Your baby will become a reader if he or she finds words enjoyable, loves the play of rhyme and sound, and associates verbal activity with pleasant experiences and with someone he or she loves. Your child is likely to become a reader if she sees adults reading. • And so how can you make your baby enjoy words and rhyme and associate them with pleasant experiences? Be natural, playful, and verbal. There are thousands of little rhymes, finger games, sayings (in every language), and by children they are associated with warmth and with love. • Use rhymes for little occasions, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." Or when you're leaving, "See you later, alligator." Or "Tortillas para mama." But simple verbal play is the door into literature, and children love to play with words, as Mary Travers knew when she invented the word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," which children love to roll of their tongues.
|
