In the Classroom: The Caterpillars
Never Too Young to Read
Lately, the infants in the Caterpillar Room have shown great interest in reading books and looking at pictures.
The older children in the classroom can go over to the book corner and get a book of their choice. They will sit and turn the pages and make different sounds like they are reading the book. Often they will bring a book to a teacher to read.
When we read with our Caterpillars, we use lots of expressions and change the sound of our voices. We exclaim, "oh, look at the silly kitty!" or ask, “where's the big ball?"
Our younger children love to look at books, too! They get excited when a teacher makes a sound that goes with the picture, such as "mooooo" or "beep-beep."
Sometimes the children insist that we climb up into the comfy big blue rocker to read together. While sitting together, a child may start babbling as if reading to us.
The Caterpillars recently took a trip upstairs in the Spruce Building to PIC's Children’s Library. They were able to look at a wider variety of board books and in them see lots of familiar things, like dogs, cars, trucks and buses.
Literature plays a very big role in our lives and it is important to introduce it to children even before they can read or write. It is great to take family time reading books daily. Taking trips together to your neighborhood library gives young children a chance to explore more books and make their own selections. It is never too soon to encourage the love of reading.
