National Read a Book Day – 6th September 2023
National Read a Book Day is celebrated annually on 6th September. It is an annual awareness day that encourages all of us to take a break and get reading, either curled up on the sofa or with family and friends.
National Read a Book Day is a great opportunity to encourage our young people to be interested in reading, and one of the best ways to do that is to read with them. Research has shown that even ten minutes a day of reading and sharing stories with children can have a hugely positive impact on their development, both now and in the future.
Literacy is of course a key component of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The EYFS sets out that we should encourage children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension, necessary for both reading and writing, starts from birth. It develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books they read with them, as well as the rhymes, poems and songs adults and children enjoy together.
Later in a child’s development we look to develop skilled word reading. This involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words, ie. decoding; and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words.
In our Nurseries we encourage the children to enjoy our books. We will sit with the children at different times during the day to read a book together. Our team focus on bringing the books to life; encouraging the children to join in and asking them lots of questions to encourage their understanding of the stories.
