Child Care Answers - Blog

We all understand that reading books is one of the most important things you can do to help kids become readers themselves. Since many times you are caring for kids at different developmental levels, today’s activity will demonstrate the best way to be able to adapt a book for kids of different ages.

What We Learn
Literacy skills Listening skillsTaking turns
Supply List
Books
How-To
The first step is to identify a book that is interactive and interesting to the group of children under your care. Choose books about people, places and things that are familiar to your children – ones that are culturally relevant and related to the interests of the children. Books that have pop-ups or lift-up flaps are really great since a child can interact with the book. Begin by introducing the book to the group. Talk a little bit about what the book is about so children will know what to expect from it. Next, set limits on how the kids will participate. Allow kids to participate one at a time. For example, the older kids can walk up to the book when it’s their turn and participate by lifting up a flap or turning the page to the next pop-up. Even if the book doesn’t have pop-ups or flaps to lift up, you can still make the book interactive. If some of your kids are old enough, perhaps they can take turns reading a sentence or two from the book. If they can’t read, maybe they can take turns making sounds relating to the characters and noises in the book. For a book such as “The Wheels on the Bus” by Paul O. Zelinsky, you can add interactive elements to the story by making simple traffic signs, such as “Stop” or “Go” which the kids can use during story time. Remember, making reading time fun will help kids want to learn to read on their own, so repeat the interactive book-reading experience as often as possible.