How to Make Storytime a Moment of Growth for Your Child
Storytime can be a powerful tool for growth and development! Here’s how to make the most of it for your child:
1. Choose Diverse Books
Select stories that feature diverse characters and cultures. This broadens your child’s worldview and fosters understanding and empathy. Look for books that celebrate different traditions, backgrounds, and experiences. You might even challenge your child to find a book from a culture they’re not familiar with!
2. Ask Open Questions
Engage your child by asking open questions during and after the story. For example, “What would you do if you were in that situation?” This encourages critical thinking and imagination, allowing them to connect with the narrative on a deeper level. Questions like, “How do you think the character felt?” also promote emotional awareness.
3. Discuss Emotions
Talk about the characters’ feelings and motivations. Ask, “How do you think they felt?” This helps your child develop emotional intelligence and understand different perspectives. Encourage them to relate the characters’ experiences to their own feelings. You might say, “Have you ever felt like that? What did you do?”
4. Connect Stories to Real Life
Relate the themes of the story to everyday situations. For instance, if the story discusses sharing, encourage your child to share their toys with friends. This reinforces the moral lessons and helps them apply what they learn to real-life scenarios. You could also relate the story to current events or experiences in their life.
5. Encourage Creativity
After reading, invite your child to create their own ending or draw scenes from the story. This nurtures creativity and helps them connect with the material. You might even consider making a scrapbook of their favourite stories and illustrations, allowing them to express their interpretations artistically.
By making story time a moment of growth, you’re fostering learning, empathy, and creativity. Let’s create a meaningful and enriching reading experience for our children!
About Esther, The Author
I knew I wanted him to grow up understanding that both girls and boys could achieve anything that they set their minds to, but I couldn’t find any books that featured a female lead character (a human one, not an animal one!) that really represented the message I wanted to teach him. So I thought, if I can’t find the story I want to tell, I’d better write it myself.