As much as of "re-education" that God is giving me on Child development, there are still always things that only reinforce what I've learned in college. For example, when learning about literacy for children, we learn about the types of books that are appropriate for children (colors, amount of words, durability, etc.) during different stages of development. Even more specifically, good stories ("good" as far as christian books are concerned, will be quality books that give solid truths) that will promote an interest in reading (more specifically God's word) .
When trying to give children a lifetime interest in reading, you start with story-telling or reading aloud (b/c they can't read yet), and though you don't have to be an amazing story teller for children to enjoy stories, there are some things you can do to keep their attention. Obviously, your tone & voice inflection is important. It was always repeated to us J REPEITION builds confidence in little readers. Saying the same story the same way with the same pauses, and same exclamations really help. As they start to tell the story by memory with you, they will feel like they are story-telling as well and look forward to the story if they can know what is coming next. You may even hear them around the corner going through each page and saying the story the same way you do. Then there is movements and even props that sometimes help keep kids attention for books.
Reading stories and rhymes are probably one of my favorite things to do with preschoolers! If you are trying to teach your toddler God's word go to 7 Ideas for Teaching Toddlers God's Word by Desiring God. Some of the things I mentioned are in there, plus more! Another good idea that would get children interested in God's word is having a Bible story-book on tape/CD that they could listen to in the car or when they wake up or when they go to bed. The Jesus Story Book Bible Deluxe pack comes with a CD to follow each of the stories.
Good points about how to read to kids!
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