Posted Wednesday December 23rd 2009 by Julia Damassa

Storyteller Julia Damassa was one of the stars of the recent Booktime events (you can a film of the London event here). In this blog post, Julia tells us her favourite tips for family reading.

5. Get ready for reading TOGETHER!
 
Set the setting and have some fun getting the space ready. Indoors, make a cosy corner by putting some rugs, cusions or beanbags in a circle. A piece of fabric draped over a chair magically transforms it into something special, magical. Think about the light in your room and where best the book can be read. The space, just like in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” should be, not too hot, not too cold, not too big, not too small, but just right. Somewhere peaceful, calm and quiet is best. Try not to be interrupted by the telephone and turn the telly off! Sit close together but with enough space to stretch! Reading outdoors is great too, and smells wonderful!
 
4. Make enough time for reading TOGETHER!
 
Reading together is a special and precious way to spend quality family time, so it’s worth spending some time thinking about how we prepare for it and then soon it will be second nature! 
 
15 minutes is a great time to aim for so that we can all enjoy being focused and concentrating on reading for example, MR BIG, together. Please note, it would be great if you could have set aside some time earlier to read the story to yourself and look at the pictures so you know a little about the story already.  
 
 
3. We are the role models in reading aloud for our children. So let’s demonstrate and SHARE good practice!
 
It’s up to us to make sure that we achieve the best conditions for us to communicate the story and for our families to receive it.
 
Let’s think about our voices. Have a small cup of water close by to sip. Humming a favourite tune together is the best vocal warm-up we can do, or maybe sing a nursery rhyme. Yawning is great, but try to swallow rather than cough to clear the throat. SMILE and keep smiling!!!!
 
Let’s think about how are we sitting: Sitting up straight will help our voices carry and be heard. Make, share and keep eye contact when you look up from reading. And remember to BREATHE. Pause between pages, this helps our families to grasp the story, read and turn the page too quickly and they’ll be lost. Take as long as you need between pages and show/express in your face the excitement of the ‘page turning’ as we wonder together what happens next.
 
Consider: Can we be seen and heard by everyone equally? The old adage of “Are we sitting comfortably?” is really important, so take a moment to check.
 
 
2 . Read TOGETHER: get our children involved.
 
Simple really, but our families will give us all the creative input we need and more. Reading aloud SLOWLY, pausing to breathe, is a real win-win. Not only does it help us to speak clearly but it also provides the space for us to observe and listen to what our families are thinking and doing while we are reading. So, for example, they might be playing an imaginary piano with their fingers when Mr Big plays his, or they might be looking sad when MR Big cries. It is really important that we give the time and space to include these interactions fully in the reading of the story as they are an integral part of the reading. We can copy, reflect, repeat, echo what they tell and show us. Nod, agree and accept. For these are the shapes, the colours, the patterns of the reading that make the experience of reading a published book unique and special to our own family.
 
1. Let’s celebrate our reading together.
 
It is this unique reading of an existing text that we explore when the final page is turned, the book closed and replace on the bookcase. Let’s encourage talking together about our reading of the story, what it meant to us as a family, what it meant to us individually, which part, which character we like best etc etc  Most importantly, lots of praise, encouragement and maybe even a special treat to celebrate.
 
 
Text is copyright 2009 Julia Damassa for Storyshapes Ltd.

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