When you read to your little ones, you open up new worlds for them. What better gift to give a child, than worlds full of dinosaurs, knights and pirates or whatever they love (can you tell I am a boy mom?) The more you read, the more their own love for reading grows. Books are truly magical. I love how they can transport you to new places whenever you like. They are an escape at any age.
Experts do recommend that you start reading to your babies right away. Not only to develop their love of reading, but to help their own creativity and imagination grow and to help broaden their vocabulary. Kids that are read to have a better understanding of sound recognition which will help with their speech as well.
So read to your littles. Make it a daily habit. You can read before nap, before bedtime or both. You can set up a time in the middle of the day to cuddle up and read a story to break up the day if you have some time on these crazy days of motherhood. Create your own circle time where you can make it a fun activity. Have books they can reach anytime wherever you can. However you do it READ! Soon enough, they will be reading for themselves and still loving it!
One of my favorite things to see is my boys sitting in their rooms, “reading” a story to themselves. They have not quite learned how to read just yet (getting closer!), but they thumb through the pages and tell themselves or each other a story, it’s super cute and makes this book loving mama as happy as can be.
Another very important and beneficial way to foster the love for books is to take them to a storytime. There are so many places in Austin where you can do just that. You can even find different language story times for kids at your local library. Taking them to any of these special story times shows them that other kids love to read, too. It also introduces them to books that you may not have at home and helps them develop relationships with other people.
Want to find a storytime near you? We have compiled a list of places for you. If you have any to add, please let us know.
Here are the libraries you can find around town:
- Bee Caves Public Library
- Cedar Park Public Library
- Laura’s Library
- Lake Travis Community Library
- Pflugerville Public Library
- Round Rock Public Library
- Wells Branch Community Library
- Westbank Community Library
And Here Other Fabulous Storytimes:
- Barnes & Nobles has special storytimes all month long
- French Legation Museum has a Storytime every 1st Thursday
- Interactive Storytime at Baby Earth
- Saturday Storytime at BookPeople
- Story Time With Dr. Candra at Brilliant Star Toys & Books
- Storytime Sundays at Half Price Books
- Thinkery has daily storytimes throughout the day.
- What’s the Story Steve? at ColdTowne Theater
What are your favorite storytimes around Austin?
