What Does Reading Look Like At Ages 1-4?

Age 1: Exploring The Book

At one year old, reading is all about the physical experience: - Holding the book, sometimes the right way up and other times not! - Turning pages, often several at once. - Patting, pointing and staring intently at bright pictures. - listening to your voice and associating books with comfort and joy. They may not stay for the whole story and that's completely fine. Simply just being curious about the book is the very first step.

Age 2: Finding & Sharing

By two, they will start to engage deeply with what they are seeing. - Pointing at pictures and naming what they can see. - Noticing the small details - "the bird in the tree" "the cat's fluffy ears" - Repeating familiar words, and phrases they remember. - Bringing you their favorite book, again and again! They begin to link what they see to their own life - "dog! like ours!" That connection is what reading is all about.

Age 3: Wondering & Remembering

At three, stories start to become alive in many wonderful new ways! - Remembering what happened earlier in the story. - Predicting what might happen next - "she's going to fall!" - Asking plenty of questions - What? Why? Where? About everything they see on them pages. - Retelling parts of the story in their own way and words. - Sitting for longer, following the narrative from start to finish. Sometimes the children will make up a totally different story from the pictures that they see, and this is just perfect! That's they're creativity, confidence and comprehension all growing together at once.

Age 4: Telling & Connecting

By four, they are starting to become confident storytellers. - "Reading" the book back to you from memory - Making strong connections with the book - "We went there too!" - Noticing patterns, rhymes and even the familiar letters. - Discussing how the characters in the book may feel. - Choosing their own books and sharing them with their friends. They still might pause on one or two pages, or skip ahead, but this is all okay! They are in charge of their own reading journey.

The Most Important Thing!

Before the children learn to read the words of a book, they are learning to read the world. Every page turn, every point, every comment, every made-up story, every single one is a precious step for the children and their journey in reading. It doesn't matter how fast they go, how long they stay or whose version of the story they tell. What matters the most is that the books feel like a happy, safe and wonderful place