Shelly-Ann Thompson, Freelance Writer
Persons doing their book shopping for back to school at the Kingston Bookshop on King Street, downtown Kingston last year. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
IT PROMISES to be a rainy weekend. We are two Saturdays into the 2006 hurricane season and the country has been given a flash flood watch for low-lying and flood-prone areas.
Since the outdoors may be wet and gloomy and the roads hazardous, it is best to stay indoors. To keep your children entertained on the inside, Family Time recommends a story-telling and reading session.
Let the collective imaginations of everyone in the family take flight this weekend with Anancy and other tales. Verbal story-telling will add fun to an ordinary reading session. Reading together will also encourage bonding, which will keep the family warm through the rainy and chilly hours.
Storyteller Amina Blackwood-Meeks offers the following tips for reading to children:
Choice of book: select books without sexist, racist and violent statements.
Make use of voice: go high or low when necessary and for each character develop a different tone of voice.
Make use of facial expressions.
Use socks to make puppets putting an imaginary face to the characters.
Read a part of the story and allow the child to read the other so the child gets to become the character. However, parents should read the longer parts.
Set the story in different parts of the house, for
example if reading Three Little Bears, use chairs to symbolise the house.
If food is mentioned in the story then food can
be introduced.
Ensure that children and parents are in a good mood for reading. If the child says stop, then stop and pick up the story another time.
If the children want to do the reading, allow him or
her to do so.
Develop the children's imaginary and predictive skills. Ask, what do you think will happen next throughout
various sections of the story.
Here are a few recommended reading books that can
be interesting when read by parents.
Disney Read Aloud books for family sharing.
Lady Bird story books (under age 10).
Enid Blyton's story books (age five to 10).
Fairy tales such as Cinderella.
Confessions of Anancy (up to age 17) $795 at Sangster's Book Stores.
Tell Me a Story Mamma (for teens) $520 at Sangster's.
Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry (for teens) $305 at Sangster's.
Family Time wishes you an interesting and happy reading storytelling weekend with your children.
