Here in the U.S. we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month every year from September 15th to October 15th, and for our Mexican/Ecuadorian/American family it’s a chance to be super intentional about how we are celebrating latinidad with our kids. But you don’t have to be Hispanic or Latinx/e to appreciate the incredible contributions of Latin@s!
Dialogic reading is all about sharing a conversation with your child about the text you’re reading aloud. It helps children build their vocabularies and develop what experts call “verbal fluency” — the ability to speak clearly and retrieve words and other information from memory at will.
Picture this scenario: you invite your child to sit with you in the coziest chair in your house. You open up what you consider to be a fantastic children’s book and enthusiastically begin to read it aloud. Your child sits with you for a minute or two, but then gets up and walks into another room.
If you are a parent fluent in two languages, you have the uniquely wonderful opportunity to positively influence your child’s life by sharing the gift of bilingualism! Check out these tips designed to help you raise an enthusiastic reader.
So much magic and joy can ensue when siblings share their love of books with one another, even if they are in different developmental stages and, therefore, at different reading levels. Besides, it is heartwarming for parents to witness their children bonding—especially over a stack of excellent children’s books.