“In order to become someone who meaningfully engages with the text, children need to be read to,” says Lisa Riggerger. “They need to see their grown ups reading in their personal lives, for delight, curiosity, discovery, and mastery. And to close the loop of building readers, children need to read in their own lives, to themselves, to their younger siblings, to grown ups, and especially to their stuffed animals!”
Lisa Riggerger explains that if reading is really in your life, the possibilities of what you can explore and where you can go are endless. “Each family should enjoy and participate in the tangible delight of bringing home a new book, opening it for the first time, and noticing the smell. As you read with your child, stop and share when they come across a word, a phrase, or a sentence where they are attracted to the imagery or the sound of the language. We all must make time to both read to children, and to listen to our children read to us.
Lisa Riggerger is the principal at Clarion School, with 12 years of leadership experience.. Prior to that, Lisa spent two years as a literacy consultant in the USA.