More Activity Ideas
- Make reading part of your daily routine. Especially for older babies, before naptime and bedtime are good times to snuggle up with your baby and a book.
- You don’t need to read all the words in a book—your baby won’t mind! Read enough to tell a story your baby will enjoy or make up your own story to go with the pictures.
- Point out the pictures in books as you read and comment on them: Look at that red fire engine! When your baby can point out pictures himself, name them for him or ask him to point to the picture that you name.
- Reading can happen without a book! Read to your baby words found on food boxes, in store windows, or on billboards, and point out the pictures. You can also “read” and point out pictures of food items in grocery store ads or as you clip coupons.
- Try different ways of reading aloud: use a puppet, do silly voices, read faster or slower, or sing the words on the page!
- There’s room for your baby and older siblings when you read together in bed or spread a blanket on the floor. Give older children a chance to choose a book they think the baby would like.
- Create little areas for reading around your home with baskets or stacks of books in the places you spend time with your baby.
- Books about animals are fun to look at and give you lots to talk about. When you read books such as Time for Bed by Mem Fox or Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann, imitate the sounds the animals make and encourage your baby to join in making the noises of animals saying goodnight.
- Bring books with you for those times you and your baby have to wait at the doctor’s office or for the bus. You can also look through magazines, newspapers, and brochures together.
- Now that your toddler is toddling, she’s eager to keep moving. Don’t worry if she won’t sit for a story. As long as she stays near you, keep reading and encourage her to come back to the book for a look at a picture or to help you turn the page. There will be times that she’s just not interested, and that’s okay, too. Notice what she is interested in instead and talk to her about it.
- Get everybody reading! Ask grandparents, siblings, relatives, caregivers, and friends to read with your toddler during visits. Your toddler will see that the people in his life value and enjoy reading—and he will too.
- Read in your home language. Share books and other reading material written in the language you know best and feel most comfortable using.
- Let your toddler “read” to you. Ask him to tell you the story from the pictures in a book.
- Read aloud with excitement. Use different-sounding voices for characters or read using a silly voice. A puppet or a favorite toy “reading” to your toddler also adds drama and interest!
- Your toddler will have her favorite books that she wants to hear over and over again, but you can also continue to introduce new subjects and types of books. Try books about families, friendship, and other relationships, nonfiction books full of information about things like animals and holidays, funny books and silly stories, books that rhyme and repeat, and books about people in the neighborhood and around the world.
- Introduce a new book to your toddler by talking about what’s on the cover. Ask, What do you think this book is about? Read the name of the author and illustrator. Explain what each one does.
- When reading favorite books, ask your toddler to tell you what happens next, or have him chime in on the parts he knows. Be sure to give him plenty of time to respond on his own.
- Take your toddler to the library. Help her choose a few books to read there and then one or two to take home. Show her how to handle library books with care. Let her have the fun of checking out a book.
- If you don’t get to finish the book, try again later. Reading may fit best into your toddler’s daily routine in small, repeated amounts.