If there's one small thing a parent or carer can do to help their baby's literacy in future years, it is to provide access to lots of stories from a very young age. There are huge benefits in sharing books, with the adult reading and the child snuggling up to listen, but there's another gem that brings so many benefits; regular access to audiobooks.
Do you remember those cassette tapes that came with a story book and when there was a tinkle sound, you needed to turn the page? Perhaps you are not as old as me and had story CDs or even a box or device that could play stories.
Maybe audiobooks weren't something you had access to or didn't enjoy. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of audiobooks as an adult - I just can't seem to concentrate for a whole chapter, though I'm getting into podcasts a little more now.
When my children were little, we had a CD player in the car and played story CDs on most journeys, until they knew the words and could retell favourite stories word for word! I'd even find the stories still playing when I'd dropped the children at nursery and forgotten to change back to the radio! These were our favourites by Julia Donaldson and they even had a catchy song at the end of each story: https://amzn.to/3UJyASe
The benefits of audiobooks
At the time, I didn't really see just how beneficial the story CDs were but then when I thought about it, I realised the value of listening to audiobooks with little ones. I often describe it as connecting them to language on a drip! Audiobooks are the things I recommend the most often in my work and a short while ago, I was invited to talk about audiobooks in the early years with James Tunnell from Nursery Nook Coaching, Training and Consultancy. https://www.facebook.com/nurserynook
Some of the many benefits of audiobooks for little ones include:
Stories are a calming influence. They take us to another place in our minds and ignite the imagination. A friend of mine used to take her baby out in the car late at night if she wouldn't settle and always played a Julia Donaldson CD which helped!
They provide a wealth of vocabulary; far more than we can expose children to without books.
Sentence structures and language features are included in stories that we might not necessarily use on a day to day basis, exposing children to a variety of ways of creating speech and writing.
Some stories are funny so they raise a smile.
They help children to develop empathy.
Stories create connections in the brain by linking to real life experiences; even better if an adult is there to verbalise that connection, too. For example, George the Giant in The Smartest Giant in Town goes to a shop and there's a bell on the door. The adult listening with the child can talk about a time when they went to a shop and there was a bell to let the shopkeeper know that someone has entered - even better if the child has been to a shop like that, too!
They can be played in the background whilst children are busy pottering with toys. My children used to listen while playing with Lego, and my daughter has continued to listen to The Famous Five (on repeat!) whilst she's doing other things in her room. She even pronounces some words in the way Jan Francis does as she's heard them so often!
Have I convinced you to try them yet? At the bottom of this post, you'll find ways of accessing audiobooks and some are free!
Repetition is amazing
It's very common for children to want the same story to be read to them again and again; you know the one - it's the one you least like - for me it was 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt.' I grew to love that story and used it a lot in my classes but I did sigh internally when it was placed on my lap for the hundredth time! By repeating the same story, we are enabling connections in the brain to be strengthened and a child's understanding to be developed. Over and over again, children hear the same sentences and words, and they may start to use them in their speech, especially if you do, too. I'd often say things like "You go ahead, and I'll follow after." from The Gruffalo story. Placing the words into context outside of the stories brings them to life, adding meaning and understanding on the next repeat of the story itself. For a few weeks, my son was saying, "I'm not a baby!" I then realised he'd got this from one of the Jill Murphy books about a family of elephants known as the Large family. You'll find these books here: https://amzn.to/42GLBhh
Nursery rhymes have their benefits, too
How many nursery rhymes can you remember? We don't need to remember them forever but they have so many advantages for children who learn a few when they are young. They don't need to know that Ring O' Roses was about people dying from the plague or that vinegar and brown paper wouldn't really have fixed Jack's head when he tumbled down that hill, but they'll learn so many different words, that might come in handy later.
When I taught reception and the baseline assessment was new, one of the programmes we used at the start of the year asked children to point to images on the screen. When asked to point to a pail, one child in the class pointed to the bucket on the screen - recalling the pail of water that Jack and Jill were fetching from that hill! The same child grasped the phonics sounds quickly and was reading in no time.
Mem Fox said that 'If a child knows eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they are four years old, they are usually among the best readers and spellers in their class by the time they are eight.' It's true! Many children who know nursery rhymes when they start school do find reading and writing easier when they get a bit further through primary school. The nursery rhymes themselves fade away but these children can do many things such as:
Identify and say rhyming words.
Recall lines from rhymes; before the end of their reception year, they'll need to say a sentence, remember it and write it down.
Use rhythm.
