March is National Reading Month! I know this mostly applies to grade school kids, but I truly believe it is important to instill a love for reading in our little learners, and with a few fun ideas they can appreciate National Reading Month too. Reading to young children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and teaches them kindness and empathy. One of the most beautiful parts of my day as a SAHM is laying in bed reading to my child right before he nods off to sleep. Regardless of how everything has unfolded up until that point, we end the day connected. In honor of March and our commitment to reading, we’ve come up with 6 Ways to Celebrate National Reading Month with Preschoolers for you and your littles to enjoy.
Dr. Seuss’s Birthday
How timely that we celebrate Dr. Seuss at the very beginning of March! Dr. Seuss’s birthday and hence, National Reading Day is March 2nd. Here are some easy ways to use food to interact with the storylines and characters in some of Seuss’s classics!
- Make Green Eggs and Ham using green food coloring (Green Eggs and Ham)
- Goldfish for snack time (One Fish Two Fish)
- “Hop on popcorn” for snack time (Hop on Pop)
- Animal Crackers for snack time (If I Ran the Zoo)
- Cat in the Hat fruit kabobs using strawberries and bananas on a skewer (The Cat in the Hat) For Tips Click Here!
- See how many apples you can stack to make a tower then consume! (10 Apples up on Top)
Host a Book Swap
This is a really fun way to get friends involved in the power of reading! Have your child’s playmates come over and bring their favorite reads for a book swap. Have the kids trade and barter for new books. They can read aloud to each other and converse about their favorite parts.
Listen to an Audiobook on Librivox
The best part about Librivox is that it is FREE! With this awesome app, you can listen to books from the children’s section on the go. Search for specific titles or browse over 50,000 audiobooks. Perfect for a long car ride or if its a busy day at home. The books are read by volunteers from around the world!
Rearrange Bookshelf & Donate Books
What better way to teach the value of giving and donation than cleaning out that old, dusty bookshelf. Find a school, church, library, used book store, or shelter that is accepting book donations and drop off used or old books that the kids have grown out of or no longer read. On several occasions I’ve found multiples of the same book on our shelves that I didn’t know we had! Reorganization can be a fun project as well. Help your child organize the books in some type of order. It could be alphabetical, color coded, old to new, favorites first, etc.
Visit the Local Library
Obviously, the local library is a glorious resource for all things reading. Liberate your kids by allowing them to peruse the children’s book section and pick out a few titles that appeal to them. They will especially enjoy the autonomy and freedom of choosing their own. You can also participate in a read aloud session hosted by the library if available. Teach your littles how to find books using the library catalog system.
Dress Up as or Make Character Craft
I’ve noticed that each time I introduce a new book and create a corresponding craft with my preschooler, he really connects with the material! He also loves getting into character and dressing up. Below we made hats for Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat but feel free to get creative!
