Reading Tip in Practice: Be ENTHUSIASTIC!

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite reading tips and how I implement it into our read alouds.

Reading Tip

Read enthusiastically! Read like you want to be there. Put a little "life" into the story.

If you don't sound and seem interested in a book, how can you expect a baby or toddler to be interested?

In Practice
While this tip comes easily to those who are comfortable with little kids, I know it can be awkward (to say the least) for those who are not.

Here's my best advice for "reading enthusiastically" during a read aloud session.



DO:

1. Read the book a few times to yourself prior to reading it to your child. There's nothing worse than listening to an adult stumbling over the words in a book.
2. Find your inner actor or actress while reading - try to "become" each character as much as possible (hint: this may involve creating different voices for each character).
3. Try portray the mood with your voice.
4. Read according to the "rhythm" of the book. Some books are very sing-songy (like Dr Seuss books), so make them that way.
5. Make eye contact with your child.

DON'T:

1. Read with a monotone voice. It's a children's book, not a computer textbook.
2. Act disinterested in the story. Smile! 
3. Be shy. It's OK to look and act silly. That's what kids like! And that's also why they'll want to read the book 900 times in a row - because you made it fun.
4. Be afraid to experiment with different voices while you read. Emphasize various words. 
5. Forget to pay attention to the punctuation. If there is a exclamation point, say the words with GUSTO!

For your added enjoyment, below is a video demonstrating how I "read enthusiastically" and put a little "life" into a story. I hope you find it helpful. I *attempted* to illustrate a few of my Do's and Dont's.