Reading, playing, learning and exercising: How do we fit it all in?
One way is to make reading time with your young children part of their play and movement time. You don’t always have to make reading time a quiet activity.
Research has shown that children learn through moving. I think it is best said by Confucius: “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I know!”
By giving your children an opportunity to experience fun new ways to move while reading, you provide crucial connections between his/her cognitive, social, emotional and physical domains. Learning and growth occurs in these domains simultaneously, and through reading, playing, learning and exercising you provide multiple opportunities to support them all.
So how do you turn reading time into a movement moment?
For every action word, have your child perform the movement. Act like the animal mentioned; pretend to play the instruments or move like the sounds.
Have your child act out Mother Goose rhymes.
•Ex. Hey! diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
Visit the library; they have many good books that you and your children can move to.
•Martha Swirzinski, Leap… Laugh… Plop…
•Doreen Cronin, Wiggle, Bounce
•Suzanne Williams, Ten Naughty Little Monkeys
•Rebecca Whitford, Little Yoga: A Toddler’s First Book of Yoga
Look for prepositions when you read. Over, under, around, through, beside and near. When children act out these words they take on a greater meaning.
Children can even act out descriptive words. Such as: strong, big, small and loud. Ask them “What do these words look or sound like?”
Young children love to move and read so why not bring the two together and have FUN!
For more tips and activities visit these websites:
www.WholeChildPublishing.com
www.pecentral.org
By: Martha Swirzinski, M.A.
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