Reading the Same Old Book (Again)!

This week we were talking on the gram (do people still say that) about the benefits of re-reading the same stories with your little babe. Some of the tips we included were:

• Helps with word recognition & Vocabulary
• Provides a good basis for future learning environments 
• Improves comprehension & confidence

So basically reading The Rabbit Listened for the 104953462939 time is perfectly okay. But on an honest note, I could read and re-read this story every night because I still love it that much. Here’s what each of those tips mean for you. 
    Familiarity 
Exposure to the same thing over and over again helps their growing brains retain new information for longer periods of time. Basically the message of the book gets easier to understand each time. 
    Word Recognition 
Hearing the same words over and over helps them learn new words. Listening to the rhythm and pronunciation of words helps build their vocabulary. It introduces the phonetic sounds of words which helps them understand how to pronounce it. Also, the visual representation of the word which is the very basis for learning to read. 
    Improves comprehension 
Each reading of the same book provides more insight. It allows your little babe to add another layer of understanding the story’s narrative and characters. With each read, your little babe is forming thought patterns, beliefs and making connections to themselves and the world around them. They are processing the information differently with each read. Cool eh? 
    Future Learning Environments 
Reading can help reduce stress, and if you’ve ever watched your toddler try do something on your own, you know it can be a stressful time for all. So yay for reading the same books and reducing stress. It can help promote self-confidence with their early learning skills helping them take risks and persevere when learning to read as they get older. 
      Well! Here you have it. There are many benefits to re-reading the same story. I’m not sure it will make reading that one favourite for the thousandth time any better, but maybe just knowing a few of the benefits of repeated exposure, will help keep you sane tonight at bedtime!

---