What we do with our kids age 2: Reading
A list of stories and advice on choosing great books for your little one
Story time is a great way to bond with your 2 year old.
Right now, my son is obssessed with his little cars and loves to get as much TV time as possbile, so every break from those is something I cherish. Reading time is something I remember growing up and loving it. Not only is it a fun time and a great activity to bond together, but it’s vital in development, specifically attention.
It’s a moment that your little one can focus completely on your voice and you can take the opportunity to teach new words and new images with picture books. Make it fun and do some special voices too!
Our story discoveries
We first started story time as a part of our little one’s sleeping ritual. It became so in-grained in his daily sleeping routine that he would go and grab his book right before jumping into bed.
For the first 2 weeks we kept reading the same story to him
Knock Knock Who’s There?
What was great about this book is it had repetition in the main phrase “Knock-Knock” and it was easy for him to say. We also taught him to knock on the doors of each page to make it a little bit more interactive. There are a number of different characters too, so it’s fun to switch up the voices.
We’ve since tested out different books and found a pattern of what works and what doesnt
Another Monster at the End of This Book
This book didn’t accomplish the attention grabbing we needed. He loves Elmo and Sesame Street, but the words are complicated and there arent basic concept visuals to make much of a teaching moment either. It’s a great story but I think it’s better for an older child.
Don’t Forget Dexter! (Dexter T. Rexter Book 1)
This book is fantastic. It has a little song in the way Dexter the Dinosaur talks about himself, and there are different things to point to. It’s not too long and not too short. I personally find that the stories with only a few words on each page are too small to make an event from. Ideally, the story telling should take a minimum of 5 minutes from front to back.
Rescue Squad Mater (Cars Toons)
My son LOVES Cars. But the book has little in the way of visuals to teach much. The stories are all about Mater doing different things, like being a Fire Truck and even a Doctor, but it’s one of those cases where the cover and content interests him for a few seconds and then his attention is elsewhere.
Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs : The Definitive Pop-Up
During the day we use my all-time favorite gift for all children — the Dinosaur pop-up book. This treasure is interactive, has so much content, and is a go-to for distractions and a quick reading fix or even as a toy. I can’t stress enough how amazing pop-up books are for little kids, (and for big ones too).
Prime Reading — Unlimited and Free!
One other discovery that I wanted to share has been Prime Reading with Amazon. It’s highly likely you have Amazon Prime already, and if you download the free Kindle reader on a tablet or phone, you also get access to their library which can download up to 10 different books at a time. We’ve found plenty of great books — all of which we get to read to our little one for free!
Reading time is special and there are so many books out there. Try as many as you can to find what works for your little one, and expand the experience passed bedtime. If you can instill the joy of reading from now it’ll reap benefits for you and your family for many years to come
Please share any books you have found work and I’ll add them to the article! Remember, sharing is caring :)
