Learning and Teaching 

Dear parents and carers...

You make a difference to your children’s reading journey. Your role as an advocate for your children’s reading success cannot be overestimated. It has a direct impact on the ease and confidence with which they pursue their reading and writing.

It is the joy and love of sharing a good book on a regular basis that sets the foundation for their reading success and ensures that reading is given the priority it deserves. Reading regularly with someone who cares is the inspiration that all readers deserve.

The proven benefits of reading with your child

Parents and carers who read aloud with children in a secure, safe and comfortable context motivate their children to read.

Parents’ and carers' perceptions, values, attitudes, and expectations play an important role in influencing their children’s attitudes toward reading, and subsequent literacy development. When children share a book with someone who makes them feel special, the attitude that reading is pleasurable is transferred to other reading encounters.

Relationship building

At the core of reading is a relationship and it is the bond between children and parents/carers that is enhanced through reading together. It only takes ten minutes a day to build this relationship.

Children’s reading improves

The research is conclusive: When parents/carers successfully support their children’s literacy learning from an early age, everyone benefits. When teachers and parents/carers work together to support children’s reading and academic success, learning outcomes for all children improve.

Children read more

Students who read with their parents/carers are better prepared for school. They begin school with knowledge of book language and familiarity with concepts of print. They understand how books work and have many more exposures to text types and vocabulary.

Children’s self-esteem improves

Knowing someone cares enough to take time out of a busy schedule to give you undivided attention around a book makes a significant difference to how students perceive themselves as learners and readers. When parents/carers show an interest in their children’s learning, children respond positively.

Reading unites families through shared stories

When a family reads together, stories form a common ground for communicating. Stories bind families and help students makes sense of where they fit in the world.

Not only does parent and carer involvement have a specific and profound impact on children’s reading, but also on children’s language and literacy learning in general. It is through interactions with parents and carers that children learn new vocabulary, seek clarification of new understandings, and learn to comprehend their expanding worlds. Talk is the key to reading and writing success. Talking with children (walking to school, at the table, in the car, bedtime) has a significant effect on literacy learning in general.

Thank you for all the support you continually give your child/children in their learning journey - We truly appreciate it!

* Excerpt from Primary English Teaching Association of Australia