What are they read aloud stories, and why do we suggest them?
knowonder! stories are meant to be read aloud by a parent to their younger children. Of course, older children who already read well also love to both read them and listen to them.
The reason we strongly encourage that you read to your younger children is covered in this article. Read Aloud stories facilitate that reading in different ways than pictures books. Picture books keep a child engaged predominantly by the pictures. Read Aloud stories, on the other hand, require the child to practice and develop some very important traits: listening comprehension, imagination, concentration, and more.
One of the other great benefits of Read Alouds comes at bedtime. When you read a bedtime story to your kids, it’s almost impossible to do it with a picture book and expect your kids to stay in their beds and not look at the pictures.
But knownder! stories do just the opposite. We like to call them “imagicnation” stories. When your child lays down in bed and you begin the story, tell your child, “now close your eyes, listen to the words, and see the pictures in your head. That’s the magic inside your imagination!” Turn it into a fun game. Imagicnation time! You will be amazed at how well they do this. Not only does it promote active imagining, focusing, listening and concentration, but it also helps them settle down and fall asleep easier. Kids of all ages (even 12 year olds) love to take part in this kind of storytime, whereas they wouldn’t be interested in looking at the same picture books as the 3 year old sibling.
And of course, one of the best benefits of being involved with your child’s life in this manner is that you are being a great parent. You are taking a proactive approach and being personally involved in your children’s lives in a way that will be cemented in the minds and hearts as some of their fondest memories for years and years to come. The emotional, social and economic development that will spring from this simple activity makes it one of the most important things you can do for your child.
