Reading is one of the fundamental building blocks of learning and development in children, yet many families struggle to incorporate it into their daily routines. Fortunately, Home-Start Royston, Buntingford & South Cambridgeshire is making a big difference in early years reading by implementing fun and engaging activities at our Family Support Groups. By stressing the importance of books and stories early on, Home-Start is helping parents to embed reading into their family routine and to view it as a valuable tool for their child’s future success.
Building a reading routine early in life
Introducing children to books and storytelling from a young age allows parents to foster a love of reading that will benefit their child’s learning and development for years to come. To support this, we welcomed representatives from Royston and Buntingford Libraries to our Family Support Groups over the Spring term. They chatted with parents, explained how to join the library, showed us some lovely picture books for children and taught us some songs and rhymes with actions.
Through these activities, parents learned ways to support their child’s language and literacy development in a natural and enjoyable way. And by building a reading culture early on, Home-Start is helping parents to embed reading into their family routine and to view it as a valuable tool for their child’s future success.
We look forward to more collaborative work with the libraries in future, including some story-based artwork to be proudly displayed in the children’s section of the libraries in the Summer.
Promoting the value of reading from an early age
Home-Start recognises the importance of promoting the value of reading from an early age. To help with this, we have also been able to distribute Bookstart packs to every Home-Start family with a child under 5, which included 2 books and activities for our families.
It has been fun finding different ways to engage with books, songs, stories and rhymes and songs at our Family Support Groups, knowing that these all help with speech, language and literacy skills which are an integral part of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. We’ve sung about men in flying saucers and made our own to take home, had fun with feathers and fir cones to make our own owl baby nests (to go with the owl baby story), as well as creating some touchy-feely books for even the youngest children to enjoy.
All these activities have helped support children’s brain development, improve their language skills, prepare them for school and increase concentration. It helps our families develop a special bond with their children, improves imagination and creativity as well as cultivating a life-long love of reading.
Collaborating with local organisations to encourage reading
Through our collaboration with community organisations and our volunteers, Home-Start has been able to provide families with the resources they need to succeed in creating a supportive environment that fosters a love of learning and encourages children to explore the world around them.
These community partnerships are essential in ensuring that all families, regardless of their circumstances, have access to the resources they need. Home-Start understands that building a culture of learning requires a commitment from the entire community, and they are dedicated to working with schools, libraries, and other organisations to create a network of support that benefits everyone.
Local organisations and people share your experiences with our families
We are always looking for interesting topics to share with our families and create activities around. If you are part of a local organisation that specialises in family or child-oriented activities or topics and would like to come along to share your expertise at our Family Support Groups, then get in touch today. Email admin@hsrsc.org.uk or telephone 01763 262262.
Want to find out more about our Family Support Groups?
If you are a family in the SG8 or SG9 postcode area with children under 5 and would benefit from attending one of our three Family Support Groups (in Royston, Buntingford and South Cambridgeshire), give us a call today (same details as above).