Use a range of words you don't hear in everyday speech.
Enjoy singing rhymes and songs.
Concentrate for the length of the rhyme.
Play with sounds in words.
Playing nursery rhymes in the car works just as well as playing stories - if you can bear them. I had a nursery rhyme CD in my car and used to skip past 'I am the Music Man, I come from far away...' as I really didn't like it. That was until my sister looked after my little boy and borrowed the CD! He found the Music Man song and it became his favourite for a year or so! Before this, he got in the car and said 'ower, ower.' For a few weeks we were puzzled over what he meant until it clicked one day; he wanted to hear 'Ten in the bed' - 'ower' was 'roll over!'
What about the alphabet song?
Did you know that one of the common alphabet songs, probably the most common in the UK and USA, has the same tune as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? Well, this one is great for children to learn but also has a major pitfall that can last for a number of years. I come across lots of children in Key Stage 2 (years 3 to 6 in primary school) who think LMNOP is one letter as these blur together in the song.
When my son was two, he sat in the trolley in the supermarket and sang the alphabet song, "A B C D E F G, H I J K LMNOP..." A lady passing by thought it was great that he could do that when he was so little but though he had learnt the tune and the sounds, he didn't know the alphabet as he was unaware of what he was singing about. It's still good to learn this song, but adults should emphasise the L M N O P as separate letters, to help to demonstrate the discrimination between them.
Children are introduced to sounds first, and when letters are taught (usually in reception or towards the end of nursery), they are lower case. The capital letter names in the alphabet aren't introduced until later, perhaps towards the end of reception or even into year 1. This is when the alphabet song starts to make more sense to children.
Here's another good one, with separate L M N O P: https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/listen-watch/songs/alphabet-song
The impact of audiobooks on comprehension
Audiobooks can develop a child's comprehension far above the books they can read to themselves. When children start to read words, sentences and short books, these are usually designed to match the phonics sounds they've learnt so far. This is why 'Pin it on' is one of the early book titles in one particular phonics scheme. These books don't stretch the imagination, they enable word reading.
During this early reading stage, it's really important to continue sharing books and keep providing access to audiobooks. Just because a child can't read the words doesn't mean they have less understanding. They will enjoy stories at their level of comprehension if they can listen to them, as this removes the stress of word reading and makes the story more enjoyable. The more words they hear, the more they'll be able to read them when they meet them in books later.
When learning to read is extra tricky
Learning to read is hard. It takes good teaching, lots of practising, and many other skills are drawn in to get through a book. Audiobooks can be like magic for struggling readers or those with a learning difference that means accessing books is difficult. There are charities that support this by providing easy access to audiobooks. Calibre Audio and Listening Books are two that I know of. You can listen to more information about how audiobooks can benefit lots of different people in this podcast from The SENDcast: https://www.thesendcast.com/the-benefits-of-audiobooks/
So, if there's one small thing a parent or carer can do to help their baby's literacy in future years...it's to introduce them to audiobooks. Try them and see!
Where to access audiobooks for children
There are so many options!
A Tonie Box is a cute way of enabling little ones to choose their own stories. You could start with familiar characters like Peppa Pig or Bluey, then sneak in less known characters linked to other books, like Paddington. Here's the link to a range of options: https://amzn.to/42Jk3ro
We filled an old iPod with stories for our son and this worked well with a set of children's headphones. You could do this with a phone but then there's the risk of children accessing lots of other things instead of stories!
Audible is probably the most popular streaming service but you do need to pay. You can start a free trial here: https://amzn.to/3SBlZxq
You can access some stories on Amazon Storytime on Alexa. Most are told in American accents which is not a problem at all but you might hear your child speaking in a similar way!
Did you know you can access free audiobooks through your local Library? In North Yorkshire, we can access BorowBox and this is brilliant! It's free to join the library and there are often events for children. They can have their own library card and borrow real books, too.
CDs are still available, if you have a CD player. Here are some top picks:
Julia Donaldson set: https://amzn.to/3UJyASe
Hairy Maclary stories (brilliantly read by David Tennant): https://amzn.to/3I72qZf
Paddington set: https://amzn.to/48njzZa
Jill Murphy set: https://amzn.to/42GLBhh
Mixed book and CD set: https://amzn.to/3urRl1O
Another mixed set: https://amzn.to/3wmRzaY
For later:
Roald Dahl stories: https://amzn.to/3OS5YlN
David Walliams stories: https://amzn.to/3OKVNzi
Don't forget your headphones! https://amzn.to/42QUJzR
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