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Board books, picture books, graphic novels, bilingual books: there is a wealth of books available to all ages, but what is your child gaining when you read books together?
Connection
While you are sitting together reading a story you are making memories and spending time attending to the same images and words. You can recall past experiences you’ve had together. For example, if the characters are having a picnic and you did that last summer you can talk about how your picnic compares and contrasts to the one in the story. Analyze the pictures and talk about what you notice, do you notice the same things or different things? Take the closeness and time to make memories and be present with one another and connect.
Language
The earlier you start reading, the more language your child will be exposed to. Read chapter books out loud or nonfiction books to vary the vocabulary words your child is hearing. Authors all have their own way of describing scenarios and images and those differences in speech can support your child in developing a wider range of words for themselves. As language is developing, especially in the first two years, the more you read with them, the deeper their current understanding of language will go.
Games
Books are for more than just reading what is on the page. Tap into your child's imagination by using a book without words and tell a different story each time you turn through the pages. Practice letter recognition by having a scavenger hunt for different letters on each page. Encourage color recognition by identifying all the colors you see on the pages of the book. You can use more descriptive color words or primary color words. Count the number of birds in a flock or flowers in the garden. Every game is an opportunity to show your child how fun learning can be.
Take your books and watch the world open up with opportunity. Make up a silly story or learn about a new animal together, no matter what story you are diving into, you are creating a foundation - a foundation for your relationship with them and their relationship with learning.