Reading with your child Birth – 5 months

Birth to 3 Months Old

            Newborns to 3 Months Can:

1. Look at the book you are holding
2. Watch the looks on your face & begin to copy them
3. Listen to the sounds you make & begin to copy them
4. Start to smile, coo or move their arms and legs
5. Pay attention for a minute or 2 at a time

You Can:

1. Find a quiet, cozy place to cuddle up with a sturdy book or 2
2. Name & point to the pictures your baby is looking at
3. Turn the pages following your baby’s interest
4. Act out pictures using your face, hands and voice
5. Copy the sounds your baby makes & her expressions. This back & forth lets your baby know you care about what she is saying.

4 to 5 Months Old

            4 to 5 Month Olds Can:

1. Reach toward a book & pat the pictures in it
2. Copy some of the sounds you say & the looks on your face
3. Pay attention to a book for only a few minutes at a time
4. Begin to have favorite books
5. Smile, laugh, squeal, reach for the book. Lets you know they want to keep going.

You Can:

1. Find a quiet, cozy place to cuddle up with a sturdy book or 2
2. Name & point to the pictures your baby is looking at
3. Turn the pages, follow her interest
4. Act out pictures using your face, hands and voice
5. Copy the sounds your baby makes & her expressions. This back & forth lets your baby know you care about what she is saying.