Worth the read...Wall Street writer Sue Shellenbarger gives us more insight about why play is crucial to creative thinking and how our questions and support in the early years are so important.

A Box? Or a Spaceship? What Makes Kids Creative?

Watch the video "Spark Creative thinking with Math & Stories"

Why Read to Babies?

Reading is not just knowing the abc’s…it’s a habit that you can begin from birth. The term “emerging literacy” refers to the skills and habits young children develop on their way to becoming readers. From birth babies are “hard wired” to attend to faces, sounds and learn speech—three things that are all present when we cuddle up and read to babies.

Babies learn which sounds make up our language when they hear them over and over. Reading simple rhymes helps us be sure babies hear a variety of stimulating voice tones and sounds. These sounds have different meanings and that’s how we talk and share our ideas. Use large books with bright simple colors for babies under 4 months—remember babies do not see anything like adults do. Choose sturdy books that can be stood up or pulled out into one long panel.

Most babies become joyful as they hear familiar songs and rhymes because language that has a rhythm and change in voice is most interesting to them. They love when they recognize a verse and will often settle down to listen. In this way babies learn to associate books and reading with cuddling and warm feelings.

Babies as young as 4-6 months can understand that books are full of “talk” written down. A book is another way to share a playful action rhyme or conversation and once a baby can hold up his head, he’s ready to sit in an adult’s lap and touch, hold and grab a book during a story time.

By 7-9 months, babies can actually turn the stiff pages of chunky board books and actually “look’ at the pages on his own. Now a baby can listen for longer periods and even if they may not really understand a plot, some may enjoy a very short story during a “cuddle up & read” time. If you haven’t already done so, make reading a regular part of your daily schedule. Label objects in pictures, point to text, ask your baby to “turn the page,” comment on new ideas in the story, these are all ways parents and caregivers can help babies learn the way a book “works” and how we use it.

With babies 9-12 months you can begin to make reading a conversation about the pictures and the “story” even if you fill in most of the discussion. Cuddle up and ...

• Catch a baby’s attention, point to the page (Look!)
• Ask a question about the page (What do you see?)
• Wait for the baby to respond in some way, look the child in the eyes
• And then respond back in a full sentence (It’s a monkey climbing up a tree!) and read on.
  

If a baby “takes over the reading”...meaning he starts babbling, talking, or naming pictures and turning pages…enjoy it and let him do this whenever he feels the urge. Of course he’s not reading, but he is using emerging literacy skills and learning to love reading.