1. Improve their language skills.
2. Enhance ability to concentrate on a set task for a set period of time.
3. Develop their imagination.
4. Develop their vocabulary and be able to link ideas.
5. Develop their comprehension skills.
6. Develop their cognitive skills.
7. Prepare them for academic success for when they enter school.
When reading to a child they are learning:
• To sequence events.
• To organise ideas.
• To link ideas and words (semantics).
• To speak in complete sentences.
• To use correct grammar.
Story telling skills:
• When children are young, they love books to be read over and over again. Books with repeated phrases such as the ‘Three Pigs” invites the child to join in with the story telling and it allows them to connect with books in a positive manner.
• Once children have heard stories and have learnt the sequence of events, they are more able and likely to join in the story. Fairy tales are a great place to start with young children as they have a set structure. Once the children have heard the same story a few times, then acting out the story is the next step.
Acting out the story:
• Draws on their memory as to the sequence of events.
• Encourages them to use intonation for the different characters.
• Develops their ability to use simple / complex sentences.
• Develops the correct use of grammar.
• Develops their imagination.
• Develops their social communication skills.
• Develops a positive attitude towards literature and language.
• Develops a positive bond between child and parent.
These skills are the foundation for children to excel at reading and writing.