed at how much you can get out of such a simple book !
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| Image from here |
Pretty soon, I had this lovely bag hanging off my little one's pram. I started reading these books to him that very night. He held his gaze at the brightly coloured pages - and I would like to believe that he was hooked to books from that day! I myself enjoy books immensely, so was more than glad to see this new development.
He is 4 yrs old now, and reading books is his favourite pastime and bedtime routine. He has a good collection of books - and growing!
Our time and attention is the best gift we can give to our little ones. Reading to them is one way of doing it.
I would like to share reviews of a few books I have read to my little one over these years.
One of the earliest books I have read to him is 'Happy Dog Sad Dog', by Sam Lloyd.
 |
| Image from here |
Each page has just 2 words - like 'Happy Dog - Sad Dog', 'Big Dog - Small Dog', 'Clean Dog - Dirty Dog' etc.
The colors are bright and catchy, the images simple and bold.
Very small kids (below 6 mnths) enjoy the colors and pictures, where as kids older than 6 mnths can do hand gestures ( big and small) and facial expressions (happy, sad). The concept of opposites can also be introduced through the book.
You will be amazed at how much you can get out of such a simple book !
