Exploring stories with children to increase reading comprehension.
Settling down with your children and a storybook is an excellent way to get to know one another and to have an enjoyable and satisfying time together. Exploring a story is much more than just reading the words on a page – it’s about taking a journey together as you think and talk about the pictures, events […]
Helping children cope by using the power of stories
Have you thought how stories can offer a way of supporting children through some of life’s challenges? As they grow, children are faced with a variety of situations. Some of these may be exciting, like making new friends. But very often they can be difficult and children may need your help. There are many wonderful […]
Why ‘pretend play’ is important for children to learn to read
Have you ever tried to stop children from using their imagination? It’s one of the hardest things in the world to do! But children are not the only ones that use their imaginations regularly. Adults do too! We use it every time we solve a problem, have an idea, enjoy reading, watch a movie, make […]
Should my child re-read storybooks?
What is the thing you enjoy doing most in your free time? Do you enjoy doing it again and again? Is there a book that you have read over and over again because it is so satisfying? Well, it’s completely natural for all adults and children to want to repeat things that give them pleasure […]
Easy ways to tell stories to children
People have told stories for centuries to explore ideas and make sense of their experiences. In fact, sharing stories is as natural to human beings as eating and sleeping! Some of the stories we tell today have been passed down from generation to generation, while others are new ones that we create ourselves. Making time […]
Children’s storytelling activities to enrich and engage minds
Here are some activities to do with children that can be lots of fun and deepen and extend their experiences of the stories you tell them. Some of the ideas are suitable for all ages, while others are better suited to older children. You might like to choose one or two activities to do with […]
How reading stories helps children master science
Did you know that when children read stories it helps them develop ways of thinking that are important for success in science? To be a scientist, you need to be able to ask “what if” questions, make informed guesses and then test these guesses. Children need lots of opportunities to develop this kind of thinking […]
Retelling fairytales: Giving old folk stories a South African spin!
When you hear the word “fairy tale”, what stories do you think of? We all know some fairytales, folktales, or intsomi. Whether they were home-grown here in Africa or come originally from Europe, these are the magical stories with strange, out-of-this-world characters like fairies, tokoloshes, giants, monsters, elves and witches that we love to hear and […]
The importance of home languages in learning to read
We all have at least one language that we understand and communicate best in, although some of us may have more! People use different labels for this language − like “mother tongue” or “home language” − but it is the language we learnt first. It’s the language we think and feel in, the one in […]
Promoting literacy at home
What do you use reading and writing for? Do you use it mostly at work, to study or perhaps to organise and run your home life? You might even be lucky enough to find some time to relax and read too. Literacy is a right that should be enjoyed by all of us, but there […]
