Reading aloud for preschool children

Experts agree: reading aloud makes you smart. If growing children are read to regularly, they are more successful at school. Parents can contribute a lot to this. While you're snuggled up together on the sofa, immersed in foreign worlds, your child is acquiring important skills for kindergarten and school. Language skills improve, the ability to concentrate is trained and the little ones learn to empathize with other people. In this article, we have compiled tips for you. So reading aloud becomes a feel-good time for parents and children.

• Joint reading time creates a sense of security and closeness: Children like to look at picture books and listen to stories together in a cozy atmosphere. And for parents, too, it is often a time of relaxation.
• Reading aloud expands your child's vocabulary and expressive ability.
• Children get more understanding of other children and people. They learn from their heroines and heroes about friendship, frustrations and joys. This makes it easier to get along in groups.
• Reading aloud prepares for the start of school: Children who have been read to have proven it easier to learn to read and write later in school.

Don't be inhibited if you yourself never liked reading aloud in front of the class at school. You don't need professional training for quality time with your child! Here are a few ideas for you on how to make stories come alive. You'll find it's great fun:

• Play with your volume by getting really quiet at times, then louder again, to match the text.
• Just adjust your voice once. Talk higher or lower, make appropriate sounds.
• Build in pauses, wait a moment and only then continue reading.
• Tell quiet times freely to the picture and ask your child what he sees.
• Curious intermediate questions are allowed at any time. Be happy that the story appeals to your child, and respond to your child before you continue with the story.

• Find a suitable time and make reading aloud a fixed ritual. In many families, it's hard to imagine life without the "bedtime story." For parents, it can be a good opportunity to catch your own breath. At the same time, your child can snuggle up with mom or dad one more time before going to sleep. The sofa or soft carpet can also be good places to read aloud. The main thing is cozy!
• How much time do you want to schedule? Children often can not get enough of reading aloud. Therefore, it is good if you set a time slot for reading aloud. If possible, no one should disturb you during this time. Make reading aloud your quality time together!
• Choose a book suitable for the age of your child, so that he can understand the content well.

As nice as reading aloud together is, sometimes there just isn't enough time. Fortunately, reading or listening still doesn't have to be completely cancelled. There is a wide selection of audio stories for children on the Internet. Here are some examples with stories of different lengths:

• Ear Bear for children ages 3 and up (about six to ten minutes)
• Betthupferl for children from 3 years (five to ten minutes)
• The mouse to listen for children from 4 years (60 minutes)