Quality Children’s Literature Benefits Your Child
There are several key ways that quality children’s literature benefits your child: it teaches mature vocabulary,brings history to life, and stimulates and expands your child’s imagination.
Gaining New Vocabulary
Children who read classic literature develop their abilities to absorb mature vocabulary and to learn subtle differences in synonyms, a skill that is not easily taught from a memorized vocabulary list or SAT preparatory course. Classic children’s literature contains a wealth of good words and enables children to experience words in profound and complex ways and within a multitude of contexts.
Introducing children and young adults to mature vocabulary from a young age is the only real way to teach SAT vocabulary, not by late catch-up memorization of mass produced word lists, but through a child’s inundation in a beloved work of art. And not only does quality children’s literature help develop your child’s vocabulary, but historical literature is also the best way to bring history to life.
Bringing History to Life
Nothing brings history to life better than reading quality children’s literature about what life was like during a particular time period. Although the facts learned in textbooks are very important, your child more easily grasps a true understanding of the life and hardships of a time period through a historical character’s dilemmas,thoughts and feelings.
Children tend to easily forget facts and details learned strictly from textbooks, while they are apt to remember an engaging story and history learned through immersion in literature. An understanding of history is an important part of your child’s education and the use of historical children’s literature in addition to textbook learning is essential.
Developing a Child’s Imagination
Quality children’s literature not only develops vocabulary and an understanding of history,it encourages a child’s imagination. Some of the best examples are the books that both you and your child find engaging — a story that appeals to a deeper, universal aspect of imagination and human nature. Quality children’s literature is a great way to spark creative thinking.