Read WITH Your Kids, Not Just TO Them
April 30, 2020
Picture this: bathtime finished, pajamas on, a book selected and your child is eager to read.
This is not a dream, I repeat, this is not a dream! It's the scene of many families that utilize Active Reading strategies when reading aloud with children.
Often we tend to read TO children, leading to a rushed reading routine with our kids running away, screaming, or completely disinterested. When we read WITH our children, we not only aid in our child’s reading development, but the dream of an engaged reader becomes reality!
Okay, okay. But How?
It starts with Active Reading. Active Reading is the strategy of reading a picture book aloud with children, asking questions, building vocabulary, and connecting to your child’s world. When Active Reading strategies are used while reading, language, vocabulary, and comprehension skills are improved. You will improve your reading routine and develop your child into a lifelong lover of reading.
Let Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Help.
Learn about Active Reading research and best practices for reading aloud with children by taking Active Reading Training through Charlotte Mecklenburg Library! Two virtual class offerings are available each week:
· Active Reading Training for Caregivers of K-3 students: Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m.
· Active Reading Training for Caregivers of 2-5 year old's: Thursdays at 2:00 p.m.
These classes are perfect for parents, caregivers, family members, teachers, instructional assistants, and more! Sign up for these classes here.
Let’s commit to reading books WITH our children.
Online Chat - Online chat refers to communication that happens over the Internet in real time. It’s like having a conversation but you’re typing what you want to say instead of speaking. When we email each other, we usually wait for a response, sometimes for days. Participants in an online chat forum typically type short questions and responses so that it resembles an in-person conversation. See below (Ask A Librarian section) for information on how to use online chat to connect with Library staff.
a Librarian
Try exploring experiments with your young scientist at home. Science Is Magic by Steve Mould is loaded with entertaining and educational ideas. The improbable nature of each experiment makes it seem like a magician’s trick, but a section on each experiment called, “The Science Part” explains exactly how and why the action happens. Mould presents natural wonders and explores the science of classic magicians and mysteries between experiments. He also includes an experiment based on scientific observation he made himself! The experiments are based around ordinary household items. Most of them can be performed by children alone, but an easily-recognized logo indicates when parental involvement might be necessary. Prepare to be amazed as you discover Science Is Magic! 
Recognizing how technology and math interact – and how they fit into the world as a whole – is crucial. 100 Things to Know About Numbers, Computers, and Coding by Alice James, Eddie Reynolds, Minna Lacey, Rose Hall and Alex Frith, helps kids develop that understanding in a fast-paced, fact-and-fun-filled way. Big, colorful infographics are sure to capture the interest of kids captivated by coding. There are even two ways to read this – in a linear fashion from Infographic 1 to Infographic 100, or by skipping around between infographics. From Pythagoras to Pascal’s Triangle to pixels, the facts presented here are sure to keep school-age kids occupied for hours. 
Even the youngest engineers are sure to love Skyscraper by Jorey Hurley. Colorful, one-word and two-page spreads chronicle the construction process from demolition to completion. A glossary at the end, complete with images, offers extra detail including exact vocabulary for all the heavy equipment and their pivotal roles in the building process. This deceptively simple, beautifully illustrated book is sure to foster fascinating conversation! 
Keep the conversation going with Which One Doesn’t Belong: Playing with Shapes by Christopher Danielson. Colorful arrays of four shapes present the questions, “Which one of these is different from the others, and why?” The book models possible thought processes for identifying the unique shape, then presents more shape sets for further consideration. With no right-or-wrong answers but lots to talk about, it works well for both one-on-one reading and whole-family interaction. In 2017, it won a Mathical Book Prize. An edition released in 2019 updates the color palate but maintains the excellent conversation-starting content.
