How to Share Books with Your Children
30 to 35 Months Old
30 to 35 Months Can:
- Look at a book you are holding and talk about it
- Tell you the names of the stories they want to share
- Remember which book you read last night
- Tell you about pictures and stories in longer sentences
- Tell you their version of the story in a favorite book
- Ask you a question about the characters in a story
- Pretend to be a character in a favorite story
You Can:
- Find a quiet, cozy place to cuddle up with a few picture books
- Use reading together as a way to calm and comfort your child
- Talk about how things that happen in books are like things your child has done/seen
- Talk about feelings of the characters. Ask if your child has ever felt like this
- Count pictures wait for your child to repeat the numbers after you
- Ask your child to show you all the things that are alike in some way
- Take your child to the library to choose books
3 Year Old
3 Year Olds Can:
- Choose a favorite book to read with you
- Pretend to read a favorite book out loud to you
- Tell you how a story is like things they have seen/done
- Ask questions about books you are enjoying together
- Correct you if you try to skip a page or even a word
- Tell you what they like about a book
- Tell you the story in a favorite book in their own words
You Can:
- Find a quiet, cozy place to cuddle up with a few good picture books
- Ask your child to tell you about the pictures and the story
- Respond with excitement to your child’s questions & comments
- Ask your child to show you all the things in a picture that are alike
- Use different voices for different characters
- Talk about emotions in pictures and stories
- Point out colors, shapes and numbers in their books
Take your child to the library