All Hands on Book!

Some children are tactile learners—they learn by touching and feeling. This is your child if you are constantly wiping off finger prints from every surface in your home. Go with it. Let your child absorb the feel of a book, the pleasure of turning a page. 

Try not to be upset if your child’s eager fingers take their toll on a book. Tape the page. And then move on. (Invest in lots of invisible tape so you have it on hand.) A book is not a museum piece, but a favorite object and is meant to be used. If your child is a hands-on learner, let it be. However, if your child is intentionally acting in a destructive way toward a book, you will want to point out that books deserve respect.  

If a book is a little worse for wear at the hands of an enthusiastic reader, consider it a good thing. Nearly all books are replaceable, but your child’s enthusiasm is priceless.

Book Action!

Some children are tactile learners—they learn and explore by touching and feeling. You may recognize that this term describes your child if you are constantly wiping tiny finger prints from every surface in your home. 

When it comes to reading, go with it. 

Let your child absorb the feel of a book. The action of pulling, pointing, turning, zipping, tracing, engages your child's interest. Try not to be upset if your child’s eager fingers take their toll on the book. Tape the pages and move on. (Invest in lots of extra invisible tape so you have it on hand!) 

A book is not a museum piece, but a favorite object that is meant to be used and actively enjoyed. Of course, you don't want to encourage your child to pull or tear pages. But if a book is a little worse for wear, consider it a good thing. Books are replaceable; your child’s enthusiasm for a book is priceless.

Signs of Love

A designer I have worked with told about her son’s favorite books that bore strips of tape to keep ripped pages in one piece. Some pages were taped to the binding as well. While she lamented the fact that perhaps the binding of the book wasn't strong enough, her real reaction was beautiful. She was thrilled that her son had read and reread and loved these books.  What she expressed was that he had turned the pages so many times—out of love—and that was the important thing. So when pages get torn or smudged, and bindings get broken, use your tape. And be grateful that your child has found such pleasure from turning the pages of his beloved books.

Snowbound?

Are you snowbound or perhaps just getting weary of too much indoor time with your preschooler? This could be a good time to do some housekeeping. Do some rearranging and organization to set up a comfortable reading corner with big comfy pillows. Straighten out the contents of bookshelves. Let your preschooler help you organize his books, whether by topic, size, or even color. Going through odd piles of books may even reveal some old and forgotten favorites.

A Little TLC

Teach your preschooler to care for her books and treat them with respect. Model how to take care of books by closing them properly--not open and face-down. Show your child how easy it is to mark your place with a bookmark, and how to carefully turn a page. That being said . . . many well-loved books will show signs of wear. If your child has tugged too enthusiastically at a pop-up tab or ripped a page in the act of turning it to find out what happens on the next page, don't worry. Mend the book and move on. That’s why clear tape was invented. In years to come, when you and your child revisit her favorite childhood books, the mended pages will be a sweet reminder of time spent reading together.

Shelve It

Smooth the way to a happy reading routine by making sure you can easily find the books you and your preschooler love to read. Preschoolers are notorious for lacking patience and, if you can’t get your hands on that one book your child is craving at that very moment, you might lose her attention. Check out this blog post for some simple, clever, and inexpensive ways to organize and store books: http://beginningreadinghelp.blogspot.com.