Reading should be a part of every child and parent’s daily activities and can be something fun that parents can enjoy with their kids. To celebrate reading and improving self-discovery, Future Nation Schools is hosting Cosi Cosi Days at their schools.
Due to its African-based education focus as well as the concept of loving all things African, Future Nation Schools have adopted monthly Read Aloud Days, which is an international initiative started in hope of helping to reach the worldwide target to read to 1 million children, one story at a time. The schools have given the initiative an African twist and named it Cosi-Cosi Days, which translates to ‘Once Upon a Time’ in the Nguni languages.
Reading can sound like hard work and something you don’t want to be doing after a long day after work. Children might see it as a chore and something that may be boring, but here are some tips on how to make reading exciting!
Tips on how to making reading fun and interesting
- Create a cozy spot for your reading time with your child
- Reading aloud is fun for children, especially when mom or dad use different voices for each character – it’s a way to build vocabulary, attention skills, and comprehension, as well as, perhaps most importantly, a love of reading
- Let your child help you choose the book you will be reading together – this will get them excited and keep them interested
- Point out the pictures in the book as you read – this allows them to understand and connect to the story
- Help your child realise that reading pertains to more than just books – encourage them to get their hands on everything they can, including comics, cereal boxes and kid-friendly websites.
- For birthdays and holidays, give your children books, just as you would a toy – everything looks better with a bow on it!
- Leave your kids’ books next to their beds. If you encourage them to read for a few minutes each night, they’ll be polishing off books in no time. Even if they’re old enough to read to themselves, consider reading out loud to them too. After all, what’s better than a bedtime story?
- Help your kids sign up for a library card – not only will they feel more grown up, but they’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and possession over their reading abilities.
- Turn a trip to your library or local bookstore into an anticipated event, and you never know, your little ones might even beat you to the car.
Future Nation Schools would like to invite everyone to join them on every second week of the month on Fridays to enjoy African folk-tales and to educate children about their roots and lineages.
