The Importance of Sharing Stories

Thursday 5th March is World Book Day which this year is about sharing a million stories. Sharing stories, is not only a brilliant way to bond with your children and help their learning, it is also hugely benefi cial to their mental health and wellbeing. Reading together for just 10 minutes a day can have a huge impact. Studies have shown that those who read for pleasure have higher levels of self-esteem and a greater ability to cope with diffi cult situati ons. Reading for pleasure was also associated with bett er sleeping patt erns which is why sharing a story at bedti me is recommended. Stories are also a great way for children to learn about feelings and moods. You can discuss how characters feel and behave in diff erent scenarios which can be very useful when trying to explain real life situati ons to a child. Reading together supports a child to develop their communicati on skills. Listening to diff erent words and sounds from an early age, parti cularly rhymes, help children to develop early literacy skills. This is very useful when they begin to learn to read and write themselves. Northamptonshire County Council Statutory Libraries will be holding special acti viti es for World Book Day and they all provide weekly Rhymeti me sessions to support parents and children with early learning. Some libraries also off er play sessions. The Weekly Acti viti es Timetable in the back of this magazine lists some of the acti viti es taking place in local libraries. For a more comprehensive list visit: www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/whatson or like your library’s facebook page. You can also follow them on twitt er: @Library_Plus.

Arti cle by Jo Hoyer from Northamptonshire Libraries and Informati on Service www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/libraryservice