Happy TigerKubz family spending quality time together reading aloud on couch sharing a storybook with toddler and preschooler

We are a proud partner of Read Aloud 15 to help remind parents of the importance of daily reading aloud starting at birth. For just 15 minutes a day, you can make a difference. According to Read Aloud, research shows that reading aloud the single most important thing you can do to help a child prepare for reading and learning. Birth to age 3 are critical years in the development of language skills. You help grow vocabulary and knowledge for your child. You can start reading aloud with the Read Aloud’s 21 Day Challenge. With that said, I’ll introduce you to an interactive read aloud Readatron-15 activity from Read Aloud and this can be part of your ‘read aloud’ curriculum.

What is Readatron-15

Readatron-15’s role is to show you how important reading skills are for child’s success in school. It is to help remind you that how beneficial reading is for child’s mind. It shows important it can be for subjects such as art and music as well. You’re building readiness that comes all together. Be consistent and make it fun. And reading doesn’t have to be a book, it can be anything. Remember that you are your child’s first and most important teacher.

Interactive Read Aloud
I grew up in the 80’s and my favorite shows as a kid were usually about robots, and often ones that combined using their unique abilities to create one big robot to defeat evil. It is time to think about that same level of unity ” – Bryan of Read Aloud

Assembling The Paper Robot

Download the Readatron-15 Paper Robot Activity From Read Aloud Here

You can also find more Read Aloud’s activities at their site as well.

Interactive Read Aloud Is Important For Kids and Preschoolers

How many books should I read to my toddler a day?

How many books should I read to my toddler a day? I get this question a lot from parents. The rule of thumb is to read for at least 15 minutes a day. Because books vary in length, there isn’t a magic number for the number of books you need to read to your toddler.

You know the saying, quality over quantity? That applies to reading too! Going by how many minutes to read a day instead of how many books is a better gauge. The quality of the reading time matters. Quality of reading does not mean choosing the perfect book, but the engagement during reading. Are you pointing out things in the picture, making predictions, talking about the story, or relating it back to your toddler’s experiences? Engagement during reading helps toddlers build vocabulary, comprehension, and expands their world to new ideas.

I mentioned before that a quality book doesn’t mean the best book – because every person has their own preference, including our toddlers! The best books to read to your toddler are about topics they are interested in (e.g., dinosaurs, cars, trains). If you are looking for new books to add to your collection, you can never go wrong with classics that have stood the test of time. You’ll know they are interested in the book when they ask to read books over and over again. If you read their favorite book repeatedly every day for at least 15 minutes a day, you are already on a roll!

For a starter list of popular children’s classics, look for these books in your local library or at the book store:

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle
  • The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
  • The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown (click here for free book-based activity ideas)
  • Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
  • Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
  • Pete’s a Pizza by William Steig (click here for free book-based activity ideas)
  • Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
  • If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Sure, reading the same book can get repetitive for parents, but with every reading, children may be picking up on new themes and ideas. This is how we build reading comprehension!

Next time, don’t worry about how many books you should be reading to your toddler each day. Instead, focus more on the quality of your reading time and aim to read for at least 15 minutes.

How Many Books Should I Read to My Toddler a Day?