22 Months Olds and the Joy of Books- Molly Shelton

Throughout my life, I have had many influential events when it comes to literacy and teaching. Hopefully, my own literacy experiences as a student, as well as being a teacher, will help me learn more about how I can teach and motivate my future students to learn and enjoy literacy.

One of the most recent influential literacy events that I have experienced is the connection of literacy and infants. Currently I am a nanny for 22 months old twins. I have been babysitting the babies since they were 6 months old. Within the past 4 months, I have noticed how fascinated these babies are with books. The babies are knewly talking (they have about 50 words in their vocabulary) but one of their favorite words is "read". They will both grab a book and crawl into my lap saying "read, read!!" It is so wonderful to see this come from such young children.

We spend most of our time together reading stories (their choice). When reading the stories to the babies, they will often repeat what I say or say the proceeding word before I do. This shows me that they have read these books multiple time with their parents. Although they do not talk much, they have developed such wide vocabulary due to their frequent reading. I am able to say "where is the house" and they will respond by pointing to the house. They will often try to repeat the word.

Other thing that shows that these tots are often being read to is their awareness of reading a book right side up and flipping the pages from front to back. Even without me, they will sit and "read" to themselves.

All of this shows me how important it is to introduce literature to children at a young age. I am confident to say that if these little ones continue their love for books through elementary school, they will excel beyond belief. It also shows me that we learn from what we are exposed to. This family has bookshelf after bookshelf of children's books in their home. Having these resources grants these opportunities. Seeing this effect encourages me to have many, many enjoyable books in my classroom for the students pleasure.